Sister Consesa

What is the correlation between Tanzania, East Africa and Webster City?

Nuns — Catholic nuns.

Four of them. Sisters Consesa, Prosista, Yohanna and Eseubia have lived and worked in Webster City for years now, gracing the community with their compassionate presence.

It is a story worth telling.

First, they are busy. It took some time to get an interview with them. Finally, though, Sisters Consesa and Eseubia sat down for an interview as Consesa was returning from work and Eseubia was on her way to work at a local nursing facility.

Both grew up in small villages in the eastern region of Tanzania at very different times in history.

Eseubia, the elder sister, was born into a Catholic family during the independence from British colonial rule; her parents were given land by the Tanzanian government to celebrate her birth. The family’s land fortuitously happened to be located next to a school that offered both traditional and religious curriculum. It was there that Sister Eseubia first felt the call to serve. She finished her secondary school and went on to a two-year college, then she worked for two years in a local NGO, or non-governmental organization, serving disadvantaged women.

Eventually, she wrote her official application letter to join the Holy Spirit Sisters.

She was 22.

Sister Consesa did not grow up near a religious community, although she had religious classes every Friday at school. Interestingly, the children were separated into Catholic, Lutheran and Muslims for their Friday studies.

Sister Consesa knew from an early age that she wanted to follow a life of service. However, her father, a medical doctor, initially dissuaded her.

By the time she was 10 she walked an hour alone to church every Sunday.

At age 12, she was sent to boarding school far from her home, which is common in Africa. There, she met two Sisters who were teaching theology. Her calling grew stronger and she wrote her first application letter at 15. She was initially turned away because an applicant must be 18. Concesa finished her schooling and studied lab technology in college. Upon graduation she submitted her application to the sisterhood again.

She was 20 years old.

When asked what they wanted the people of Webster City to know about them, Sister Eseusabia said, “Being a nun is like a life like any other. It means to be educated about what you’re doing, to be compassionate and loving in what God has called you to do in the world.” Similarly, Sister Consesa said, “Being compassionate and serving each other, loving and serving your neighbors and to give what you have, even if it is only compassion in words.”

The words compassion and service came up again and again as the Sisters told their stories.

Once accepted into the Sisterhood an initiate must complete five years of training. In the first two years, initiates are considered candidates. In the third year they are considered postulants, during which time they receive instruction in theology and church history. The next two years the initiates are considered novices.

On the fifth year, the initiates receive their first dedication and are assigned their first mission, which is usually a national placement. It is not until the end of the first mission that the sisters have their final dedication and make the lifelong commitment to the church.

One vow that may be difficult to understand in a capitalistic society is the vow of poverty. Once dedicated, everything earned belongs to the Holy Spirit Sisters Community. The sisters receive housing and food and are given a very small monthly stipend for their personal needs. It is enough to buy perhaps two books or a pair of shoes.

Otherwise, they work without personal pay, and that is where our local nursing facilities come into the picture: Sister Consesa is a nurse and Sister Eusebia is a certified nursing assistant.

The Sisters were first summoned to Iowa in 2000 by a nursing facility in Carroll. It was there that both began their mission in America.

Sister Concesa has been in the United States for 13 years now, beginning her service in Carroll, where she worked for two years before transferring to Portland, Oregon, where she worked for two years. She has been in Webster City for four years.

Sister Eusebia also began her work in Carroll, serving there for three years before coming to Webster City. She has been here for 15 years.

Sister Eseubia