My Journey from India to the West Indies

by Annmary Andrews

The closing of the missions in Odisha opened up a wonderful opportunity for me to volunteer at the invitation sent out by Sister Betty Rae and the leadership team for the Newfoundland and Labrador Unit of the Union of Presentation Sisters to minister in the Commonwealth of Dominica.

I must say that all the preparations for my travel to Newfoundland, the days spent at the motherhouse in St. John’s, the travel to Dominica with Sister Betty Rae Lee, life in the community at Salisbury and the ministry at CALLS (Centre where Adolescents Learn to Love and Serve) until December 2018, has been full of adventures, surprises, wonders, challenges, deep satisfaction, connections and appreciation. I am deeply grateful to all my Sisters both in India and in Newfoundland and the leadership teams in both the places for making it a reality for me.

The day I left my community at Prernalaya on November 14 the novena remembered the sisters in our Newfoundland and Labrador province and the day I arrived in Newfoundland on November 15 the novena for that day remembered the sisters in India and Pakistan. I was so touched by that experience and was deeply grateful to God for that. The sisters at the motherhouse and in the neighboring communities went out of their way to make my stay there a beautiful, memorable and enriching one. I was fascinated by the way the sisters expressed their appreciation for every little thing done by me and the humor with which they embraced their life each day. The sisters who were even into their 70s and 80s and were able to move around kept themselves busy with the ministries entrusted to them.

While at the motherhouse I was happy to visit the Gathering Place, where hundreds come to meet their basic needs, and the rooms displaying the history of Newfoundland depicting their struggle for freedom and survival. I was also able to attend sessions at The Lantern on restorative justice, t’ai chi chih and wisdom healing qigong; to attend retreat at Virginia Water, open day at Mary Queen of the World convent, and to be part of the meeting of the associates, along with Sister Ruth O’Reilly. In addition, I learned to make the rosary beads from Sister Cyprian.

I appreciated very much Betty Rae traveling with me and staying in the community at Salisbury for about a week before she flew to Antigua to spend time with Sister Paulette. She introduced me to the people and place very dear to the heart of the sisters who have ministered here, the CALLS where I will be ministering with the youth who are dropped out of the main stream education system, and the meeting with the chair of the CALLS board and Bishop Gabriel Malzaire, with whom we are in collaboration for the ministry in Dominica.

In the community here at Salisbury we do our own house chores and teach each other how to prepare various dishes with which we are familiar. We were happy to invite the priests ministering in our parish and the neighboring parishes for a Christmas lunch with the dishes from India, Newfoundland and Dominica. We had a beautiful Christmas celebration at CALLS. I was really touched by the way the sisters appreciate every little thing being done. I experience great freedom to be myself.

The local people here are very warm, friendly, humorous and simple. The climate here and the surrounding nature bring back the memories of my own childhood days. The rainbow which appeared on the day after my arrival in Salisbury reminded me of the promise made by God to Abraham, “Whenever I cover the sky with clouds and the rainbow appears, I will remember my promise to you and to all the animals.”

Meeting with the various religious sisters and priests and all the diocesan priests at the annual gathering was very life giving. I was happy to meet with the Redemptorist priests, Christian Brothers, and the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary as I was familiar with them in India.

During the Christmas holidays we visited the natives of the Caribbean. The people were oppressed and suppressed by the invaders but a few people were able to survive and are today trying to protect and nurture their tradition, values and culture.  An elderly lady weaving her basket and trying to sell her produce asked me where I was from. When I told her that I was from India she said to me, “You are ours.” Her words still ring in my ears though we are back to our own community here.

I hope my life and ministry here will be fruitful for the people, the immediate community, myself and the world at large. Thank you to each dear sister who connects with me on a regular basis. May God bless you all.