Formation – Page 18 – Comboni Lay Missionaries

Missionary experience in the province of Togo-Ghana-Benin Province from 11th December, 2021 to 3rd January, 2022.

18 January, 2022 by Alberto de la Portilla

On the 11th December, three of our members namely Wotormenyo Christian, Amekor Benjamin and Justin Nougnui started the journey to Togo. After crossing Togo-Ghana border, we headed towards Tabligbo to meet the parish priest Rev. Fr. Shane Degblor who took us to Sts Joachim and Anna catholic Church in Esse_Ana where we should reside for the experience. Our stay for three weeks helped us to enjoy our togetherness and also to go out to meet other people. We were later joined by our brother Godwin Ocloo.

A. A. Community life

We had time to pray together as CLM aspirants, eat together, plan together.

Prayer life : We had time to pray together in the morning and evening, share daily readings and mostly Sunday readings with some comments given to us by the parish priest.
Around the table: With a food prepared by ourselves or with the help of some members of the Church, we always sat at the same table for the meal. And often, the eating went in pair with discussion on our experience and also about clm life in our province.
Planning: In evening, we reflected on how best we spent the day and how best we could continue.

B. Life with the church community

The meeting held with the parish priest on the 15th December after our arrival at Esse-Ana paved the way for us in our commitment with the church community.

Prayer with the community: We had morning celebrations from Monday to Friday. With the nice organization of the Diocese of Aneho about the lay Communion Ministers, we had the grace to receive Holy Communion at daily basis with the zeal of the Fidei Custos Richard Tchitchira.

The worship was either presided over by one of us or the catechist Albert Adandjehoun.

Monday and Thursday, we prayed rosary.

Christmas festivities were very enjoyed with celebrations and entertainment by Holy Childhood and Hosevu (drum group).

Work with the church associations: A meeting held with associations’ leaders on the 12th December helped us to know the challenges some groups were facing. We tried our best to help them especially the Choir and the lectors. With morning songs learning, we equipped the choristers with some new songs. Also, we increased the number of the lectors by calling for membership.
Training on worship leading: We started a training of two members of Esse-Ana community to enable them to lead a celebration in the absence of a priest. We entrusted the two people to the catechist to continue their training.

C. Meeting with outside church world

House visitation: House visitation helped us to come across some sick people either of the church or not. We met a sub-committee of the church committee in charge of sick people to continue the visitation and plan some help to them. We also spoke to the catechist to prepare the communicants among the sick for the Sacrament of Confession so to prepare them for Holy Communion. We invited other people to join us in our celebrations.
Teaching of English language: We came to Esse-Ana some days before vacation. With this opportunity, we moved from Primary to Senior High (Lycée) passing by Junior High (Collège) to assist the English teachers in teaching English Language. Being all teachers and a fortiori having an English master, Amekor Benjamin, among us was a great advantage to teach. We invited students to church and to take up some leadership position. We had a worship with the primary school before departing and planned for other activities to continue when they resume.

D. Other station visitations

We visited other stations near Esse-Ana. By car, motor or bicycle, Christian Wotormenyo and Justin Nougnui went to Kodehoe, Tometykondji, Boevikorpe and Klohome. We helped in the sharing of the Word, preparing the choir and going round to visit some faithful who stopped coming to church. We gathered some couples at Esse-Ana with the aim to facilitate their training for Holy Matrimony.

E. Challenges

The main challenge we came across was the absence of electricity which handicapped some of our activities. The other challenge was the means to reach stations around Esse-Ana. We reached some stations with motor(hired) and bicycle.

F. Readiness for more

This experience brought new aspects of what we did last year in Cape-Coast (Republic of Ghana) which are teaching (our profession) and going outside the main station. We have seen the need for teaching and the need to go out. We hope the subsequent experience will open the way for us to practice our profession and have time and means to reach out more stations.

Justin Nougnui, coordinator.

Greetings to everyone from Anchilo (Nampula-Mozambique)

14 January, 2022 by Alberto de la Portilla

I am Tito, a Comboni Lay Missionary of the Diocese of Balsas, Maranhão (Brazil).

After a long time of formation and mission and waiting because of Covid, I could finally leave for the mission ad gentes in Mozambique, Africa.

I left Brazil on the 5th and arrived in Mozambique on the 7th at night.

The trip was long and tiring, but nothing stopped me from continuing to reach my final destination where God called and sent me for this mission.

Here I was well received and I am slowly getting to know and adapting to this new reality of life and mission.

Through the intercession of St. Daniel Comboni, may the God of life bless me with a beautiful and blessed mission.

Pray for me, for the Mozambican people and for the mission.

I will be praying for you.

Hugs to all.

Tito, Comboni Lay Missionary.

And as the Macua people say, Salama salama Koxukuru Ampwene Muluku.

GEC in mission

4 January, 2022 by Alberto de la Portilla

Yesterday was celebrated the sending Mass of Regimar and Valmir, Comboni Lay Missionaries (CLM).

The sending forth took place at the community Nossa Senhora Aparecida, at Ipê Amarelo – Contagem-MG.

The missionary couple decided to go on an overseas mission when they were participating in the GEC (Comboni Spirituality Group) of Balsas. They will travel to Mozambique this Wednesday, January 5th.

Let us continue to accompany this missionary couple with our friendship, prayer and sharing. Daniel Comboni, pray for us.

CLM Brazil

Christmas CLM meeting in Poland

28 December, 2021 by Alberto de la Portilla

The December meeting of the Comboni Lay Missionaries was entitled “Pastoral Animation in Missions” and was held on December 17-19. We started on Friday with a joint dinner, then began a workshop during which we got to know what the pastoral work was like on Ewa’s mission in Uganda, Ania’s in the Central African Republic and Adela with Tobias’ in Ethopia. It was a valuable experience for us. On Saturday December 18th, after breakfast, Magda reminded us of the life of St. Daniel Comboni on the basis of which we described the features of a good mission animator. The next item on the agenda was the testimony of Paula – missionary of the Light-Life Movement, who was in Kenya and helped with the work in the “Shalom” orphanage. Then Sebastian introduced us to the life of a lay missionary, Helena Kmieć, who won people for God with her singing, joy and service, and had her missionary experience in Hungary, Zambia and Bolivia …

Bogusia and Andrzej, who were in Ethiopia, also came to the meeting and shared their experiences from the mission with us.

Our Combonian children also had their own formation, and auntie Dominika took care of it, preparing eg. Nativity play. A beautiful performance by the children was the introduction to our Christmas Supper. Each of Comboni Friends and candidates brought something tasty to eat. We shared the wafer and sang and played Christmas carols together. There was also time for personal prayer in the chapel.

On Sunday, December 19th, we began with a common Eucharist presided over by Father Adam and Father Rene. Father’s Christmas greetings directed us to what is most important – to meet the Newborn Lord who gives us God’s love.

Our weekend was summed up with the catechesis of Sr. Joanna about the “Pedigree of Jesus”. She reminded us that Jesus comes to each of us, no matter what we are, to change us. It was a beautiful time we spent in a family atmosphere.

CLM Poland

CLM Candidates in Ecuador

14 December, 2021 by Alberto de la Portilla

This year 2021, brought many graces and gifts from Divine Providence to the Comboni Lay Missionaries in Ecuador. It is a reality that the pandemic in 2020, changed our life and the plans we had set took another direction and were put on hold; and among them the call for new lay people to increase our small community of Guayaquil.

In July 2021, we received in our community Fr. Joseph Ng’ang’a from Kenya, who became the local referent of the CLM in Ecuador and together with him and his teachings, we were able to make the call for new members, who would become CLM Candidates, a reality.

Thus, on August 17, 2021, a first call was made; and, it was in the mass of October 10, 2021, that after the celebration, we gathered the candidates and we presented them with the formation project for lay people based on five meetings, which is considered the “Stage of Knowledge and First Contacts” in our Statutes, in the same way the dates and place of meetings were presented to them.

The meetings went smoothly as scheduled, sometimes by zoom and others in person, so as not to lose continuity and to get to know our house of the Afro Ecuadorian Cultural Center. In addition, as CLM and to feel part of the Comboni Family in Guayaquil, it was agreed that the last Tuesday of the month we will have a mass and share as a family, in good time, some of the candidates were able to live this experience, along with the priests and brothers CLM.

Our last meeting was this Thursday, December 09, 2021, at 15h30, reviewing the last topic of formation of the Stage, leaving them the concern of their decision to belong to the CLM for next year. Joseph’s first anniversary of priesthood; for the upcoming Christmas and New Year’s Eve celebrations; and, the mission departure of John Villarroel and a candidate to our future national CLM mission site in San Lorenzo, Esmeraldas.

We thank the Sacred Heart of Jesus and St. Daniel Comboni for all the joys and experiences we have lived this year and for the future ones we will receive, with full knowledge that everything depends on our trust and detachment to the mission, either locally in Monte Sinai – Guayaquil; or, in the national one in San Lorenzo – Esmeraldas.

Abg. Susana Ortega Delgado, CLM