Teresa Fitzgibbon-Conroy 05
Portland, OR
Portland, OR
Service: Teaching computer courses
| Teresa and the children she served |
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The Surprise of a Lifetime
Not knowing that there was a reason for John’s surprise visit… Teresa soon found out!
…“That evening, I learned that John had an ulterior motive for coming to Africa. It
wasn’t just to say “hi”. We were chatting in my room before heading to bed and John
pulled a small gray box out of his pocket. He set it on the floor in front of me. I looked
at him in astonishment and asked, “Should I open that?” He told me to let it sit there
for a minute.
John! So, he took my hand, knelt down and asked in the most amazing way if I would
marry him. I jumped up, pulling him up with me and said “Yes! Yes! Yes! I will marry
you today. I will marry you tomorrow. I will marry you forever.” He sat me back down
again and said, “No proposal would be complete without a ring.” He opened the box
and there held down with a pin was the most beautiful white ribbon I have ever seen.
He said he spent all his money on the ticket (to Tanzania) so this would be my ring for
now. It was perfect. He wrapped it around my finger three times and tied a knot.
(Later I made him sow it together so my ring was for sure not to come off). It’s
beautiful. I could never want anything more (especially here in Africa). I keep telling
him that he doesn’t have to get me another – I LOVE this one. Perhaps I will have to
buy a bottle of bleach to keep it looking white but it is honestly the most gorgeous ring
I could ever imagine. He, he. I love it.”…
Not knowing that there was a reason for John’s surprise visit… Teresa soon found out!
…“That evening, I learned that John had an ulterior motive for coming to Africa. It
wasn’t just to say “hi”. We were chatting in my room before heading to bed and John
pulled a small gray box out of his pocket. He set it on the floor in front of me. I looked
at him in astonishment and asked, “Should I open that?” He told me to let it sit there
for a minute.
John! So, he took my hand, knelt down and asked in the most amazing way if I would
marry him. I jumped up, pulling him up with me and said “Yes! Yes! Yes! I will marry
you today. I will marry you tomorrow. I will marry you forever.” He sat me back down
again and said, “No proposal would be complete without a ring.” He opened the box
and there held down with a pin was the most beautiful white ribbon I have ever seen.
He said he spent all his money on the ticket (to Tanzania) so this would be my ring for
now. It was perfect. He wrapped it around my finger three times and tied a knot.
(Later I made him sow it together so my ring was for sure not to come off). It’s
beautiful. I could never want anything more (especially here in Africa). I keep telling
him that he doesn’t have to get me another – I LOVE this one. Perhaps I will have to
buy a bottle of bleach to keep it looking white but it is honestly the most gorgeous ring
I could ever imagine. He, he. I love it.”…
from VIDES heartbeats.
"The first picture is a business. Most businesses are like this. If you need a
toothbrush, fruit, etc. you go to a place like this to buy it. The second picture is of me
and my friends. One of my favorite friends is named Happy and she is the one sitting
next to me on my right. She’s wonderful. She comes (all by herself) to Mass every
morning and we invented a special handshake that we do and she has taught all of the
other children. She’s great. Other pictures (not shown) are of women carrying water –
a daily occurrence in most of their lives. As I told you all before, we have been without
water for 3 weeks and did the whole bucket thing but Sister Dionisia surely didn’t carry
them on our heads. The children start from small containers and work up to these
buckets. There are 3 year old twins at the place we go to fetch water and they already
carry these giant buckets like this full of water. Amazing! The next two are the few that
I have let people take of me – one with a baby during mass (all of their Masses are
outside)
Well, I had better go. It is getting late and we, as always, have a wonderful Mass early
in the morning. God bless you all and I would love to see pictures of wherever you all
are. My thoughts and prayers are with you all.
Love, Teresa"
"The first picture is a business. Most businesses are like this. If you need a
toothbrush, fruit, etc. you go to a place like this to buy it. The second picture is of me
and my friends. One of my favorite friends is named Happy and she is the one sitting
next to me on my right. She’s wonderful. She comes (all by herself) to Mass every
morning and we invented a special handshake that we do and she has taught all of the
other children. She’s great. Other pictures (not shown) are of women carrying water –
a daily occurrence in most of their lives. As I told you all before, we have been without
water for 3 weeks and did the whole bucket thing but Sister Dionisia surely didn’t carry
them on our heads. The children start from small containers and work up to these
buckets. There are 3 year old twins at the place we go to fetch water and they already
carry these giant buckets like this full of water. Amazing! The next two are the few that
I have let people take of me – one with a baby during mass (all of their Masses are
outside)
Well, I had better go. It is getting late and we, as always, have a wonderful Mass early
in the morning. God bless you all and I would love to see pictures of wherever you all
are. My thoughts and prayers are with you all.
Love, Teresa"
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Volunteers International for Development Education Solidarity
| "Experiencing, Sharing Life in Christ" |
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