March – That, in their ministry, women may continue to offer support to families and create a sense of belonging in the communities where they live. Lord hear us.
English
The same, but different. The same…
Saturday, February 22 The alarm clock rings at 5:15 am. Time to get up and get ready to leave by 6:30. On the way I pick up my other missionary associates. We are on the way to Santa Cruz Chinautla where, a year ago, we started this adventure. Every third Saturday of the month it is the same routine.
We could have reached Santa Cruz in 40 minutes, but because of the Saturday morning traffic in Guatemala City, it takes one hour and a half. When we get there, and the children are waiting, their smiles make us forget the time we spent traveling.
This is how it is all the time… The same… Then come the greetings. Then a prayer to start with, the recitation of the Rosary, a short celebration of the Word, since Fr. Roberto, the pastor of Santa Cruz, had apologized the day before for not being able to come to celebrate the Eucharist, due to other important commitments. By the time prayer is over it is 10 in the morning, time to eat something, some bread with beans and a drink of Jamaica for all… the menu the kids love the most.
Joy, peace, trust, service, always the same… the older children eat fast, take seconds on bread and drink, since there is enough for all, thanks be to God. The little ones cannot finish their share and put it away to eat it later… It is always the same.
We follow with a short catechism lesson… some knowledge… We tell the children about God the creator of the human being… we are all equal, intelligent, free and able to love. We have the same dignity as persons.
The theme is quite deep and it is passed on with stories, drawings, songs, games. We give out drawings to be colored and, finally, the children get to share what they have learned in their own words… The same… Almost always the same…
To send them off, they line up for a piece of candy and then we take them home to get a little closer to the adults in the community. At the end, everyone is happy. They are joyful, animated, thanks to having met others…and to be the other, about 35 of them, boys and girls between the ages of two and 12, more or less.
They are innocent, trusting, sincere, spontaneous and this way… in the same way… the older ones mind their younger siblings as it is customary, because the parents are usually working at this time on Saturday morning.
They have fun, they learn, they share among themselves and with us. Always the same…
But it is different… They are different and renewed because the Holy Spirit makes all things new, a new day, a new encounter, different gratitude to God’s gift. It is a different date, a different joy, a different air, a different caress from the sun and the wind. God renews everything…
Everything is unique, everything is amazing, it was the same… but different… the same to human eyes… different in the eyes of God… It is a different effort. It is a different tiredness and a different joy and peace, not like those of last year, nor of one… two… or six months ago… the one of Saturday, February 22, 2020 is unique and special.
Passion for mission, written in the heart of each one, comes from heaven, makes it all the same and all different. All that we live in, tomorrow will be different, renewed by the Spirit of God, even though it may all look the same… And so, this blessed vocation of being a Comboni Lay Missionary will develop.
It will always be the same… But different because of the love of God.
“Holy and able, making common cause with the poorest and most abandoned” (St. Daniel Comboni)
Lily Portillo
Comboni Lay Missionary, Province of Central America, Guatemala
After One Year among the Gumuz of Ethiopia
Dear family, friends and all,
I hope this e-mail will find you well. I hope the entire family is in good health.
Gratefully to God, I am well.
I am beginning to feel the intense heat we have, almost always around 40 degrees over here. A heat that does not even begin to compare with the warmth I feel when I visit the families, play with the children or work with these wonderful people. Like St. Peter said, “how good it is to be here!” (Mt 17:4)
Here I am still involved with the library. By God’s grace and the generosity of some people, it was possible to buy some books for the library. This way, the students who come over have access to some basic textbooks. Two Portuguese ladies who visited here brought us calculators and other material. Often, I try to have school books and ball point pens to give to anyone who cannot afford them, but is interested in them. Always, if they are looking for a specific book, we try to buy it. Their time availability is not like mine. So, I find days with two or three people and others with 20. But, I understand. They are young and working in the fields, but also study, they have family and some with two or three children. Well, how can they find the time for the library. They truth is that they do and, when they come to study, there is silence. It makes me happy.
I keep up with a faithful group in English and computer classes. They like it. They want to learn and, even though I am not an expert, I am happy to teach them.
I also have a Bible study group in English, with four catechists. We read the Bible, then I explain the texts in English, meditate on them and sometime we watch religious videos in English. I am very happy with them.
I keep playing in the school which still hosts a refugee family. We bought a ball and this is enough to get the young together and enjoy some good times.
At least twice a week we go to the villages with the catechists, visiting families, playing with the children. These moments fill our hearts. To be with people is essential to our missionary vocation.
With the Comboni Missionaries we live with, we share Mass at 6:30 in the morning and an hour of Eucharistic adoration on Saturday. On Thursdays we go to the Comboni Sisters community and also with them we have Eucharistic adoration before supper. On Wednesdays, David and I have a community prayer.
Despite the work we have, it is the desire of the CLM, myself and David, my partner in the community, to start a new type of presence among the Gumuz. We are not the first CLM in Ethiopia, but we are the first to live among the Gumuz.
For this reason, we are visiting the communities, speaking with the people, analyzing the concrete situation of each village and family.
Unfortunately, the car we have does not allow for constant work. The roads are horrible and require a car in reasonable shape. After a month, we stopped running games for the children in the villages because our car was at the mechanic, and this happens often. On top of that, we keep on paying for these repairs. We will need to buy a new car that will allow us to continue our work.
We also intend to build a house in one of the villages, near the people, and live there. Together with the house we will start working on projects. We are continuing with the project of setting up a children home for those who remain alone during the day, without adult supervision, plus a student residence to allow children to attend school who cannot go or need to cover over 30 km to get there. These are the projects we consider the most viable, if we take into account what we have analyzed and heard from the young ones and the adults.
Unfortunately, we need money to do all this. For this I ask for your prayers that we may do the will of God with these people. If you know of any NGO that finances this type of project, please tell us. Everything help, even a little bit, and is valued by God. And since I know that I am not here alone, I am sure you are with me!
At time we face adversities, like typhus or typhoid fever, but I am happy to have been sent to this place where God already is with the people.
I have been in this beautiful place for almost a year! I have no doubt, It is a beautiful place! I am happy! I live a happy life! It does not mean that there is no suffering. It means that, despite all the obstacles, it is worth being here. It means that God gives us strength and gives us the means to do his will!
I keep you in my prayers, I feel your friendship around me, and I keep on learning that distance does not cut the ties, but makes them stronger, reminding me of the importance of your friendship and your love for me.
Hugs and kisses from this friend who loves you a lot,
Pedro Nascimento, CLM Ethiopia
Mission Sending of Mr. Enoch Malumalu
On Sunday, February 2, 2020, the Comboni Lay Missionaries of the Congolese province, represented by the communities of the Archdiocese of Kinshasa, sent Mr. Enoch Malumalu, coordinator of the COLAMICA St. Mary Goretti, to the mission of Mongoumba, in the region of Lobaye, Central African Republic.
The Mass of thanksgiving was celebrated in Kinshasa in the parish of St. John Paul II, in the presence of about one hundred local faithful, family members, Enoch’s friends and acquaintances attending the Mass of the Presentation of the Lord at the Temple. The Mass was celebrated by Fr. Simplice Mbassi, a Josephite priest and concelebrated by Fr. John Paul Etumba, a Comboni Missionary and pastor of St. John Paul II, and with the participation of Deacon André Mbala, mccj, and the Comboni Sisters. In his homily, Father remembered the importance of the feast and of the event: “On this day, Jesus is consecrated to God in the Temple of Jerusalem and this day has become the feast of all consecrated men and women who have given their lives to Christ. But this day is also the celebration of the messengers.” Commenting on the liturgical texts, he emphasized the importance of prayer – that must be regular and perseverant – in mission and in the use of material means. This was followed by the imposition of hands, the blessing and the missionary send-off.
In his intervention, Enoch invited the African youth in general and the Congolese youth in particular to discover their missionary vocation, to commit themselves to serve our poorest brothers and sisters and persevere so that “to save Africa with Africa” be a concrete reality. The faithful present at the Mass as well supported the sending off of their brother Enoch with a special collection picked up during the celebration.
This event took place after a period of specific formation, which included a time of community living experience, and one of mission formation (inculturation) lasting six months each. Mr. Enoch Malumalu, Comboni Lay Missionary of the Province of Congo, will leave Kinshasa in early March to take up his mission in Mongoumba, in the region of Lobaye, Central African Republic.
It will be the first time when for some years there will be a CLM of African origin in this international community, and it is an opportunity to thank God and hope for a greater African presence in our common responsibility to continue our mission. This continuity includes the analysis of the reality in which we live as a CLM community, together with the Comboni family and the Comboni pastoral community, as we discern our present and our future.
CLM of the Province of Congo
Prayer Intentions of the Comboni Family February 2020
February – That MCCJ Circumscription Superiors meeting in Rome may be enlightened by the Spirit and so discover the best ways to impart new vigour to our missionary service in the various continents. Lord hear us.
