Missionary Experiences – Page 23 – Comboni Lay Missionaries

Last webinar on ministeriality

28 June, 2021 by Alberto de la Portilla

This past weekend we held the third and last webinar on the ministeriality of the Comboni Family.

During the first two we were receiving as participants many proposals and challenges. The commission presented us the great work of the information gather on all the projects that the Comboni Family is carrying out throughout the world in different countries and continents.

There is a great wealth of service being carried out.

In this last meeting we had plenty of time for conversation.

On Friday, in addition to update the progress we have made, we were able to share in small groups the concrete work that each one of us is doing and to deepen our understanding of it. It was a very nice moment to know firsthand the direct service of the participants of the group and the importance of it. It is true that it is only a sample of all that is done as a Comboni family, but we were able to discover the passion with which it is done and the interrelationship between a service and another.

On Saturday we continued in this line analyzing the impact that these services are having in the different communities and even tried to broaden the vision of our work, the need to network with the rest of the Comboni family as well as with other groups inside and outside the church and to be aware of how the macro structural aspects influence the concrete communities and make this networking more and more necessary.

We ended by sharing ideas on how to continue the collaboration as Comboni family as it has been done during these meetings.

We are thankful to the commission on ministeriality of the Comboni Family that has made these meetings possible and to the great work of systematizing all that has been shared during these years, which offers us a lot of material for analysis to improve our missionary service.

The idea of continuing to collaborate by sectors was very much repeated, so that those of us who share the same type of services can collaborate and exchange experiences.

On the other hand, we talked about the importance of being able to meet regularly as a family. From the meeting we get to know each other deeply and new ideas for collaboration can emerge. Perhaps having an annual meeting in each country would be an idea to consider. A place where we can get to know each other in greater depth, share the services we are performing and respond as a family to the challenges of the mission from the place where we are. From there will emerge initiatives that can also be carried out both at the continental and international level.

May the charism of Comboni inspire us in this collaboration for a better missionary service.

Alberto de la Portilla. CLM Central Committee

African Memory Project: Daniel Villaverde

17 June, 2021 by Alberto de la Portilla

We continue this series with Fr. Daniel Villaverde, a Comboni Missionary.

For 20 years, Fr. Daniel worked in northern Kenya with nomadic populations such as the Turkana. He talks about this and other tribes, the difficult terrain and the growing (and perhaps unstoppable) influence of Western values on the new urban Kenyan generations. (Interview in Spanish).

African Memory Project: Enrique Bayo Mata

10 June, 2021 by Alberto de la Portilla

We continue this series with Fr. Enrique Bayo Mata, a Comboni Missionary who spent fifteen years in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Fr. Enrique tells us about his rich experience of learning the African liturgy and his work on the continent, which includes, in addition to pastoral service, publishing, radio and television. For many years he has collaborated with the CLM in Congo, at the African level and even within the Central Committee of the CLM. (Interview in Spanish)

African Memory Project: Antonio Guirao

2 June, 2021 by Alberto de la Portilla

We continue this series with Fr. Antonio Guirao Casanova, Comboni priest and missionary, who has been twenty-three years in Kenya. On this occasion, he tells us about his approach and coexistence with the semi-nomadic tribe of the Pokots. During that time, he has carried out essential work in the field of education in both rural and urban areas in the capital, Nairobi. (Interview in Spanish)

The story of Tarekegn – a boy who lived on the street

31 May, 2021 by Alberto de la Portilla

I would like to tell you the story of Tarekegn who used to be a street child. Tarekegn comes from a family that is not well-off. He has both parents and as many as seven siblings. Tarekegn used to go with his father to the district called Zero Amist. His father used to give catechesis in one of the Protestant churches. The boy, however, began to fall into bad company. In the local area, he met street children who encouraged him to use stimulants, to go out with them and to beg.

Tarekegn got so screwed that one time he ran away by himself and stayed on the street. He began to spend days and nights there. He took on some very bad habits. His family knew this and had sporadic contact with him as his home is just outside Awassa and his father works in the city itself. Tarekegn, however, was not listening to anyone.

One day he ended up at the center. He began attending open classes. He was one of the first boys to be admitted to the center shortly after the pandemic started. The boy was glad that he could live with us, but I must admit that it was not easy with him. During his rehabilitation, we had various problems with him, which were relatively more than with other children. Tarekegn has changed a lot over time. There was a year with us. In the end, it all turned out well and he went home. He lives with his family and continues school. I believe it will stay that way and he will never come back to the street.

Magdalena Soboka, CLM Ethiopia