To mark the 30th anniversary of the onset of our African adventure, the community and a few faithful friends invited our children to go on a pilgrimage to the Marian shrine of Popenguine. A group of 60 people, met up in front of the new house on the morning of May 6th for a lively bus journey! Drums were, of course, an essential part of the trip. We walked the 12 kilometers from Toubab Dialow to Popenguine, praying the rosary and singing by using our whole bodies (as our African friends well know how to do!) Of course, after greeting Notre Dame de la Délivrande (Our Lady of Deliverance), the reward was a plunge in the sea! After a long night of adoration and confessions, followed by only a few hours of rest, we gathered at the foot of the altar to give thanks to God for the 30 years of presence and of friendship in Grand Yoff, and for the many volunteers who came one after the other from all over the world. Above all, we implored God’s mercy for our presence in Senegal and Africa, and asked for the grace of Senegalese volunteers.  This event, was an opportunity to realize just how much some of our now grown-up “children” are part of our family. 

Nothing was missing from the festivities: a choir put up for the occasion, long hours spent waiting for meals, naturally giving rise to all kinds of creative pass-times, such as games, songs, dances … and even a bit of trouble-making!

Faced with such a beautiful reality, my prayer is constantly filed with questions such us: Lord, what else can we offer to those You entrust us with? When? How? Towards whom do you call me.