Sister Cynthia Borman

Professed 1952

Past Ministries: Primary and CCD Teacher in Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, and Guam; Pastoral Minister and Catechetical Coordinator in Wisconsin, Guam, and Alaska

Current Ministry: Retired companion to our sister in Alaska and being present among the Athabascan Indian people in this village of Kaltag, Alaska

Future Ministry: Retire and live with our sisters on Guam

Our God is a God of Surprises! Already in the 8th grade I wanted to be a missionary in China. Our God of surprises called me to a teaching congregation although "I" DID NOT WANT to be a teacher! So, you see, it was not exactly the road I wanted to travel.

What I did not know was that the School Sisters of Notre Dame would, in the future, rank second to the Maryknoll Sisters on the missionary list. Surprise #1.

After teaching eight years in Michigan and Illinois I was asked if I would like to teach on Guam. Wow! Surprise #2. By the time I had finished thirteen years on Guam I had lived my religious life longer there than I had in the states. That did not last very long.

My love for SSND had deepened and I was content to serve as a teacher in Wisconsin for eight more years. God was preparing me for Surprise #3. During my last year of teaching I knew that I was not physically able to continue in the classroom. Come Christmas of that year and God hit me with Surprise #3: Would I like to go to Alaska. "YES!" "Don't I want to pray about it?" "NO! I will go!"

God has called me, surprised me and blessed me as I followed the path laid out before me. I was happy, content, and in love with each ministry to which I was called. I have been in ministries I would never have had the courage to accept had it been my own choice, and that is where all the surprises happened. Had I walked away from the first invitation I would have missed all God had planned to surprise me with: the many children I taught and loved; living in two different cultures experiencing new ways of prayer and sharing gifts in each culture; ministering to over 100 of our retired sisters from whom I have learned much and grew spiritually by just being with them.

And now, in my retirement, I can say: "Thank you, God for your surprises because as I embark on a new venture I will look for more of your love!"

I firmly believe that God gets us where we are to be. My favorite story in the Bible is: Jonah and the Whale. My life has been full, following God all over creation, granting me my deepest wishes. And, to top all this, God planted me among a family of women religious who clearly know what they are about and support each other with love.

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