Maggie and Mark Banga – Comboni Lay Missionaries

Do you still not understand?

16 June, 2016 by Maggie and Mark Banga

Abundance – this is what God always offers us. Scarcity – this is how we usually view the world.

On Tuesday, the Gospel reading in Mark 8:14-21 told of a boat trip of Jesus and his disciples across the lake. Here’s the context: Jesus had just performed one of his most awe-inspiring miracles of feeding four thousand with a few loaves of bread. The Pharisees then ask him for a “sign from heaven to test him” (Mk 8:11) as if all his previous healings and feeding the four thousand a few hours earlier was not sign enough. Jumping into the boat, Jesus makes a comment to his disciples to beware of the philosophies and mentalities of the Pharisees, their “leaven” as he describes it. The disciples, having forgotten to bring bread for the journey (they only had one loaf among them), assumed that Jesus made this comment because they had no bread. How superficial the disciples’ and our thoughts can sometimes be. Jesus knows exactly what they are thinking and essentially cries out: This has nothing to do with bread! Jesus goes on to say it is like you have eyes but do not see, have ears but do not hear. He then reminds them of his miraculous multiplication of loaves to feed the five thousand some time before and the four thousand just hours before. He asks them how many baskets of fragments were left over, the pieces of bread these very same disciples had gathered up. Probably with the disciples’ eyes sheepishly staring at the bottom of the boat, they answer “twelve” and “seven”. Jesus then brings to a climax the whole moment with the simplest of questions: “Do you still not understand?”

It is like Jesus is saying: I give you everything, I offer you the most plentiful of lives basking in my love. I will fill all your worries, depressions, limitations and failures. All you need to do is believe in me and trust in my proposal of abundance. All you need to do is have faith in my faithfulness. We can become so closed in on ourselves, foolishly relying on our own tiny resources – counting the inventory of our few loaves of bread – when God is willing to dump a mountain of bread onto our laps. Do you still not understand? I will not only give you what you need according to your limited horizons (feeding the four thousand men), but I will give you even more than you can possibly dream of (seven baskets left over).

During these last months I have been struggling with sickness and how easily I have found myself dejected. I have caught myself feeling as if I am battling this all alone. But hearing and wrestling over that potent question at the end of Tuesday’s reading knocked me forcefully out of my doubt.

Sometimes we can be like the disciples, where we have a sincere intention to love God, but out of fear, we are not willing to make the leap of faith to truly abandon ourselves into God’s hands trusting that he will bring all things to good for those who love him. Sometimes we can also be like the Pharisees, where we observe the workings of God’s love first hand, yet still remain unmoved, continuing down our own self-centered paths, isolated and lost. In both cases, we remain in a mindset of scarcity, with the anxiety that goes with it. Jesus’ message is clear: My kingdom is one of abundance, where your life is full to the degree that you have faith in my Love. If you ask for one loaf with child-like faith, I will give it to you…and thousands more.

– Mark & Maggie Banga

Comboni Lay Missionaries serving in Awassa, Ethiopia

A bed is a bed if it is a bed to you

8 March, 20168 March, 2016 by Maggie and Mark Banga

The Borana people are a group of semi-nomadic pastoralists in the far south of Ethiopia whose lives revolve around tending their herds of livestock – cows, camels, goats and sheep – travelling with them in search of grass and water. Their pattern of life is very similar to what it would have been hundreds of years ago. Over the last years, I (Maggie) have visited the Borana area multiple times, including working there on short-term basis on health outreach programs with the Sisters of Charity (SCCG) congregation who serve among the Borana in the rural outpost of Dadim. I have found my time in Dadim both beautiful and powerful, and often I think of the Borana people I have met and the experience I have had there. There is something magical about the pastoralists, their lifestyle and the rugged terrain of their lands that really draws one in.

Perhaps it is witnessing moments like this:

Once when I was working in Dadim, I went with Sr. Annie Joseph (an Indian missionary sister) on a Friday evening to the clinic to see a mother and her 9 month old daughter, who were both admitted with pneumonia. When we entered the room, the mother was sitting holding her child awkwardly on the edge of the bed. Sr. Annie asked for my help to move the mattress to the floor, where the mother might be more comfortable. After moving the mattress, the mother sat on the edge of it just as awkwardly as before. It is likely she had never seen a ’bed’ (as we know them) before. A moment later two boys strolled in with animal skins tucked under their arms. Sr. Annie looked at them and then turned her face towards me and whispered ‘no problem, let them do it their way’. We watched silently, as the mother took the animal skins, spread them out on the floor next to the bed and then laid down on them with her child. In a moment they were both peacefully asleep.

Such a different way of life!

We can all adapt to many different places and people, but how much we find comfort in our own familiar things, foods, language and habits that will always fill our hearts with peace. I had shared this story with a friend and she commented what a gift it is if we can pause and step back – then we truly get to see the world from another’s view not ours. How easily we often jump in with eagerness to talk or share something of ourselves, our thoughts, our ideas but how much we may miss in doing that.

-Maggie & Mark Banga

Comboni Lay Missionaries serving in Awassa, Ethiopia

Pictures of the Borana people in Dadim:

“Do not be afraid!”

30 October, 2015 by Maggie and Mark Banga

Saint John Paul II These are perhaps the most common words Pope John Paul II repeated over and over again around the world, encouraging people to not fear and to entrust their lives totally to Christ. “J – P – 2, we love you; J – P – 2, we love you!” These are the words that enthusiastic crowds of young people chanted over and over again back to their beloved Pope. The youth shouted this with sincere joy, because they recognized in this old man a genuine model of total fidelity and hope in God.

This year marks the 10 year anniversary of the passing of John Paul II. Last year on April 27, 2014, Catholic faithful around the world celebrated the canonization of Saint John Paul II (JPII), as his example of faith was elevated to sainthood. Here in Awassa, Catholics were very excited for the canonization day, especially the youth. We watched the television coverage with some university student friends. Because it was too hot inside, they moved the TV out into their yard under the shade of a big tree. For most of us, JPII was pope for most of our lives, which is why he is so special. Indeed he had one of the most dramatic, longest and public of all pontificates. He was the spiritual leader of the Catholic Church but was also renowned as an ambassador of hope and peace by politicians, other religious leaders and common people all around the world. Here are some highlights of his grand papacy:

JPII was by far the most widely travelled pope, visiting 129 countries on 104 international trips, meeting with over 1,600 world political leaders – truly he was bringing the Gospel to “every nation and tribe and language and people” (Rev 14:6).
JPII wanted to give the modern world credible models of faith and therefore, he beatified 1,338 and canonized 482 saints, far more than other pope in history.
JPII was a prolific author – his writings include 14 encyclicals, 14 apostolic exhortations, 3,288 speeches and 5 books. He had a distinctive writing style that was dense in character yet flowed freely. He examined topics from several different angles (not only theological), because if the Church’s teachings were to be deeply understood they had to be validated by our practical experiences of life.
JPII loved youth and initiated the World Youth Days to gather the international catholic youth. Indeed he was the champion of youth.
JPII was always teaching on the meaning and value of man, repeating often a key sentence from the Second Vatican II document Gaudium et Spes which he helped draft: “Christ fully reveals man to himself and makes his supreme calling clear” (par. 22). Jesus shows us precisely the model of how to live an abundant life of love.
JPII has been described as the “most Marian pope”. In fact, his papal motto was “Totus tuus” meaning Totally Yours (Mary). JPII expanded the understanding of Mary playing a unique role in the plan of salvation, perfectly embracing the will of the Holy Spirit and being the spiritual Mother of all of us by always helping us draw closer to her son, the Savior.
JPII pioneered the “Theology of the Body” teachings, explaining that a natural moral law has been written by God into the sexuality of man and woman that directs us towards true love.
JPII fervently promoted the “culture of life” and strongly defended the dignity of life in all its stages (from conception until natural death), a teaching he exemplified by accepting gracefully the challenges of old age and illness in his final years.

JPII always encouraged people to become saints. T-shirts were spotted in the throng at the canonization with the words: “Be not afraid to become a saint”. He did not mean that everyone should endeavor to be officially acknowledged as saints in the Church, but rather that God holds out the invitation to each one of us to mold us into other Christs, despite our imperfections and faults. In other words, each one of us has the capacity to be holy, to become a saint. Only two things are needed: our free decision to cooperate in this transformation by continually striving to live according to the Truth; and the undeserved gift of God’s grace. Well, JPII, you’ve given us a good example!

On Easter Sunday, March 27, 2005, six days before his death, JPII blessed the faithful with his final public words. Well, 10 years later these words are still valid and inspiring:

“We, the men and women of the third millennium, we too need you, Risen Lord! Stay with us now and until the end of time…Sustain us, we pray, on our journey. In you do we believe, in you do we hope, for you alone have the words of everlasting life. Alleluia!”

– Mark & Maggie Banga

Comboni Lay Missionaries serving in Awassa, Ethiopia

The Ethiopian “Gursha”

2 October, 2015 by Maggie and Mark Banga

During lunch time, at the clinic where I serve, I (Maggie) eat routinely with four of my coworkers. They each bring their lunch from home – injera (Ethiopian spongy bread) wrapped around wot (stew) which fits the square little Tupperware perfectly, and even stays in the shape of a square when dumped out. Surprising to me, instead of each eating their own lunch from home, they grab one dinner size plate and in sequence dump their cubes of injera/wot on top of each other forming the “Leaning Tower of Wot”. Then they eat collectively, sampling and sharing everything. It is a letting go of what is theirs, and a welcoming in of friendship and fellowship.

In Ethiopia, food is always shared, and typically eaten like this from one large platter without the use of cutlery. Even strangers will be invited with a simple “Enebela!” (let’s eat!). To me it is fun and new and means simple clean-up and virtually no dishes but to Ethiopians the tradition is much more deeply rooted, and follows their saying: “those who eat from the same plate will not betray each other.”

During lunch hour I am typically the recipient of the gursha. The “gursha” is a traditional custom that Mark and I initially found quite peculiar. En route to Ethiopia we read about it in a culture book, and were curious yet nervous about the moment when we would experience our first gursha and how we would respond. Gursha is when another person who is dining with you, unrolls a strip of injera, wraps it around a tasty bit of wot and then feeds you directly by hand. It is the final breakdown of the notion of personal space! The trick is to take it without letting your mouth come into contact with the person’s fingers and without letting the food fall. One gursha is considered unlucky so it always repeats. I think Mark and I each received our first gursha from our homestay sisters. Since then I have been a regular gursha receiver and while it is still slightly peculiar I quite enjoy it. I haven’t yet mastered the fine art of wrapping and dipping my injera properly to soak up the spicy wot so when my work colleagues feed me a bite of wot which they have personally selected it is much more delicious that what I have been feeding to myself! Some days I receive so many gurshas that I don’t even need to eat on my own. Not only is it tasty but it is also a sign of acceptance, like a hug between friends. It’s a simple way to say I appreciate you.

A friend once said: “If you bring me to an Ethiopian meal, you are friend enough that I will gladly feed to you my first mouthful of food. If I am lucky you will feed to me your last — and if I am not, I have still profited the messy wonder of an Ethiopian meal.”

– Mark & Maggie Banga

Comboni Lay Missionaries serving in Awassa, Ethiopia

Masterpieces

13 September, 2015 by Maggie and Mark Banga

This is an article about my art class, though not exactly. This is the story about friends we have met here in Awassa, a truly special husband and wife team, Argow andRachel, and through them, the wonderful kids we have met with whom I have the joy of doing art projects once per week. The couple is an Ethiopian/American duo who met in Hungary at a bible college and felt God calling them to settle in Ethiopia as missionaries. Argow is from Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples Regional State (SNNPRS), the most ethnically diverse area of Ethiopia with 35 different tribes. The capital of SNNPRS is Awassa, the town where we live. After learning about some negative customs of one tribe, the Hamar, in the far south west of the region, he felt called to get involved. The Hamar people have many superstitions and because their survival day to day is difficult, anything they think will negatively impact the people as a whole cannot be tolerated. For this reason there are several ways a person may become ‘cursed’ and should they become cursed, they are either killed or expelled from the tribe. Unfortunately most often these people are babies and children. The reasons that one could become cursed are many and include: being born out of wedlock, being a twin, having the top teeth come in before the bottom teeth as a baby, not attending one of many rites of passage no matter the reason. These cultural practices of the Hamar are not openly discussed, even by the government, but some local human rights groups estimate that 20% of their children are killed or abandoned.

Five years ago, Argow learned from his Hamar collaborators that there was a group of nine unmarried woman in a village who were pregnant and because these children would be born out of wedlock, they would have to be killed. Argow wanted to try to save these babies so he packed his car full of bottles, sleepers, diapers and blankets and made the long 15 hour trek to try to get them out of the village immediately after birth. When he arrived, all nine babies had been killed – he arrived too late. He returned to Awassa devastated in a silent, empty car.

After this experience Argow felt even more deeply moved to work with the Hamar people, and therefore he and Rachel founded an orphanage, Ebenezer Grace Children’s Home (EG), 4 years ago. They now have 36 children from newborn to age 12. The children come from all parts of SNNPRS, not only from Hamar, but they feel a particular call to help these little ones. Half of the kids in my art class are Hamar children, cursed for one of those reasons I listed above. Some of the children were ‘rescued’ prior to their murder by the intervention of some sympathetic Hamar who disagree with the traditions. Some of their parents tried to hide their cursed child to save and keep them, but eventually the only way to save them was to have them moved to EG. Over these past four years, Argow and Rachel have been trying to build good relationships with the Hamar tribe leaders. In a bold move several months ago, they took a group of 6 beautiful “cursed” children back to their villages to visit with their families and the community. They thought to stay only for a short visit but several of the parents begged them to stay for days. Maybe these types of encounters will help engage the process for the Hamar to confront their traditions and gradually in time to change them.

The other children in my class have arrived at EG due to a variety of circumstances that lead to children being orphaned: parents dying of HIV/AIDS, a widowed mother too poor to raise them, abandoned at birth, and health conditions that make life in the rural countryside difficult. One of my students has a heart condition and is nearly blind. For another there is no information on her scattered past – she was found last year wandering the streets alone of a nearby town, her clothes and hair infested with lice. When asked her story, there was no response – she is both deaf and mute. They guessed her to be about 12 years of age. She was given a name, a date of birth, new clothes and hopefully now a brighter future. These are my students, each one with their own story, each one special and wonderful.

Fast forward to today and each child is flourishing despite the limitations of institutional care. They have found love and friendship with their “siblings” at Ebenezer Grace and the staff who care for them. Argow and Rachel consider them all to be part of their family (they have 5 biological children of their own) and are very devoted to caring for them and providing them with every opportunity they can. I have observed that the line between Argow and Rachel’s own children and their EG children is somehow blurred, in a beautiful way. Argow and Rachel are making the longterm commitment to raise the children until adulthood, a commitment one can only make with deep faith in God’s fidelity and providence. The children are being raised to know Jesus and to know God’s love for them and for every person. It is the hope that some of the Hamar children one day will return as adult Christians to serve their own people, being themselves living examples of the dignity of each human life.

The first time I met Argow, he asked me “what can you do with these kids?” and the next Tuesday I was teaching art. They all attend school, even a school for the hearing impaired. They play sports, help with the younger children, braid each other’s hair, have birthday parties and just goof around. They have their own interests and gifts and are growing into fine young people. To my delight they all like art. I have an enthusiastic group of 12 (8 girls and 4 boys), all age 5 to 12. When you start with eager children, yellow construction paper, a dab of glue, a button, a piece of felt, a splash of bright paint, and a few sparkles ….voila you get a masterpiece!

As I look upon my students when they are quietly doing their work, I am grateful that their lives were saved. These kids are as unique as the materials we use to create our masterpieces. Each one is a masterpiece of God’s creation.

http://www.ebenezergrace.org/