Friday, September 4, 2009

KUMASI HOLIDAY 24th – 29th June 2009

Three days after the Workshop at TICCS, we went for a four-day holiday in Kumasi accompanied by Brothers Henry, Frank and Prince.
Kumasi is the second largest city of Ghana and the former royal capitol of the Ashanti state. The major activity is business and Chui is widely spoken. We lodged at the Centre for Spiritual Renewal, Santasi Estate. It was a good quiet place except at night where we were terrified by the loud cry of the bush baby (a small bush animal with a cry of a child). While there we were grateful to receive a total sum of sixty Ghana cedis each from the community purposely meant for lunch and bus fare around the town. Each morning we celebrated the Eucharist together then had breakfast after which everyone was free to go where he pleased.
On Friday we all visited two religious communities, first the Spiritans then the Josephites (founded by St. Leonard Murialdo). Here we had a gracious opportunity to share in meal, prayer and stories with the novices and their formatters.
Kumasi is a Christian dominated place. I observed this when I was circumventing around the streets. It was interesting to discover the names given to shops and other business places. Most of them bore bible related verses. On one street alone, I noted examples such as, God’s Time supermarket, Angel Touch salon, Anointed Hands Aluminium ventures, Good Shepherd hotel, Jesus is Risen bar and many others.
Brother Frank was the lucky one among the group to receive a medal, from the Sisters, of the Ghanaian symbol GYE NYAME meaning, no one saw the beginning, and no one will see the end, except God. We came back on Monday morning.
(Chris Munialo)

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