Make Way for Ducklings!

Hello from Arizona! I have been in Bapchule, AZ since Sunday, at St. Peter Indian Mission. It is at a Pima Indian Reservation. I was greeted by my first ever dust storm! While the descent of the plane was turbulent, and the road conditions were similar to a blizzard, it was a bit exciting to experience something new. I also was amazed at the height of the cacti! I had no idea they were so big! They even grow flowers.

The Sisters took me IHOP, and someone paid for our meal! That was so nice. People treat sisters so well. Since then, I have been experiencing life at the mission site. I have been helping out around the elementary school: walking with the kids around the outdoor track, doing the school uniform inventory, sharing my vocation story, listening to the kids prepare for the Spring Program, and reading to them. I have also been helping prepare meals and run errands. It has been wonderful to be here! I would love to be assigned here someday. I love weather too.

The convent here has two ducks, Ben and Aflack. (Sounds like Ben Affleck!) Aflack is having ducklings! They are so cute! So far, 2 have hatched: Cuddles and Ducky. We hope that Eggbert arrives tomorrow. We have been so amused by these ducklings. I looked up how to care for them on the internet, and we have been very careful to keep them safe. When the ducklings are ready, they will be moving to the local petting zoo.
Here's Cuddles with Aflack:

It has been nice to have prayer with the school. Every morning, we pray a decade of the rosary and sing songs, and in the afternoon there are more songs and prayers. Until now, I did not realize how perfect it is that there are 5 decades, and 5 school days. I think it would be great if more Catholic schools took advantage of that, and prayed a mystery a week. Yesterday was a very special day...it was May Crowning. The seventh and eighth grade girls wore traditional dresses and processed up to Mary with bouquets of flowers. The 8th grade girl with the best church attendance got to crown Mary. They did so well and looked so beautiful! We also prayed the rosary for a greater respect for human life from conception to natural death. The school is going to do something great next year: they are going to have Reconciliation once a month. The graces from that Sacrament cannot be overestimated.



Today, we went to a House Blessing for the kindergarten teacher and her family. It was great to be apart of that. Father Edward put me in charge of the holy water, and he gave me very specific directions to shake the holy water liberally everywhere. We had two bottles of it. The prayers were really cool, too. We also had a great lunch, watched the Yankees for a bit, and played with her four-year-old son. He is so smart and outgoing.

I feel like I have so many more things to share, but perhaps another time. I am really enjoying being with the sisters here. They have been so nice and welcoming. It's been a great week. I am glad I have another one here.