Joni and I are traveling to Rwanda to work with Sister Laetitia on some projects she has been thinking of. We also are eager to make progress bringing a pottery studio to the MGS Maker Space. Bernie and Sue Pucker have been patiently watching Joni, myself and Ned Levering gather information about what installing a pottery studio will entail and moving forward. We have also learned a wonderful array of historical stuff about the role of pottery in East Africa.
Of course, for Bernie and Sue, Brother Thomas Bezanson is central to what making pottery means. Creating beautiful objects from the humble clay of the earth requires human hands, a curious, creative mind, an unflinching eye, and a spirit that believes in how beauty and sharing beauty is at the heart of how people have made art and objects with their hands, in community. Brother Thomas wrote, “The beautiful is at the center of every civilization in its art, its music, its architecture, its people.”
I’ve been holding these lofty thoughts in my mind as Joni and I navigate the details of preparing for the trip…only to learn when we arrived at Logan that Amsterdam airport is facing a weeklong snow event. And travel in and out of Amsterdam is iffy.
Brother Thomas wrote. “Inspiration can be found in the simplest moments.” Joni and I are keeping that in mind as we allow ourselves a space to “go with the flow.” We chose to fly out of Boston and risk being stuck in Amsterdam. The flight from Boston to Amsterdam set down at 8:30 AM. By 9:00 we had found the departure board that listed 90% of flights. As cancelled; Amsterdam to Kigali, DL9151, was “on time.” A simple moment that filled us with satisfaction, relief, and inspiration as we continued on to Rwanda and the work that always delights and inspires us.
I always remember that departing from the plane at Kigali airport features walking into that soft, velvet warm evening air. Surely that snowscape of Schiphol airport must have been a dream. We arrived at the MGS campus, encountered the usual warm welcome of the Sisters in their residence. After consuming the wonderful soup made from the MGS garden vegetables and herbs, Joni and I succumbed to a deep sleep.
Today our focus was on meeting with Sister Laetitia to plan for our tasks on this visit. Writing an email to a colleague in the Education Department at Tufts earlier, I wrote, “It is wonderful to be at this school that nourishes every bit of my educator being.” I hope to share some of those nourishing moments with you in this blog for the next 2 weeks.
Linda V Beardsley
