Sister Mary Grace is one of seven nuns at the Benedictine convent in Tsarev Brod village in Northeastern Bulgaria. She is 27 and is from Tanzania. The other six nuns at the convent are from Germany, Korea, the Philippines and Bulgaria.

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When she was 18 Grace became a nun, and for the past year she has been living in the village monastery. She says she likes living here – and she what she likes best is the food and the people in the country.

The day at the monastery begins at 6 AM with prayers.  The rhythm of life here is not very different from the convent in Southern Tanzania where she first lived, says sister Grace in an interview with BNR’s Radio Shumen. The days go by in prayer and housework. But every day she also welcomes tourists who want to see the convent or who are interested in the famed curative ointments the nuns make.

During the one year she has been living in Tsarev Brod, sister Grace has learnt to speak Bulgarian – with the help of lessons, twice a day, by a teacher from the local school. She says the other sisters talk to one another in Bulgarian – if they don’t know a certain word they continue the sentence in English.

Compiled by Gergana Mancheva
Translated and posted by Milena Daynova
Photos: Radio Shumen-BNR