Comboni Lay Missionaries

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Missionary Experiences

News from the missionary experience in Kitelakapel

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LMC Kitelakapel

As we mentioned in previous post, Sunday on the missions is a very rich and intense day. Until noon, there is a solemn and long Mass filled with singing and dancing. It begins with a dancing procession of girls and women dressed in beautiful costumes. A similar procession is also repeated with the offerings. At the same time, lay missionary Linda leads Sunday school for children and at the end of Mass, she also enters the procession with the children for a blessing. Immediately after Mass, we had a meeting of the men’s community in the garden next to the chapel. At the same time, in one of the family homes, some of us participated in a mourning gathering for the loss of a family member. About 50 people from the area attended.

Monday is the community day of the Comboni Lay Missionaries. Four of us went shopping at the market and supermarket. On the way, we stopped at beautiful waterfalls. We were delighted that the community representatives showed us the vestibule of paradise!

On Tuesday, Linda organized and led French lessons for Neema and Leszek. After the lesson, we went to the health center where the lay missionary Marzena works. There, Malwina was able to share her talents by professionally rehabilitating the girl after a complex orthopedic surgery. The girl’s mother was also able to discuss her health situation and receive practical rehabilitation tips.

On the following days, we visited two schools where classes were led by lay missionaries Linda and Pius. Today, we participated in activities at the preschool and a neighboring school. We learned about community life by preparing and eating meals together.

The evening community prayer, prepared daily by different people, brings us solace and gives us the strength to continue.

We are also particularly pleased with the enthusiasm of the preschoolers, children, and youth, as well as the adults. We wonder how long they can continue to show such immense kindness and enthusiasm over the next few days and weeks. There are surprises as we walk through the village of Kitelakapel, and from behind the fence we hear greetings, and sometimes someone calls our name!

Greetings and we join in prayer

Malwina and Leszek (CLM Poland)

Sincerity, honesty, and integrity: aspects of Christ’s character in us

by
LMC Guatemala

With God’s grace, we have continued our missionary work in the community of León El Manzanillo, which we have been sharing with you in previous posts. On Saturday, August 2, as we do every month, we went door to door in the village, encouraging families to participate in the activity planned for that day and extending an invitation to attend Sunday Mass.

In the afternoon, we shared with those in attendance the theme: “The Love of the Father” and continued with the making of baskets from recycled newspaper. In addition, a special activity was held with the children to teach them the importance of proper hand washing, and we took the opportunity to introduce them to the idea of the Holy Spirit using the idea of Living Water.

On Sunday, August 24, we gathered for our monthly get-together. After participating in the Eucharist and sharing breakfast, we began with training on the topic “Home Visit Guide.” This topic was extremely important, as it will allow us to make improvements to the visits we already make in the “El Manzanillo” Project, as well as in future mission projects. It should be noted that, as part of our call to share the Gospel, we go to meet our brothers and sisters in their homes or wherever they carry out their activities, and it is prudent to follow certain guidelines. After introducing ourselves respectfully, and provided they are willing, we share the Word of God with them.

Home visits are a true pillar of our calling, as they enable direct contact with people who may be going through difficult times, such as hopelessness, poverty, marginalization, etc. Through these visits, we offer them a different path, guided and strengthened by the light of God’s Word.

The second topic we discussed during the gathering was “Sincerity, honesty, and integrity.” Below is a brief description of these values:

  • Integrity is a fundamental virtue that invites us to act with righteousness and justice, respecting what belongs to others and approaching our responsibilities with integrity. It is a commitment both to the proper management of goods and resources and to the fair treatment of others, implying not taking advantage of or taking what does not belong to us.
  • Sincerity reflects our authenticity in words and actions. It is the ability to interact without hiding our true intentions or resorting to falsehoods. However, this virtue must be accompanied by prudence, which helps us choose the right moment and the right words to express our thoughts. In this way, we not only care for other people’s feelings but also our own, since not everyone reacts well, understands, or appreciates what we want to share with them.
  • Finally, honesty is related to living in accordance with truth, justice, and integrity. It is also understood as the virtue of always acting with righteousness in our intentions and decisions.

Each of these values reflects aspects of Christ’s character in us. They not only strengthen our personal and family lives, but also contribute to building a trustworthy, strong church with a good witness before the world.

On Sunday, August 31, we gathered for our first Spirituality Workshop. That day, we used the Lectio Divina guide to share a moment before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. The reading we used was from the Gospel of the day, Luke 4:16-20.

We also meditated on section 1 of the document “Missionary Methodology: Spirituality, Lifestyle, and Model of Intervention LMC,” which emphasizes the importance of spiritual nourishment, since without it, our spirit weakens. We find this nourishment in the sacraments, in the Word, in prayer, in community, in spiritual retreats, etc.

CLM Guatemala

Greetings from Kitelakapel!

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LMC Kitelakapel

There’s a lot going on here in Kenya. We’ve joined a very close-knit and joyful community. There are three permanent members, three CLMs on the Community Experience, and, of course, we’re on the Mission Experience. Eight people in total.

The community members show us what their daily ministry is like. First, we were able to join them in the chapel for a meeting of boys preparing for confirmation, and we attended Mass with them, where we were introduced and enthusiastically welcomed.

The next day, we attended three lessons at a girls’ boarding school. These lessons were surprisingly professionally prepared and well-run. One of the topics was self-esteem and self-confidence, which can help these young people shape their lives beautifully and in a Godly way.
Today, the third day of our stay, brought even more attractions, and tomorrow promises to be just as interesting.

Today, before lunch, we met in the chapel with the boys preparing for the sacrament of confirmation. They danced and sang, followed by a multimedia presentation and several interesting videos.

In the afternoon, about 90 boys gathered in the chapel for a fantastic meeting. The boys had the opportunity to ask questions, which we were answering for over an hour. A lively conversation ensued about politics, the political system, the differences between our countries, and, of course, polygamy.

Finally, we asked them who would pray for Malwina and Leszek’s Missionary Experience today, and it turned out that most of them agreed!

We feel like we have true friends here.

At the end of the day, we had a very joyful meeting with the younger children. There was coloring, learning a song with pointing, and lots of fun playing with bubbles and playing football.

After the fun was over, we could say with a laugh that something extraordinary had happened. In the village of Kitelakapel in the Pokot tribe, smiling dark-skinned children walk around, joyfully singing: “such big one, such small on can be a saint…” (Polish song).

Malwina and Leszek (CLM Poland)

Other updates from the last months in Kitelakapel

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LMC Kitelakapel

The Keep Calm and bubble Team from Italy… a touch of hearts with bubbles and fun:

We had the chance to host a small group of bubble artists, who entertained our children in Kitelakapel and Kacheliba with an amazing bubble show.

Purpose of happiness by MONICA from Madrid –Spain with St. Bakhitha girls’ school – life skills:

“It was good to make them understand the great opportunity that they have to learn and showing them that happiness is not just about feeling comfortable and having fun, but goes beyond that and involves integrating the educational effort to achieve their dreams and goals. Happiness is not only a feeling that you can love in good moments of your life, it is more than that, it is something that you know you have, even if you don’t feel anything. I always ask God to show me His will. Sometimes it is hard and when you want to achieve something important you have to make a big effort, and sometimes you don’t have the strength to continue, but we have to be patient, persistent and work hard.”

Monica Barrera – our visitor in the month of July

Dance Classes… uniting the youth with music and dance:

Dance classes are essential to the youth in the villages. They form part of games and exercise. The Comboni lay missionaries organize these classes for primary and secondary, led by the enthusiastic dance trainer Abeddie, to refresh them from a busy week of study.

Kitelakapel Men go to church … CMA pilgrimage to Subukia:

Men were always regarded as leaders and pillars of the society and today this has changed into addiction, domestic violence and loneliness…with the theme good man good family…good family good church and good church good society…. majority of men in Kitelakapel have restored their dignity and value through behavior change programs that are organized by the CMA.

In the past two years the church was only filled with women and two or three men and today many have been baptized and formed by CMA to participate in the church activities. pilgrimage to Subukia was organized, training.

Fundraising activities:

Fundraising for Belinda Awino to go for missionary work in Peru… Kacheliba parish chair lady and Linda fundraising for Belinda during mass at Kacheliba parish and next is Kariobangi parish. Other three Kenyan Comboni Lay Missionaries are going to join us for a few months for community experience, before being sent to their missions in Peru and Central African Republic, for which we will need your full support and donations.

Pius, CLM Kitelakapel (Kenya)

The joy of Yes

by
LMC Brasil

The invitation received in one of the first houses visited was to “leave the rush behind”! In a loving way, it was a warning for us to open ourselves to the realization that life can have another rhythm and that we could deeply enjoy the grace experienced during these days in Capela Nova/MG in a contemplative and transformative way together with these people.

With great enthusiasm, a team made up of members of the Comboni Family from various parts of Brazil and the world gathered from August 2 to 10 at the Parish of Nossa Senhora das Dores to participate in the priestly ordination of Comboni Missionary Alex Nunes, held on August 9. It was a joy to experience this generous Yes together with him and his family and friends.

The purpose of this missionary week was to visit families, give thanks for the religious and missionary vocation of Alex, who was born and raised in the region, and to encourage the local Church in view of the Mission. These were intense days of visits to the 23 communities of the parish, meeting the sick, the elderly, the young, and all the People of God who gathered every day after the visits for the celebration of Mass in the communities.

Capela Nova is located in the state of Minas Gerais and enchanted us with its landscapes; it surprised us with its religiosity; it captivated us with its welcoming people, with open hearts and doors. There were many cups of coffee, good conversations, stories, and friendships that will remain.

The presence of the Comboni Family during these festive days certainly left its mark on the city. But we found a parish community that cultivates an attitude of openness, welcome, and communion, signs of a missionary church.

There are many biblical examples where this invitation to go out appears: it was so with Abraham, with the prophet Jeremiah, and this invitation remains relevant today. The region of Capela Nova is a fertile place for vocations, and Alex is the first Comboni missionary priest dedicated to the mission beyond the borders of his parish. His testimony revives this call of a church that goes out.

There were many expressions of affection, sharing, welcome, challenging realities, and the joy of hearing someone say: “This week helped me realize that we need to reach out more to those around us, who sometimes need a visit, a friendly hug!”

It is surprising, but the missionary dynamic subverts logic; we come away strengthened, cherished, and renewed in hope. May St. Daniel Comboni continue to inspire us, may we lose our fear of going out more and more and beyond our borders, for the danger is that we close ourselves in our structures that give us false protection, in activities that comfort us, while around us there is a hungry crowd.

May the example of Alex, who was baptized in this parish and will exercise his missionary spirit in other lands, help each of us to be missionaries of hope among peoples, here and beyond borders.

Cristina Paulek

Comboni Lay Missionary