English – Page 134 – Comboni Lay Missionaries

Our friend Héctor

1 August, 2016 by Alberto de la Portilla

Hello Everyone!

The Misner family is doing well in Arequipa and are giving aid to several members of the community needing our help.

First I would like to present to you one fried of the Villa Ecologica named Hector. Hector is 86 years old and is a frequent patient in our clinic. He is very strong for his age and is not suffering from many of the same problems that other older patients are. However, he does not have a place to live, eat, or other basic necessities that are necessary for him to live.

Although someone might think Hector is “poor” because he does not have much money, he is not limited in his activities. He is growing a beautiful garden near his home and likes to share with the clinic and his friends. He is very nice person and his love for life is very contagious so we visit him frequently. He is living the words in the Gospel of today’s Mass, reading from the letter of the Apostle Paul to the Colossians in 3: 1-5. 9-11: “Aspire to the things that are above, not those of the earth.” Hopefully, we are all also demonstrating the same faith as Hector.

He does not have a house after a very strong wind knocked over his home many months ago. Therefore, he has to sleep in a shack in the days, which is located above the house to his niece, and is sleeping in an old car at night. He can’t sleep in the house of his niece because it is very small and has little space for his five other family members. We have a little money that we received from Ralph and Polly Winburn who are friends of mine from the States- thanks so much for your help! We will build a small house for Hector to live and hopefully more in the future if we can obtain more money. I will send more photos after the construction when I have them.

We are very grateful for your support and send the peace and love of Christ to you all.

We will be in contact soon!

Matt, Karissa, Lydia, and Violet Misner

Vocation promotion in Ghana

31 July, 2016 by Alberto de la Portilla

The Institution In My Father’s House built by a Comboni Missionary is having its aim to show the love of God to the poor and marginalized. For this, almost every year new entrances are carried on while others have to leave for further studies either to continue the Senior High School or to move to a Tertiary Institution. The clm aspirants living within the premises of the Institution see it good to widen the horizon of all those who are under formation within the premises of the Institution. It is for that matter, we are planning to start a Vocation Group to tackle the issue. But before this, we met to reflect upon our role as “clm.” Apart from our various services, we thought of doing something special to identify ourselves as clm. We are very much involved in the activities of the house but we want now to be more focused on our identity as clm and following the charism of St Daniel Comboni. We continue the reflection to select a special service at IMFH in addition to the Promotion of Vocation.

In this sense, we invited a Scholastic to present a topic upon Vocation this 17^th July.

In his presentation, he explained the word vocation and demonstrated the kind of vocation we have in the Bible. The amazing part was his own experience up to the end of his third year of Theology. He concluded on the need of faith and prayer to journey with the Lord. Justin Nougnui, the coordinator of the clm group helped the Scholastic for the translation. In addition to what the Scholastic said, he drew the attention of the children and all those who were at the presentation on seriousness and academic performance. It is so important to be serious and concentrated before you reach a target, and also we cannot do away academic performance if we want to say yes to God’s calling. He then motivated the children to focus on their study if they want to do great things in life.

Justin Nougnui

I still have red soil on my thongs

30 July, 2016 by Alberto de la Portilla

It’s a soil that I wish would stick there as an everlasting present, sacred soil, rich in history and in memories.
Memory is a box full of images, emotions, facts, and words that we cannot allow to fade or be covered with dust. Memory allows me to understand my and the world’s present, to build my and the world’s future.

Memory nourishes my heart and gives it new energy.

This memory, the making of memories is part of the Pilgrimage of Martyrs that takes place every five years in Riberão Cascalheira, a small town in the interior of Mato Grosso, Brazil.

All those people who, in Latin America, have given their lives for the cause of justice are remembered: to defend land and life, to fight violence, dictatorship, the oppression by the powerful, and the arrogance of the political and economic powers.

It includes men, women, children, indigenous people, farmers, workers, lawyers, journalists, missionaries, militants of the Pastoral of the Land and of human rights, union members, people who fought fearlessly for the sake of justice, freedom, peace and truth.

The struggle for land, today as in the past, is still strong here in Brazil and it still a deadly menace. It kills those who dare denounce situations of violence and aggression in indigenous areas, in the Sem Terra settlements, and in the farming and fishing communities.

The large economic interests owned by multinational corporations and by private interests continue to destroy, threaten, and expropriate land and people. They are the martyrs of the past as well as of the present made of struggles still alive in the people of Latin America and of the entire world. Each situation of injustice, of violence of inequality is a cry to the entire world, a cry that cannot be silenced, domesticated, ignored… we make memories to live them in the present.

On this red and sacred soil we see the presence of a man, a prophet of hope who, despite his 88 years wrapped in a diseased and tired body, has chosen to take part in his perhaps last Pilgrimage: Dom Pedro Casaldaliga.

The life of Dom Pedro is a witness to the gospel in human flesh, witness more valuable than a theology book. His has been a life spent at the service of the “least” and for the “least,” an important voice in the struggle against usurping land owners and their cruelty. He has been threatened with death numerous times, both during the dictatorship and later. He never gave up and he never allowed himself to be intimidated.

He is a small great man of faith and courage.

On the occasion of his episcopal consecration as bishop of San Felix do Araguaina, Dom Pedro wore a farmer’s straw hat instead of a miter, a wooden staff of the indigenous Tapirapè instead of a pastoral staff and a ring made of Tucum wood rather than gold.

He always stood by the farmers and the indigenous people, defending them strenuously.

It was a source of great emotions for me to see him, even though he was in a wheelchair and his body was bent over and suffering, because his spirit still radiates energy and his person speaks more than a thousand words.

Great Dom Pedro, so great that he wanted to be present at this celebration! He did not want to miss it.

I traveled almost 30 hour by bus, as long as it takes to reach Mato Grosso from Minas Geras, napping in my seat and stopping at various service areas.

Many are the people from all over Brazil who took part in this Pilgrimage. I started off with a large group from Minas (two busloads), mostly members of social pastoral groups. It was great to be together and it was enriching to get to know one another. The sharing and the positive energy one could feel at every moment were also beautiful, the desire to be there and to continue to be part of history in the making.

Joy, sharing, struggle, prayer, brotherhood, solidarity, building, friendship, memory are key words of this Pilgrimage and of what we carry inside.

I love this land, I love the spirit of building up and of “struggle,” part of the Basic Communities that, albeit in a weaker form, still exist and live on. I believe that the theology of liberation is not something of the past, but still in existence. It’s here!

We find it in the stand of indigenous people, in the struggle for the defense of the land and of the environment, in the fight for human rights, in the defense of women and against the macho culture, in our prisons and among the inmates, in the fight against racism, prejudice and against a culture that divides rather than unite, in the plight of the migrants, in a Church that journeys with the people barefoot, able to shed its shoes and feel life on its bare skin.

Perhaps I am just romantic and nostalgic, but I am also realistic and unwilling to lose my enthusiasm, my courage and the will to believe always that a different world is possible (I am thinking of the anniversary of the G8 of Genoa in these days) and that we, and no one else, can build it with our choices, our work, our struggles, our witness, remaining faithful to the Love that moves all and builds all.

Lives for Life, Lives for the Kingdom.

Emma Chiolini, CLM

Accompanying the CLM community of Awassa

25 July, 2016 by Alberto de la Portilla

During these days I have had the opportunity to follow the CLM community of Awassa in the variety of their missionary service. I believe that the simplicity with which they perform it is outstanding and so is the degree of acceptance and the relationship they enjoy with the local people. Everywhere they go everyone greets everyone. They always move on foot or by bicycle and this makes it possible for them to be close to the people.

I will try to tell you something about each one. I will start with the newest arrival and move on to those who have been here longer.

Magda Fiec has been here a little over two months. Her primary mission at this time is to learn Amharic. And, even though I don’t understand anything and I find it difficult to judge, I can at least see that she already communicates with people and, even though at times she has to look for words and expressions, considering the short time she has been here, she is not doing badly at all. (For those who do not know it, Amharic is a Semitic language that has no similarity with our Latin characters and I can assure you that, the first time you see it or hear it, you do not understand anything). On the other hand, she takes some moments to begin to help out in some little things. She helps the Comboni Sisters a little in the technical school and now she is preparing a youth gathering parallel to the one due to take place in Krakow with the Pope, but just for the youth of Awassa. This week she will be with a group of young people at Gethsemane, a retreat center at the lake shore, a very simple and beautiful place affording the possibility, especially to the laity, to find time for praying and being with God.

Madzia Plekan has been in Ethiopia for more than a year and a half. When she arrived, the idea was for her to work as a physiotherapist in the hospital of Bushulo, but for various reasons it was not possible. There was no problem in redirecting this service and make it itinerant. This way, each day she goes from one place to another to take care of her many patients, she cooperates with the home of the Sisters of Charity of Mother Teresa where she has many of them and with various orphanages. She takes care of people with special needs and especially the children. To see the tenderness with which she picks them up from their cribs and works with them is admirable. In an appropriate amount of time she gives them the rehabilitation session that each one needs, almost without their realizing it, and so, a little by little, she helps those who have been abandoned and who in this place would not have access to this specialized care. It is also a fact that at times she also takes care of passing missionaries since more than one come to her with their aches and pains. Beside all this, she cooperates in many other fields, always ready to go from one place to the other. In these days she is traveling with the youth delegation attending the meeting with Pope Francis in Krakow. Who better than a Polish guide to accompany them and teach them everything in Amharic? I think it is a privilege that she can accompany them. This means that for two weeks we will not see her, but we hope to meet her in Addis Ababa when she returns.

Maggie has been in Awassa six years and will return to Canada in a week. She is the community manager, in charge of organizing meals and other necessities. Now, having three children takes a good amount of time. However, she has been able to integrate it in her service. She continues helping in several orphanages taking care of the little children. She takes her own along so they can play with the others while she is there. In a different direction she holds handicraft classes for the neighborhood children and is teaching them lots of things (and she host countless birthday parties in their home because they all want to have it there, perhaps because of the cookies and the balloons they contribute to the feast). She is also part of an ecumenical prayer group. And we cannot forget the community sports activities consisting of the two weekly games of Frisbee to keep in shape and to share with a group of foreigners and of Ethiopians this love for sports. To be noted that, no matter where you go, there is always someone she knows and with whom to converse. After six years, she is the one member of the community who is most known and appreciated.

And finally I will speak of Mark. Just like Maggie, his six years in this place have made him a point of reference. On top of that, Mark has been at the service of the diocese during these six years supporting it in its administration and organization. He has been a pillar of strength in the development and reorganization of the diocese. In particular he has been involved with Ethiopian priests and sisters in developing various projects and supporting the search for financial help. As he says, the spirit of Comboni moves us to help especially the Africans, support various initiatives, mediate with foundations (at times very demanding with their forms) so that projects supporting the schools, the hospitals, the orphanages, the leprosy centers, the churches, the wells and other initiatives will keep moving forward. Without any doubt, the work of these six years has turned him into a point of reference in the diocese, and whenever a missionary, a local priest or religious meets him o comes to say good-bye, they thank him for his work and will miss him. This is also an especially intense period of time with the arrival of a new bishop. He is holding many meetings to bring him up to date on the diocese, on the already approved six year plan and also making sure that the work already done will keep moving forward in the hands of the people who will follow from now on. During his free time, besides spending time with his three children, he also attends an ecumenical bible study group that has helped him deepen the understanding of the various expressions of Christianity in Ethiopia and his own faith, as he himself acknowledges. It is an opportunity to grow as Church in Awassa.

For Mark, Maggie, Emebet, Isayas and Teive their time in Awassa is coming to an end. At the end of the month they will move on to Washington, DC where Mark will pursue a master on family pastoral, in which he wants to specialize in order to continue his missionary service. It is a time of good-byes, of placing themselves in God’s hands in order to face this new challenge.

We wish them the very best in this new venture as a family.

Greetings from Ethiopia.

Fifteen Days in Ethiopia

23 July, 2016 by Alberto de la Portilla

It has been 15 days since we arrived in Ethiopia: fifteen days filled with intense emotions, feelings and colors.

To travel as a family with two daughters, 14 and 15 years old, is much more complicated than when we traveled to Mozambique several years ago. In fact, for them it is their first contact with Africa (at least that they can remember), with all that it implies of differences in everything, not only in what the cities look like, the fruit stands, crazy traffic, the feeling of drawing attention wherever we go, but above all for not being able to speak their language and consequently not being able to get to know the people’s views of the world, of life and of their reality.

Here in Awassa there are several three and for story buildings, and more are being built in a place where, we are told, much has changed over the last few years, with wide paved roads, and many hotels. In fact it is the second or third city in the country and perhaps the most beautiful, situated as it is near a fairly large lake, with an incredible vegetation and wild life, which makes it one of the favorite tourist attractions for the Ethiopians themselves. Yet, all this notwithstanding, the contrast with our Spanish cities is huge. Our daughters are surprised by the dirt roads, the piles of wood used for cooking, the goats, the sheep and even some cows meandering freely in the streets and that, when it rains, life does not stop and nobody uses and umbrella… But above all, they notice the kindness of the people, the fact that everybody smiles at you and greets you, that people are not scurrying to and fro, that Mass will last one hour and 45 minutes and people are happy about it… I hope they will learn a lot from these people and that the experience will teach them values that are different from those of our first world.

Both the Comboni communities and the CLM communities take good care of us and are ready to accompany us and to try to explain to us the reality of this beautiful country. It has over 80 million people. Of these, 6% live in the capital, only 0.9% are Catholic, the remaining being 45% Orthodox Christians and 45% Muslim. It is a country where in many areas the Catholic missions are places of first evangelization, very much in need of indigenous vocations, and where even from the scarcity of their numbers they are greatly helping the people in their social and human development. We are being given the opportunity to get to know the work done by other religious congregations here in Awassa, running hospitals, primary and secondary schools, nurseries and professional schools… There is a lot to be done in the promotion of women, education, health… In providing the means for real development in this population.

The CLM community has been telling us about the various activities they are involved in, both in the apostolic and in the social field and, inasmuch as possible, we accompany them to get first-hand knowledge of what they accomplish, and above all to see the love with which they do it: the sweetness and affection they show to children in special difficulties; the work they do with the parish youth; their sense of responsibility; the witness of family life; their commitment to the poorest. And all this flows from the charism of St. Daniel Comboni, striving to save Africa by means of Africa, leaving the limelight to others, accompanying rather than commanding, in a spirit of simplicity and humility as befits strangers, sent as a community to proclaim the Love of the Father and to build His Kingdom.

We thank the Father for this vocation and for the opportunity to live this experience as a family.

Maricarmen, CLM-Spain on a visit to Ethiopia