ST. MARY'S PRINCIPAL CHOOSES TO CARRY OUT MISSION IN KENYA FOR THREE YEARS

Sister Jeanne Goessling, principal at St. Mary's Cathedral School, leaves in September for three years missionary work in Kenya.

She says she doesn't know why she's going; she doesn't know what to expect when she gets there but she knows in her heart it's the right thing to do.

"It's an adventure," Goessling said from her office in Cape Girardeau, trying to envision the warm, lush bush country she will travel to this summer.

Goessling is a member of the School Sisters of Notre Dame. The order has as its mission education of women and youngsters.

During this Catholic Schools Week, Goessling said she hopes to bring some of the advantages of Catholic education to people in Kenya.

She will teach and probably administer a secondary girls school in the bush country of Kenya, in an area called Gakano in the western part of the country near Lake Victoria.

The setting will be rugged. Electricity is provided by generators and depends on availability of petroleum. Four or five students may share one textbook. It's a boarding school and students are bunked together "like sardines," Goessling said.

She plans to leave in September and spend what would be the fall semester here studying the language. The school year in Kenya begins in January.

Goessling must learn Swahili and the British educational system before she starts her work.

While English is the official language of education and Goessling will teach in English, she said it's important for her to learn Swahili, the native language.

"My verbal skills, I think, are one of my real strengths," she said. "I can't imagine not being able to communicate with these people."

The government runs schools in the country and takes the "cream of the crop," Goessling said. "But the other people need to be educated too." That's where the church-run schools come in.

In addition to educating individuals, Goessling said, the Catholic church is in a growth period in Kenya. "We are just in the process of taking in African women (to become nuns)," she said. Those women in training need places to serve, like the school where Goessling will work.

"Africa is an up-and-coming place for Catholicism to take root," Goessling said. "Their culture is different, tribal, as opposed to family. It will be interesting to see how they fit Christianity to their culture. I am really looking forward to walking with those people as they start that process."

Goessling said she decided last summer it was time for her to make a change.

"There just comes a time as a person when it's time to move on," Goessling said. "I've been interested in going to another culture for some time."

Goessling has worked in Central America, she has worked in the inner city of St. Louis and in a Hispanic community in California.

"Is it time to leave here? I don't know. Leaving St. Mary's will be hard. The people here have been great," she said.

But she is confident a good leader will be along to take her place. "Not everyone is willing to go to Kenya."

As a missionary, Goessling is asked to make a three-year commitment to her new station. After that she will return to the United States for at least three months to assess her experience and decide if she would like to return.

She plans to return for at least one more three-year hitch. "The limit is 12 years," she said.

Goessling said she's trying to be careful not to romanticize her missionary work. "I like hot showers," she said. "It's not for everyone. There is something in people's spirit; they have got to go and do and see for themselves. In my heart it makes sense. I'll go and learn."