Farewell, Trinidad—

The numberless tropical flowers and fruits truly make Trinidad a paradise island … and paradise monastery. We ate fresh fruit every day right off the trees. \”Star fruit\”, or \”five-finger fruit\” as the Trinis call it, comes in sweet or sour. The nuns have 1 sweet tree and 3 sour trees.

They have 4 cocoa trees, but they need to be cultivated a little. There are pineapples,

and mangoes,

and many banana trees of various kinds,

 as well as, papaya

and coconut trees.

The flowers range from hibiscus to roses in the main courtyard

 then to orchids

and birds of paradise  — on the larger grounds.

One of the Sisters was so delighted that she felt like she was in her native Vietnam. Yet, the day came when they were scheduled to return to our monastery in Texas, their hearts and minds filled with wonderful memories of their new Sisters.