greetings from ghana

Dear family and friends,

This is to let you know that I am safely back in Ghana with many wonderful memories of the celebrations in North Dakota, Jesup and Mankato. Thank you for the gift of being with me in spirit or in person. Thanks, too, to those of you who helped our District through a gift of medicine, designing the website, a monetary gift, or planning and working at the celebrations. As we say, “May God reward you!”

I hope to continue to use this site during the coming year to keep you updated or I will send a common note by e-mail. If you get a message that says “from Pat in Ghana”, please open it even if your name is not on it. I will use the same message for a group of people but will blind copy it to everyone so that the names and e-mail addresses of the others do not appear.

All is well here and we leave for a District Assembly in Nigeria on Saturday. Since I am the facilitator, I have some processes to plan before then.

Don’t forget the Mankato celebration on July 17, starting with a liturgy at 11:00 a.m. We hope for a sunny day so you can enjoy the hill. We have lovely walking areas and things to see. Have a safe trip!

Time is fast approaching for the celebration on Sunday, July 11 at St. Athanasius Church in Jesup, IA. If you are coming, I hope you can enjoy some of the Farmers Day celebrations on July 8, 9, and 10. We hope to see you soon!

A photo album of pictures has been added. You might enjoy seeing some of them if you are not able to come and look at the memory table. Because there are about 50, it may take a little time to load but be patient! Just check photos under categories, or click here. If you’re really curious, you can see a larger version if you click on the images.

If anyone is looking for inexpensive lodging, we are
holding rooms at the Comfort Inn in Waterloo under the
name Frost. They will give you a rate of $59.49 per
night plus tax. The block is being held through
6/14/04. Comfort Inn is located at at Crossroads . . .
Exit 72 at Highway I-380 / LaPorte Road at San Marin
Drive and is about 15 minutes from Jesup on the
interstate. The rooms are double queens, the hotel has a pool
and a whirlpool. They also have a complimentary
continental breakfast which is usually included. Their
phone number is 319-234-7411 Here’s the link:
http://www1.choicehotels.com/ires/en-us/html/Search

Links have been added in the sidebar to the Waterloo and Mankato convention & visitors bureaus web sites; they’ve got nice long lists of hotels and B&Bs. There’s also an Independence listing. –Miriam

Jesup is located between Independence (to the east) and Waterloo (to the west). It’s an easy hour’s drive east from Dubuque on I-20. Clicking on either map will take you to Mapquest. –Miriam

A few more pieces of information about the Mankato celebration:
There will be a Mass at 11:00 a.m., with Father Larry Johnson as the celebrant, followed by a reception. It would be very helpful if you could let me know if you will be present.
For those of you who are not familiar with Good Counsel, there are lovely grounds and places for children to play or for walking. We also have a ceramic shop and a gift shop if you like to look around in those.
I am eager to see all of you, but also that you meet one another. I’ll ask that you take one of the name tags provided and indicate who you are and how we connect, e.g. Max Frost, brother of Pat or Bob Lambert, former student of Pat. It will be fun to see all of you!
Check the web site periodically for maps, etc.

Some more information about the celebration in Jesup:
Farmers’ Day will be July 8, 9, 10 for those of you who want to come before the Jubilee celebration on July 11. There is a website that will give you more information about what will be happening on these days. It should be up and running in a few days at www.jesupfarmersday.org.
Should you want to enjoy the fun of Farmers’ Day or need a room, there is a SUPER 8 Motel in Independence: 1-800-800-8000 or 319-334-7401; also Rush Park Motel: 1-800-429-2577 or 319-334-2577.

There has been a change in the Mass time for the celebration in Jesup on July 11, 2004. The Mass will be at 11:00 followed by a reception in the school cafeteria to allow for the necessary movement of equipment used during Farmer’s Day.

More information about the events of Farmer’s Day and information about possible places to stay will be coming soon. Come back to visit the web site for additions or changes.
Hope to see you there!