English – Page 204 – Comboni Lay Missionaries

We share the joy of the CLM group of Mexico.

19 December, 2013 by Alberto de la Portilla

On the 21st of October has started the communal experience of Ma Isabel Buenrostro and Carolina Carrear, with some unusual anomalies, they had to start with the mission experience, as the missionary community in Huexuapa, Guerrero, has been left with a single element for family situations while someone decides to go to team up with Alma Rosa Navarro, they will be in the mission until 31 January, to continue his training in Mexico city.

They support in catechetical pastoral, liturgical and pastoral indigenous as well as in their professional work, since one is a doctor and the other has technique degree in childcare.

We entrust to your prayers.

A hug. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Manuela CLM from Mexico

In My Father’s House (IMFH): CLM in Ghana

18 December, 2013 by Alberto de la Portilla

Let’s now say something about the Institution, In My Father’s House (IMFH).

IMFH(Nella casa del padre mio) is an organization. IMFH’s vision, values, goals and mission have their origin, roots and inspiration in the charismatic intuition and spirituality of St Daniel Comboni (Limone, Italy, 1831-Khartum, Sudan 1881) the founder of Comboni Missionaries. Rev. Fr Joseph Rabbiosi, a Comboni priest is the founder of IMFH. Fr Joe as we call Fr Joseph was at Abor parish. He saw the need to come to the help of some needy and abandoned: orphan, sick, the neglected…The official date of beginning the house was 10th September 2000. The institution aims to help the poorest.”IMFH intervenes or even assumes the care of a child, within its framework and structures or at distance; it aims to harmonize its intervention. It tries to follow the child and to assure continuity of support and growth till the life of the child has reached the desired maturity and goal… The children are offered a holistic approach to their formation which is called –integral formation-.The children are helped to integrate and harmonize all their activities and learning whether in school in formal academic environment, or after school, in community living and interactions, into a balanced and sound personal and social life…

The maturity desired for the child is:

His/her own personal goal: child’s maturity and self-reliability, including financial stability.
The service to the community: s/he will have to play a meaningful role within the community and the society. The child should witness the Gospel’s Values of Truth, Justice and Love. Thus all the personnel, as well as all the children, live an ongoing process of journey of personal conversion and change in order to be and become more and more authentic witnesses of truth, justice and love.” So the house takes care of the children since they are accepted by the house. They go to school, they are cured from sickness even some serious cases that need operations. The moral and Christian formation is also given, so they may grow totally. Those who are still in the programme after the Secondary School are sent to training college so they can become professional with their salary. The house is not ‘Charity programme’. “IMFH cannot replace the parents of the children, it helps. So, the parents, the family, the extended family, the faith community, the village and its authorities, the country’s institutions, etc… they all need to assume their responsibilities and play their roles as soon as they are in position to do so”. IMFH mostly receives assistance from outside, so it is so necessary to come to an economic independence so that the target as Comboni institution should be reached: ‘Save Africa with Africans’, Africans should be able to take care of theirs and themselves.

That is what IMFH is and is expecting from all those who benefit from its programme. Our hands are widely opened to all for support. I would like to add that the Institution is not concentrated at Abor here but has its field so wide covering many other programmes like:

Sponsorship: IMFH sponsor needy persons to pursue their study or formation;
Charity programme: it implies some gifts to some persons at regularly;
Special school for deafs;
Particular cases of disease: sometimes, operations are made…

Experts CLM in various domains are needed especially in health, in pediatric, in teaching, social welfare; in technical…The house develops some projects to sustain its economy: poultry, farming, piggery… and the school attended by outside students to generate income.

Our CLM main target here is to reach soon the autonomy which is a serious challenge, and cater for the thousands of most abandoned children at our care.

Justin Nougnui, Coordinator.

Brief news about our CLM group in Ghana

17 December, 2013 by Alberto de la Portilla

We held our eighth meeting on the 23^rd of November 2013 at Abor Ghana at In My Father’s House, the Institution founded by a Comboni priest fr Joseph Rabbiosi.

The place is recognized by the province to be the Center of Comboni Lay Missionaries. For this the place honored the presence of a CLM from USA in 2002. In My father’s House is an Institution in charge of vulnerable and most abandoned children. They live within the Center to be prepared especially spiritually and intellectually to become responsible for their own.

We were all seven lays joined later by fr Jean de Dieu Comboni priest. We have started everything by meeting a group of youth at IMFH. Within the Institution are some youth that have finished the secondary school and are getting prepared for the tertiary institution. The CLM saw it our duty to prepare those youth for the future. As planned at our formal meeting, James Abotsi and Christian Wotormenyo have to lead the gathering. So they introduced them on the challenge of choice and the pre-required for a better choice about what to do in the future. We are now in charge of those youth and are having a special block for their formation.

After this youth meeting, we continued with our CLM meeting in our office at the second floor of IMFH’s administration block. During this meeting, we tried to finish our Constitution that will be promulgated soon.

We have now a motto:

‘CLM: response= Africa or death’

‘CLM: response=Save Africa with Africans’.

We are also trying to get every CLM well prepared in knowing the founder, his spirituality and vision. To enhance and assume that, we have a small library in our office that any CLM can visit.

The CLM is involved in the life of the house and in decision making. All the lay management members of IMFH are members of the CLM and one is assigned specially to represent CLM in the management of IMFH.

Justin Nougnui, Coordinator.

We are one big family

16 December, 2013 by Alberto de la Portilla

From 6th to 8 December the CLM of Spain met in Madrid to celebrate our annual meeting in December. It has been a joy to get together almost everyone. And, certainly, we are ONE BIG FAMILY. No more papers than the Bible and the desire to let ourselves be challenged by what the Word of God raises. Challenges for us and our lives. We have enjoyed a few days of meeting to share from the heart, to listen to others and to let us be interpellate. Thanks to everyone for having made possible by sharing illusions and dreams and the desire to keep walking and continue backing the mission.

Isidro Jimenez. CLM

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Dear family, I wanted to thank God very much for the days we have been able to celebrate and share together as a CLM family. It’s been beautiful days full of encounters and reencounters fruit of the Spirit that continues to dream of us, of the silent work and good work. These days I have remembered fondly, that appointment with which our community companion in Arequipa received our community, “went up to the mountain, he was calling who he wanted and they went with him. Appointed twelve [whom he called apostles] to coexist with him and send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons. [So He appointed the Twelve]. Simon that he called Peter, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were called Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder, Andrew and Philip, Bartholomew and Matthew, Thomas, James of Alphaeus and Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who even betrayed him “Mk 3 13–19”. How Jesus comes to call all to work TOGETHER, a fisherman, a tax collector or a zealot? Would not it have been easier that had all been in the same profession or the same “zone”? And again, I thank God, because He call each and every one of us by our name and dreams of us individually and as a community, there always springs something new, different and better. A hug of Advent

Carmen Martín. CLM

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I give thanks for the “encounter”, a word that was repeated in the dynamics of the balloons and it was refer to our expectations in this time together, it wasn´t my personal word, that sought to “open heart”, because I felt in this previous step to make the event possible. We have to thank Miquel who accompanied us throughout Friday and Saturday to reconnect with our source through the Word of God, in a simple way, stripping us from preconceptions, and permitting to express what it was first suggested and express how it made us feel everything. We had chances to share, express ourselves, to know us, love us, ask us what we needed from each other, be more community and how gladly prays and celebrates after!

We must give thanks to Tere, with whom we spoke and told us in firsthand the reality in Central African Republic, also to Isabel and Gonzalo, the latter trying to recover from his latest misadventure in Peru and she trying to get the job of both, thanks to Xoancar too, though we not talked to him. Thanks to Carmen, Jose and little Pablo, who has become a big boy in Peru, they spoke to us from the heart, sharing with us what they have lived in that land, that will be forever linked. Thanks to Carmen Aranda who leaves in our name but doesn´t know yet where. And to Palmira, her partner at this time. And to all the other CLM around the word that Alberto reminds us that are always with us, and we are with them. Thanks to all of you attended for not giving up, and those you were not, that were few, lots of encouragement. Hugs,

Fátima Verdejo. CLM

CML in Mongoumba (Central African Republic)

12 December, 2013 by Alberto de la Portilla

Dear CLM, friends and family

Peace and good!

We are writing to communicate you a bit of how we are and live the present moment, after the attempted military coup of December 5, our fears, our anxieties,…

When darkness falls in Mongoumba the silence takes the night, we don´t hear anymore the songs and laughter of children who play. We don´t hear the conversations of the neighbors, the drums that enliven the night … just the sounds of nature, the crickets and some nocturnal birds. It is a silence that anguishes because we know that people leave their homes to take refuge in the jungle. They leave because they are afraid. They have fear of Military Seleka and fear of the Anti-Balaka, the new opposition group to the transitional government. Fear of the night, of what may happen.

It is a difficult moment, a difficult time for the country, but in Mongoumba we are in a different situation, we can say that we live in a small paradise. A little paradise where the difficulties are not lacking, where we try to give continuity to our daily activities, the different projects: health, education and pastoral. At the same time we try to live next to the people sharing with them the difficulties of every day. We talked about a little paradise because the situation of the town with its natural boundaries (the river), allow us to continue to a nearly normal life, nearly normal, but we cannot ignore the situation of war, destruction and death that lives the rest of the country.

We hear of the events that occurred, particularly in Bangui, and other locations in trouble, but in Bangui is where the fighting is most intense and where the number of deaths is higher. We hear the news and hear people who have relatives in the capital, what happens in the neighborhoods, the dead bodies in the houses and streets where no one comes to pick them up. The accesses are difficult and people are afraid to go for help.

The news coming from abroad speak of religious war, but we do not feel that way, for us it is a political way to put against one another and where some people take advantage for revenge and personal vendettas. Both Seleka as Anti-Balaka are destroying a village to catch a power that they are not able to control.

The Anti-balaka calls themselves Christians like the Seleka sais they are Muslims, but not all Muslims identify with the Seleka and not all Christians with the Anti-balaka. Which religion would identify itself with groups that spread death and disorder? It is a political problem that false religious believers try to turn it into a religious problem. From the beginning of the conflict the leaders of the major religions of the country work together in an appeal for peace. Almost throughout the whole country have been organized inter-religious committees for the same purpose, including Mongoumba where there is also a risk that people start to look each other with suspicion and can reach confrontations with devastating consequences for the entire town.

Some of our fears are: The number of weapons in circulation. The French military has begun the disarmament, but how many weapons are gone and how many from unknown hands have past for unknown destinations?

Until now, we have lived as spectators in a war that is ours, but the outcomes have not yet touched us…

Kisses to all and keep up with us

Elia and Tere