Archive (237 life histories found)
'Sacred Heart, now you know the situation and you know what I need, so please sort it out!'
I got the chance to buy a semidetached house in 21 De Beer Avenue Paddonhurst, on deed of sale. This is where Romuald, Getrude and family currently reside. This was a lovely wee house with three bedrooms and large sitting room with dining area,…
Tags: intervention, Jesus, job hunting
'I taught him to drive and of course the bicycle I had bought for him was no longer the thing when he wanted to impress the ladies in his class.'
Life had its ups and down as anyone who has ever had the privilege of working with teenagers will testify. I had bought a Nissan Sunny car from Peter Aiken in Harare, and it was a beautiful car. Romuald thought he was the' bees' knee's in this car. I…
'He told me that I had wasted his life and I saw red, for I had truly gone out of my way to get him sorted.'
The college started and I had been suffering badly with a back problem ever since I had left home. It was getting worse and so bad was it that I was getting Voltarel injections from the sister in St Anne's hospital in Avondale. Harare. They sent the…
Tags: Bulawayo, Education, friendship, guidance, mentor
'It then became apparent that the salaries of the other two sisters were inadequate to support a third person-me! I decided to look for paid work.'
It then became apparent that the salaries of the other two sisters were inadequate to support a third person-me! I decided to look for paid work. The Franciscan mission work was not working out very well for me and I was very frustrated with wasting…
Tags: employment, teaching, training
'I realised that this boy was clever, and that he needed an education in order to break out of the poverty trap.'
While teaching the postulants in Nharira Mission, I became very friendly with them, particularly Simon Mutsenhure. Looking back I can see why I was in Zimbabwe, as part of God's plan. Simon entered the Franciscans and got as far as the novitiate with…
Tags: Education, friendship, Mission, poverty
'We left next day for Victoria Falls and were amazed at such magnificent waterfalls and scenery. It has to be seen and experienced!'
Aidan O'Kane came out to Zimbabwe to visit me. I collected him at Harare airport and we went to McCann's for our tea that evening and next day proceeded to the mission. Aidan was very impressed at how I knew my way round Harare. That was not…
Tags: landscape, Missions, scenery, travel, Victoria Falls
'The others waded through that deep water and were home and dry quite some time before I managed to make it with the car.'
The 'Kiltegans' always celebrate St Patrick's Day. After all St Patrick is their patron. They sure know how to host a party. WE had one unforgettable party in St Benedict's Mission, which was well away from civilisation in a place near Headlands. I…
'At last I believed that my mission was about to begin.'
The following April, I was asked to go to Gweru to collect the promised truck-a Nissan Hi-lux single cab. I was overjoyed. At last I believed that my mission was about to begin. Well I suppose it did in a way but it was not what I had envisaged. The…
Tags: Harare, Mercy Order, Missions
'People at home had been extremely generous to me and I had a few hundred pounds with me, and believe me, it was more than needed where I was going!'
There were few farewell parties for me and when I was ready to travel, Cecilia and Fr Ciaran Dallat accompanied me to London, where I stayed with Aidan O'Kane in Conway House (an Irish Centre Housing hostel for men in QuexRoad, Kilburn) for a couple…
Tags: Home, Mercy Order, Missions
'Because I was intending to go to foreign parts, he decided to give me a thorough examination and a scan and, lo and behold, did he not find a tumour?'
During this time of preparation for the move to Africa, Fr Pascal Slevin OFM, the 'custos' in Zimbabwe, was in frequent contact with us, because he was trying his best to speed up our visa applications. If you have ever been in the situation of…
Tags: Doctor, hysterectomy, Medicine, surgery