Missionary Experiences – Page 60 – Comboni Lay Missionaries

Time of sadness – time of joy

14 November, 2016 by Alberto de la Portilla

Last days went by with these two ambivalent feelings. Moments of sadness interspersed with moment of great joy- this because of our children.

On All Soul’s Day we attended the Mass which was celebrated on the local cemetery situated near our St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Gulu. After the Mass we went with our children to pray at the tomb of our small Angel-as we used to call Moses, who died 6 months ago. After prayer we covered the tomb with flowers which we’d picked from the tree growing in St. Jude Children’s Home.

Here The Day of All Saints is a day of great joy- in this special day children receive sacraments of baptism, First Communion and even Confirmation. The Mass in the Cathedral is pretty long- 4 or 5 hours, because there are for example 150 children to be baptized. Anyway we are in Africa, so the length of the Mass is normal, and good that our Cathedral is big and long so all people can enter. After receiving all sacraments all people gathered in the church, lift up their hand and candles and shout loudly to show their happiness. At the beginning, I was very surprised that the day, which in Poland is a calm day of reflection and prayer, here in Gulu is a one of the most happiest day. But when during the Confirmation each candidate reads the name of Patron out you get the feeling that All Saints gather in one place- beautiful experience, unforgettable.

Children from our Orphanage received the sacraments of Baptism and First Communion earlier- on October 28^th– memory of St. Jude, who is a Patron of our Orphanage. Children from both schools- Nursery and Primary, all workers, orphans and friends of our Orphanage met under the big tree to celebrate the Mass. Seven our children have been baptized and eight children first time received Holy Communion. It was a very joyful day for all of us. Children who received First Communion were in different age, between 10 and 16. None of them asked about toys or super gifts. All of them were prepared well by our catechist.

I came back to Uganda 5 months ago- I already live according to my routine, which is different from the one which I had 2 years ago. Now, the majority of my time I spend with children. In the morning with babies and disabled, in the afternoon with children from Primary 1,2,3 and children from Nursery School. But many different people who come to our house break our daily routine, for what we are very grateful. Some of them come for short time- like Peter- our Lay Comboni Missionary from Poland or for longer like David- Comboni Lay Missionary from Spain, who came for more than one month. Also meetings with Comboni Family, during the feast like on October 10th- the Feast of Comboni or just simple accidental meetings on the street, in the town or in the church. All these meetings give us a lot of joy and positive energy. So if someone plans to come to Uganda for a few days or maybe for longer, remember that our house is always open and you are welcome.

Greetings for everybody!!!!

Ewa, CLM in Gulu (Uganda)

The Trindade Community

9 November, 2016 by Alberto de la Portilla

I am close to the end of my three year missionary commitment in this beautiful Brazilian land that has given and taught me a lot.

I already feel a sad void for what will happen, a feeling that will call to mind faces, situations, stories, important moments that left a mark on my missionary experience and have changed me, since I allowed them to change me and make me grow a little more.

It is good to change when Life shows you paths that can only be healthy for your heart, for better or for worse.

Mission also means growth, meeting the Other, the meeting between you and Them, with God who makes us Us, and a You.

You end up meeting an itinerant God, who never stops moving and amazing you. A God who walks barefoot with you: “take your sandals off your feet, for the place you are stepping on is holy grounds!”

And this is what I did, walking barefoot in the marvel of discovery and self-discovery, knowing that God was walking with me.

I chose to end my three years of missionary commitment in Salvador de Bahia in a community that welcomes street people. The community is called Trindade.

It has been a totally different experience from my previous ones. I left prison work, which I hope to continue in Italy, in order to get to know another very hard and hurtful social reality, the life of street people.

The Community of Trindade is ten years old and it is located in a neighborhood close to the harbor and to a viaduct where many street people meet. The house is an inactive church building which has become a temporary home for those who are seeking to change their lives or at least try to.

Everything happens gradually. They keep on sleeping on the floor inside the church and begin a recovery coming from within, through self-esteem and a search for one’s identity.

When you live on the street you lose everything, not only material things, but you lower yourself to the point where you no longer recognize yourself, lost in an emptiness that devour you, where alcohol and drugs consume you on a daily basis. You no longer know who you are and have no dreams to build on.

Hunger, cold, the search for a safe sleeping place become the day to day priorities.

Dependence on alcohol and drugs lead you to taking chances, through stealing or prostitution until you lose your dignity.

This community was born of the meeting of Bro. Henrique, a Frenchman, and a street person who, looking for a safe place to sleep, came across this abandoned church.

Bro. Henrique is an itinerant monk who, years ago, chose to live on the street in order to know first-hand the dramatic situation of street people, by becoming neighbor to them and live with them.

He picked this church as a nightly refuge and in time it developed into a community, a home for those who have no home and a beacon of hope.

Today it gathers 35 men and women.

The Trindade Community is not an end, but rather a place of passage, of transition.

It is a place where one can get away from dependency on alcohol and drugs, find a job, be able to stand on your own two feet after years spent on the street.

It is like trying to glue back together parts of you that have been disconnected, in order to see again the original shape that was lost.

It is a simple community where everyone helps and cooperates to its upkeep and wellbeing of all.

They all cooperate and make themselves useful from the kitchen to the cleaning, the garden and some artisan activities, each one according to his/her talents and limitations.

I, too, have my cardboard where I sleep on the floor and I help out in everything.

I am learning what it means to do this: carefully store away my cardboard which is my mattress, roll it up in order to spread it again the following night. When I walk down the street now and see a piece of cardboard I feel like saying: “Look, that’s a bed!” because for a number of people that is exactly what it is, a home on the street.

Mission helps you see things from different points of view, especially from points where people do not like to dwell or look from.

You learn that you can live with little, what it means to sleep on the floor, to be hungry, not to be able to wash, what it means to be at the periphery of existence.

A little at the time, with kindness and by being available, I am beginning to learn the stories of the people who live in the community: they are stories from the street, of drugs, alcohol, losses and violence.

The words used are harsh and full of hurt and of scars.

In this experience, just like in my prison pastoral, I learn the most beautiful and interesting lesson: you need to learn to listen without judging and to make yourself neighbor.

In the community we also have a small newspaper, Aurora de Rua (Dawn of the street), written by the street people themselves. It deals with their situation, their lives, and their stories and with the importance of recycling. Yes, because many of their handcrafted products are made of discarded material and junk.

Behind all this there is great pedagogy: to be able to construct beautiful and useful things out of what other people consider useless junk.

This is how street people or prisoners, referring back to prison ministry, think of themselves as the rejects of society.

But everything is reborn to life, a new Life.

The paper helps to spread news and the realities of the street people, who are often discriminated against, excluded, abandoned and judged. There are stories that touch your heart and help you understand the depths of some human situations, so harsh and hurt.

On Thursday night the community opens its doors to the street people of the project “Get up and Walk,” created by the community itself in cooperation with the diocese of Salvador.

Unfortunately the Church cannot hold too many people and the street problem is vast.
The project is a place where street people can find psychological help and assistance in filling out forms for ID cards, work papers, or also for recreational activities, a place where to shower, find clothing.

For those who so wish, Thursday nights are a way to get to know the community, have a moment of prayer, a common meal and a place to sleep. These are small steps that help to create awareness, socialization, to share a meal, to be in a quiet place and to pray together…

Thursday nights are open to all, even to visitors, people from the outside who want to share this experience.

It is a very emotional time, as we live through concrete means the Gospel of Jesus who invites all to the same table, to share the bread with everyone, no one excluded.

It is a Gospel that takes flesh in Life and for Life, the Gospel in which I believe, where I meet God and God’s face. This Face of God has many stories, many wounds and lots of beauty. This is why I like the idea of a pilgrim God always walking, within each one of us, living in our stories. I am grateful for this choice and for this last month and a half I will spend in this beautiful and important Community of Life.

I will not say good-bye to Brazil, but simply “until we meet again,” because I will never forsake the relationships I created, the people who walked with me and who taught me to walk. For all of them it will always be, “arrivederci!”

God breathes through our hearts.

Emma, CLM

“You can’t have mission without love!”

3 November, 2016 by Alberto de la Portilla

Elia María Cabrita Gomes was born in Paderne, Albufeira, Portugal on January 29 1955. She is a retired nurse. In 2006 she had her first contact with the African Continent when she took part in a seven month project sponsored by International Medical Assistance (IMA) in the democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In 2011 she left for a two year stint with the Comboni Lay Missionaries (CLM) in the Central African Republic. She ended up staying in that mission for five years.

When she was barely 16 she was offered the possibility of having a two month experience in Angola, something she considered like “the spark that would fulfill a dream.” Unfortunately, her father did not approve and she did not go. All through her training as a nurse she kept on thinking about going out there, but when she completed her studies in 1976 she started working in the hospital of Faro, where she remained until her retirement, she married and has a daughter.

In 2006, she finally had her first experience when she joined a seven month project sponsored by the International Medical Assistance (IMA) in the democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). “It was just a seven months experience that stimulated me and increased my desire to return to Africa, to leave my comfort zone and go meet other peoples,” to share.

She started volunteering in the Hospice of her home parish of Paderne and there she soon discovered the Comboni Lay Missionaries (CLM) through the magazine Além-mar. “I completed my formation with the CLM (2008-2010, I got to know Comboni, his slogan “To Save Africa with Africa” was totally meaningful to me, just as the going out to meet the poorest and most abandoned, to contribute to the improvement of their quality of life and to human development,” she tells us.

She went for two years and stayed for five!

She arrived in Bangui, the capital of the CAR, specifically in Mongoumba, for a two year stay, “without expectations, ready to accept and give whatever the mission required of me.” She ended up staying for five years that included “very strong life experiences. The beginning were a time of apprenticeship: to look and listen, to learn how to live, to accept and respect, namely to take the first steps in a culture and customs so different from our own,” she says. Commenting about her assignment to Mongoumba, she tells us that it is the seat of one of ten municipalities in the district of Mbaiki: “It is a town of around 8,000 people located about 120 miles from Bangui, deep in the equatorial forest along the border with the DRC and Congo Brazzaville. The municipality of Mongoumba holds 25,000 people belonging to various ethnic groups, including the Aka pygmies. Pygmies are discriminated against by the rest of the people who use them as cheap labor. They are the most disadvantaged members of society and live in various camps spread around the forest. Most of them live in grass huts and only a few have homes built with mud or bricks. They eat what they find in the forest. Their goods are limited to what they can carry when they change camp or when they go deep into the forest for fishing seasons, gathering honey, caterpillars… products that they sell or exchange for salt, cloth to cover themselves and trinkets. They very seldom have money and whatever little they have is not enough to cover medical care.

Evangelization of the pygmies is the priority of the mission of Mongoumba and most of our activities are aimed at improving the way of life of the people and their social integration. Through our joint pastoral approach and working to raise awareness of and promote health care, I was able to visit many camps, visit the sick, free children from parasites. During the first two years, thanks to the cooperation of the French Army, we organized several campaigns for the treatment of “pian,” a contagious and incapacitating disease. I walk lots of miles in the forest… In a harsh reality that cannot be changed, one can only give some creative touches and hope that the seed that was sown will grow.

After several years of activity, where the mission acted like a bridge between the people and the health center, results are beginning to be visible and gratifying. The pygmies are still the last in line to be received, but they are nonetheless attended to and, when they have to be admitted they share the same quarters of the rest of the population.

During these five years, taking care of the pygmies who were hospitalized, so they would not be forgotten, was one of my tasks. It is very easy to forget giving medication or an injection to those who have no voice! In this activity, I could always count on the generous help of the health workers from our physical rehabilitation center at the mission. Most of our work consists in raising awareness of the fact that we are all persons, in Sango “Zo Zo kwe,” and as such we all deserve attention and respect.”

She tells us that, after the coup of March 2013 “the country was submerged in chaos and lived under the threat of arms for three years. The poverty and the suffering of the people reached unimaginable levels. Notwithstanding the presence of many NGOs, the Catholic mission is almost the only institution that continues to work steadily to defend and support the dignity of these long-suffering people, carrying on activities in education, health care, human promotion, pastoral concerns, justice and peace… During these last two years my greatest concern was to find and treat undernourished children, the education of parents on hygiene and nutrition. It was a tiring work, both physically and psychologically, but the reward was in each child who recovered and could smile again. I was able to work with a good team, made up of local people, available and interested.”

To go without expectations, top return full of dreams

She concludes saying that, even though she arrived in 2011 without expectations, she returns in 2016 with the dream of someday going back to the mission in the CAR and find “homes that will not be destroyed by rain, with roofs that will not be swept away by the wind; healthy, well fed children who own books and go to school; roads without potholes (including dirt roads) and means of transport that will link the villages, the towns and the cities; pygmies who know their duties and can fight for their rights; new laws that will ensure that “witches” do not go to trial, but their accusers and attackers will; health centers and hospitals run by fully educated doctors and nurses, where surgery, analyses and tests are performed, where sicknesses have a name and a cause, forgetting about the existence of mystical illnesses. I dream that I will find a country where the pillars of education, the teachers, actually are in school and have better than an 8^th or 9^th grade education; and because “God loves his people,” I believe that the hatred that is still existing will make room for a lasting peace in a climate of love and tolerance. It is my dream and hope that the riches of this land will not end up in the wallets of a few, but may be used to improve the quality of life for all.

You can’t have mission without love! I love the country and I love the people, a people who is suffering but continues to laugh, sing and dance. It is my people! The smallest among them I keep in my heart with great affection, remembering the children, their pure and sincere smiles will warm up my cold winter nights.”

Text by Catherine Anthony, FEC – Faith and Cooperation Foundation

Meskel

13 October, 2016 by Alberto de la Portilla

The Feast of the Holy Cross (called ‘Meskel’) is one of the biggest celebrations in Ethiopia. It is especially celebrated in the Gurage region where we had the opportunity to spend a few days and see the celebrations for ourselves. Our friend Desalegn invited us, so we could observe life in his village. We slept in a traditional hut that we shared with Desalegn’s relatives.

During the Meskel celebrations, whole families come to the villages to spend this special time together. Slaughtering a bull is one of the most important traditions and everyone is involved. After prayers were said, the men of Desalegn’s village slaughtered the animal by cutting its throat. Then everyone helped cut up the meat and prepared it to be eaten raw during the feast. Raw meat is a very popular delicacy in Ethiopians, especially when fresh.

That same day, the women prepared a traditional speciality called Kitfo – raw meat cut into very small pieces and served with butter and very hot spice. Nobody asked us if we would like some – we were all given a portion so we couldn’t refuse. Magda, my namesake, coped quite well, but it was a big challenge for me to eat raw meat. I ate just a little.

According to tradition, Saint Helen, who wanted to find the Holy Cross to save it from desecration, discovered it by following the smoke of a fire. In memory of this event, people all over Ethiopia light bonfires on Meskel Eve. In the Gurage region, the people from the whole village meet together in a large open space and then light the bonfire together.

After speeches by one or more leaders, people wish each a Happy New year. It is indeed the beginning of New Year according to the local calendar. Next they start to dance a traditional Gurage dance in a circle. After some time they go home and each family lights a bonfire in front of their house. Many people move from one bonfire to another.

We noticed that when a number of people gathered at one particular bonfire, many of the neighbours joined them. Then they all together wandered from place to place dancing and singing the same traditional song. This lasted late into the night.

The next day we went to a church for Mass. Afterwards, another large bonfire was lit. There was dancing and singing. First religious songs were sung and then the same traditional Gurage song as on Meskel Eve.

Many people visit their relatives and friends on Meskel Day. We too went with Desalegn to visit his relatives. Everywhere we were welcomed with food and drink, starting with coffee and various snacks and finishing with Kitfo.

Summing up, I can say we personally witnessed the Gurage traditions associated with the Feast of the Holy Cross. It is special family time for this tribe. Just as in Poland we spend Christmas with our close relatives and friends, with special meals together, eating Christmas fare, the Gurage people spend most of the time sitting, talking and eating together. Of course there are also differences. For instance, the Gurage people do not use tables for meals and don’t spend hours watching TV.

During our brief visit, we had a privileged view of a Gurage family. They allowed us to come into their life, feel the atmosphere of the place, observe the way they greet each other, have their meals, drink coffee and talk to each other. We saw up close how they work, rest, celebrate and live their daily life. It was a really interesting and enriching experience. We sincerely thank Desalegn and his relatives and the Gurage people for this great honour.

Magda Fiec, CLM Awassa (Ethiopia)

What title?

15 September, 2016 by Alberto de la Portilla

What title should I use? “one week has already passed” or “it’s only been a week” (since I came here)?

I arrived in London on September 3rd. It was almost midnight when I entered in “my new house.” Sometimes (yes, sometimes), this is not just my house, it’s more than that: it’s my home – I can feel it. [“It’s only been a week” and I’m fine here, in this community.]

Normally, we are seven persons at home – me; four priests (Father Angelo, Father Rogelio, Father Louis and Father Patrick); and two others (Paul and Amir, who joined us few days ago). But this number often changes: sometimes priests from other communities, or family / friends come to pass the night or some days with us, in our community. [“It’s only been a week” and I’ve met so many people!].

This community allows me to learn, grow and mature. We start the day together in the Chapel – for Morning Prayers and Mass. In the evening, before dinner, that’s where we return for the Evening Prayers. Slowly, I’m feeling abler to pray without peek constantly to the books (all in English!). [Sometimes I think that “it’s only passed a week and I can say a prayer without read (well, occasionally, I look to the book…); other times, if I feel some frustration for the language, I think: “one week has already passed and I still need a guide.”] Yet, the priests are very patient and encourage me to not lose the will to learn. Sometimes, they even invite me to do the Readings.

Usually I leave home 10 or 15 minutes before 9am to go to school, for the English lessons, where I spend the rest of the morning. In the same class as I am, there are other people of many ages and nationalities (Turkish, Brazilian, Argentine, Mexican, Peruvian, Japanese and Chinese).

The (moments of) meals are made in community, with the Fathers. It’s another moment of sharing. More than share food, we share life with each other. It’s also an added time for affection and learning, a privileged space where relationship flows. [“it’s only been a week ” but our relations are growing gradually and every day we know more and more of each one].

In my spare time I have the opportunity to visit London (like the Natural History Museum, Science Museum, Southbank Museum, London Eye, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Portobello Road (market), Royal Parks (Hyde Park, Diana – Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain, Serpentine Lake, Kensington Gardens, Albert Memorial, …). [“it’s only been a week ” but I could see so much!]

I also take some time to read, to know/ talk with someone or to help with something at home.
Here I can learn with anything, no matter what. But I’m observing that it’s important to be available, predisposed, to let it happen – make some (or many) mistakes without fear and then, accept all the corrections with humbly. Read, watch television, hear all we can, study, … it’s also important to learn [English], but I’m recognising that I can learn more every time that I make a mistake and someone corrects me. I’m learning that the correction has, in some way, a relational dimension – because needs a generous opening, spontaneousness and empathy – and it also help to grow and construct life between who corrects and who let be corrected.

Yesterday, on Sunday, something wonderful happened! According to the Ethiopian calendar, the September 11th is the first day of the year – it’s called «Enkutatash» (“gift of jewels” – I’m not sure of the translation or the meaning…). Father Frasa, who’s with us only for few days, invited me to celebrate the New Year with the Ethiopian Community. It was delicious, a paradise experience, at least! The Eucharist, with the Ethiopian Ritual took about 3 hours (the Mass was celebrated in ge’ez, Amharic, so, I had serious difficulties to understand «anything» of what they’re saying or praying or singing…).

In the end, the Father introduced me to the Community and they welcomed me with pleasure and huge hospitality, inviting me to a traditional meal with them. I shared the dish with 4 other children and a mom: I understood that it’s a sign of friendship, hospitality, loyalty (“those who eat the same dish will not be betrayed”, they told me). I taste injera and gursha (when someone rolls a piece of injera, soak in wot and feeds us directly to the mouth – feed someone is a sign of friendship (“I like you, so, I food you”); receive someone’s food is a sign of hospitality and acceptance (it’s like a hug between friends) [“it’s only been a week ” and I already have been blessed with a little from “Ethiopia”!] it was the promise of a reunion on Sunday. On next Sunday, I’ll return there. it’s curious to repair that one of my first contacts, where I tried an experience of intimacy, and where I felt like «as baptism» to the Ethiopian culture and people, in deed, happened at Mass and with the sharing of meal. What a blessing!

I’m ending. But not before noting that was not “only in Ethiopia” that the new year started. In some way, it’s how I feel also: starting something unique, ushering a new cycle and making the first steps on the Mission that God trusts me.

What title should I use? Love – the Community; the sharing; the service; the correction; … – Love is the title (and all the rest).

[Note: “one week has already passed,” and I (was/ have been) blessed with so many miracles, with so many meetings, so many experiences… and I’m confident that more things are coming because, in fact, ” it’s only been a week ” – ” I’ve come that they may have life, and have it abundantly. “(John 10:10)

Marisa Almeida, CLM in London