Although we usually associate November with gloomy moods and grey weather – the home of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa (the White Sisters) was recently filled with a very different atmosphere. Enjoying the richness and diversity of cultures, generations and nationalities, we experienced a Missionary Saturday!
Amidst the autumn darkness, the Sun shone upon us – Christ, who in the Word of God led us through that Saturday morning. We had the opportunity to feed on Sunday’s Gospel and share it in groups.
After a short coffee break with cake, we were introduced to basic knowledge of Poland by our guest, Magda. The presentation of the country’s history, geography, culture, cuisine and other interesting facts about the country was concluded by a series of questions from the participants and a short discussion. An important element of the presentation was the demonstration of how the Catholic faith had a significant impact on the history of Poland and how its living practice was strengthened by the figures of Polish saints.
With an outline of Polish culture already in place, we could move on to confronting Polish customs with the traditions of other nationalities. Sister Victoria Gaa prepared us for this task by explaining to us the principles of intercultural communication. In groups of several people, we held discussions about our personal experiences of clashing with another culture and how we coped then. Sister Victoria gave us an excellent illustration of the difficulties of communication with numerous life examples, without depriving the content presented of a dose of humour.
The whole event was crowned by Holy Mass, after which the participants went to lunch (which, of course, included plenty of Polish culinary specialties).
We also hosted the Oasis community – the Light-Life Movement from Suchowola with Father Michał Rogucki. The house was visited by several nationalities. We are delighted with your presence! See you in December!
Magdalena Misińska, Lublin Poland
