Farewell to the Andersons

Last Monday night we went out for dinner with the Andersons for the last time before their return home. Before going to the restuarant, they came to the Domus to say goodbye to the ESM students. It was very touching to see how much they will be missed by so many people.

At the Domus

Dinner was good, but I think the kids will be happy to give pizza and pasta a break for a while! It was goog to be able to spend some time with them, but it was also a very sad occasion. On the wall in the restaurant was a picture of the Last Supper of Christ with his disciples. The kids thought this was quite meaningful.

The last supper with the Andersons

Then on Wednesday we met up with Bernard and borrowed Fr Eric's car and trailer, and headed over to Santa Marinella to give the Andersons a hand. We helped load up the trailer with all the luggage. Jackie and Conor and Finn were there too. Kate and her sister Bronwyn took the kids with them to the airport using public transport. The rest of us helped get a few final things in order at their rental property, had a quick bite to eat (quite probably the worst food I have ever had in my life), then drove Mark to the airport. We found Kate and Bron and the kids straight away, then filled up three trolleys worth of luggage and accompanied the gang into the airport. They got in line and were invited to come straight to the front (coz of all the kids). That's where we said goodbye.


Fiumicino Airport

I was very sad indeed. The Andos have been such a blessing to us during our first year in Rome. It will be very different without them. We have spent time with them at their house, at our house, we have wandered around Rome together, we have been out to dinner together, we were in a Household (prayer group) together, they have been a wonderful presence at the ESM, and they were all on parish mission with us in London. They will be greatly missed.

Kev, Bern and I had an adventuresome drive back home - quality Aussie time together in the absence of our dear friends.

Madrid

Just a few days after returning from our holiday, we were off again. We went to Madrid for a planning weekend for World Youth Day, which will take place in August this year.

At the end of WYD in Sydney 2008, when Pope Benedict XVI announced that the next WYD would be in Madrid, Kev and I looked at each other and said, "We won't be going!" It's not that we don't like WYDs, in fact we love them, it's just that we are no spring chickens. Later that year we found out that we would be moving to Rome to be in charge of the ESM - a job which involves bringing a group to run a mission at WYD.

So we went to Madrid on Friday morning, along with about 20 others from the Emmanuel Community in Europe, to plan for the Emmanuel Pilgrimage. It was great to be involved in the preparation, but they were long days. The Spanish eat so dang late! Dinner was at 9pm each night. After that we would keep going with the planning. Not easy for a girl who likes her sleep. I will need a lot of grace during WYD!!!

Saturday was our sixth wedding anniversary. Being in Spain together was a nice way to celebrate. In the afternoon we went on a walking tour of the city with the rest of the group. Madrid is great, but not as spanishy as I thought it would be.

Hele and Kev in front of the Cathedral


Some fancy little piazza

That night we continued with our conference. After lunch on Sunday, we left for the airport. We got back to Rome on Sunday night. Once again, we were tired but happy!!

Winter in France

After a beautiful Christmas in Rome, we headed to Paray Le Monial in France for the annual 'Fraternity of Jesus Retreat'. Kev did a great job of transporting all of us (ESM Team and students) to this little village. We left early in the morning on the 27th December and caught a train to Milan. Then we had lunch and caught another train to Lyon. Then we caught a coach to Paray. We arrived at 1:30 in the morning. After seeing the students safely to their accomodation, Kev and I were only able to access our place because our friends happened to be returning from the pub when we arrived. Otherwise we would have been stuck because the hotel was locked up and no one was answering the front door. It is a good thing that we have good friends!

The retreat was really good. There were 800 people participating this year at Paray. The town is now too small to hold everyone, so there was another group meeting in Lourdes at the same time. Apart from great talks and lots of time for prayer, it was also good to catch up with lots of friends.


The ESM Team of 2002-2003: Fr Markus, Theresa & Steve

(Tiziana was here too, but I couldn't manage to get them all together for a photo)


Fr Markus, Steve, Christophe


Dom, Hele, Slaven

It was good to be able to slip away from the group one day to have lunch with Steve and Annie. We really miss them both so much, so we appreciated this time toghether - they are such good value, and they make us laugh.


Kev, Hele, Annie and Steve

I must mention the scarf that I am wearing. I started knitting it during a Youth Forum in Goulburn just before WYD in Sydney 2008. The wool was not easy to work with so it was slow-going. I brought the unfinished product with me to Rome but ran out of wool. Thanks to the efforts of Clara Ri who tracked down the right wool and to Mary Long who brought some to me in Rome, I was able to finish it a couple of weeks ago (Although I started it two and a half years ago, I only spent a few weeks actually knitting it). I wanted to make it really warm and long, just like in Dr Who from the late 1970s. It turned out well but it is so hot that I couldn't wear it most of the time.

I also got to see three of the students who I did the ESM with all those years ago. There was Leen (Belgium), Olivier (France) and Ricardo (Portugal). It was interesting (and funny) to share about what we had each done since we left the School. Due to technical problems with my camera I was unable to get a photo of all of us.


Hele and Leen

Some members of the Emmanuel Community make a further step into the 'Fraternity of Jesus'. This is for people who feel a particular call to consecrate themselves to Jesus, to make a more particular comittment to the Catholic Church, and who make themselves available for mission. Kev and I postulated into the Fraternity during the retreat. This is the first step, which may be followed by 'novitiate' then 'consecration' in later years.

We saw the coming of the new year together with the other 800 people. After a time of prayer and praise, we gathered into the hall for a party. Kev and I had still not decided where we were go for our holidays later in the day. We had booked really cheap flights to Milan, but we didn't feel like going there. We were telling our friend Guillemette this at the party (at about 1:00m), and she said that she would find somewhere else for us. A few minutes later she told us that we could stay with a French couple of the Fraternity who were going to their chalet in the French Alps for the week. So we met Antoine and Sylvie and they organised to meet up with us after lunch.

After a very short night, we woke the next morning to a quick breaky then Mass. We said our goodbyes and then headed for the hills.


Kev and Hele - Mont Blanc in the background

It was a relaxing holiday - lost of eating, sleeping and reading. But we also did a bit of walking......UPHILL!


In front of the house

On the first day we went for 'a little' walk up the mountain. I thought I was going to die. But I had to try and look strong and keep up with our hosts. It was so beautiful. We saw a couple of deers running across the hill in front of us. It was so nice.


Kev in the snow

Instead of recovering the next day, we were invited on another 'little' walk. This time we met up with friends of Antoine and Sylvie - Emmanuel and Alix, their youngest son, and her brother - a 58 year old priest. Our hosts kindly lent us appropriate clothing as well as raquets for walking in the snow. Our 45 minute walk ended up being 3 hours. This time I really thought I would die. It is embarrassing being overtaken by those more advanced in years. It was a lovely walk though. Coming down was great fun.

Our experience of being at the snow in France made us feel like we were two year olds again: we couldn't understand when people were talking; we could only say a few words; we couldn't walk properly, and we constantly had runny noses.

It sure is a small world. Check this out. Emmanuel is the uncle of my friend Liz, who I did the School with. They contacted her and she asked if Kev and I could come and stay with her for a few days. She had planned to invite us anyway, knowing that we would probable go to Paray after Christmas, but never got around to sending us the email. So, we planned to meet up with her on Wednesday.

The next day Antoine and Sylvie drove us up to a charming monastery. When we were there they invited us to join them on a little walk. Ohhhh nooooooo. Not again. I declined their kind offer. Kev went with them and I stayed and admired the view from where I was.


Hele in front of a nice White Mountain


Antoine, Sylvie, Hele and Kev

Early on Wednesday morning, Antoine drove us to meet Emmanuel on his way to work. He drove us into Geneva. We went to Mass, then met up with Liz and her three kids - Mathilde, Eduard and Louise. It was so good to see her again after seven years. We had morning tea in a lovely little cafe. Then Liz drove us to her weekend house!


1. Paray Le Monial 2. Antoine & Sylvie's 3. Liz's house


Photos at Liz's place

Liz took such good care of us. We slept, ate delicous home-cooked meals, watched dvds, played with the kids, and spent a lot of time reading. By the way I read two books that Steve brought over for me. The first was a book that he wrote about his time planning for WYD in Sydney, "Five Smooth Stones A 40 Day WYD Journal". http://www.connorcourt.com/catalog1/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=8&products_id=144 It is a great book.

Then I read, "The Professor, the Emporer and the Crocodile" by David Lawrence (yes, they are brothers). http://www.davidlawrencebooks.com.au/index.htm Also a great book. These two helped make my holiday so enjoyable!!!

The only other thing we did at Liz's was go for a stroll around the grounds. It was here that we were finally able to make a snowman - until now, the snow had been too soft. Now our holiday was complete!


Hele and the snowman

On Saturday we caught a train to Lyon. We stayed there for one night before catching the red-eye flight back to Rome.

It is nice to be 'home' again.