During my three weeks in the village of Kitelakapel, I had an experience that deeply enriched and changed me. From day one, I was welcomed with warmth and joy by the Comboni Lay Missionaries-Linda, Pius and Maya-and by the villagers. Each day was an opportunity to learn, share and grow with them.
We spent much of our time visiting local schools and working side by side with the village children and youth in the compound. Despite the lack of material resources, there was an incredible human richness: all it took was a look, a smile, a hug or a laugh to feel immediately at home. The simplicity of their lives taught me to appreciate the little things and to rediscover the value of essentiality.
What impressed me most was to see how the children and young people enjoyed themselves with so little. Every game, every moment together was precious, because what really mattered was being there for each other. Their joy and gratitude was a constant reminder of how much we often take for granted in our lives.
If you want to go first, run alone; if you want to go far, walk together-this is a Kenyan proverb that I got to hear and learn during my stay, and now that I have returned to my daily routine, I can say that this proverb has universal value. In our modern lives, which are often geared toward individual success, we forget the importance of walking together with others. Whether in personal life, work, or community, walking together leads not only to a greater sense of belonging, but also teaches us the humility and strength that comes from being part of something bigger than ourselves. In the village, I experienced what it means to be community: the important thing is not to focus only on the speed of our journey, but on the quality and depth of our relationships along the way. It is a reminder that in order to build something meaningful and lasting, it is essential to walk together, step by step.
I am grateful to God for allowing me to have this extraordinary experience. It has filled my heart and soul with rejuvenating emotions, and it has shown me how much you can receive even when you think you are going there to give. Give what you don’t have,” wrote Alessandro Manzoni back in the 1800s, ”the secret of happiness is precisely this: giving goes beyond the simple act of giving something material, it is an invitation to offer others what, on the surface, we might lack ourselves, but which can be generated and shared through our being and our spirit.
I will always carry with me the faces, smiles and stories of these wonderful people who taught me the true meaning of sharing and Love for self, others and God.
Kenya, Kenya, Kenya… a lot is happening in Kenya. People leaving, people coming, visitors of excellence to strengthen our ties with the movement, to grow and shine. Last month it was Hani from Egypt, our African coordinator, accompanied by another Egyptian CLM, Mira, talking to us in our monthly meeting, accompanying the CLM of Kitelakapel in their activities and particularly with the Mental Health Workshops. These days, instead, the house is full of “Have you read that document?” “This is in the conclusions of Maia!” “Elwangen 2006” “Formation guide!”… And I’m sure, unless you are still unfamiliar with the Comboni Lay Missionaries, only that one name must have surfaced to your mind: Alberto de la Portilla!!!
Indeed, our guest of honour this month is our general coordinator, invited by the CLM community of Kitelakapel and the CLM of Kenya to spend some time with us, with the specific aim of guiding our Kitelakapel team as they keep laying the foundations for their young mission.
Our Alberto arrived well, and immediately delved into CLM matters, as he was taken to Kariobangi, in Nairobi, to attend our monthly formation meeting. For the occasion, all CLM and candidates gathered, so it was indeed a unique event! We got the chance to hire a house belonging to the Comboni sisters, not far from the parish, where we had all the space, peace and quiet we needed, to focus eagerly on the history of our movement, its most important documents, our identity as CLM, and a personal testimony of Alberto on his own mission experience, with his family and within a community, in Mozambique, a few years ago.
It was surely a wonderful opportunity we had to grow as a group, as we expand our awareness and knowledge of our origins and our identity.
On Sunday, while the candidates were doing mission animation in another parish in Nairobi, the commissioned CLM had their own special moment with our general coordinator, reflecting on how they can keep living, experiencing, practising their vocation as Comboni Lay Missionaries, whether serving in the country or abroad.
All this was obviously accompanied by moments of prayer and sharing.
We are deeply grateful that Alberto’s visit was made possible, as it has given us a chance to reflect again and in depth on who we are and who we want to be, and we hope he will enjoy his time in Kenya, until we meet again before he returns to Spain!
Here we are, CLM of Kenya, at the recent Friends of Comboni feast in Utawala, on Ascension day, to arouse people’s enthusiasm about missionary work, about what it means to be a CLM, whether in Nairobi, or West Pokot, or wherever we are. To build bridges between our mission in Kitelakapel and this Comboni parish within Nairobi, and all the Friends of Comboni gathered there.
As we keep reaching new parishes with our mission animations, more and more people are getting to know us, embracing our cause, getting involved, supporting us spiritually and economically, and more importantly, increasing our numbers. We are now so many that we are looking for a new place for our monthly meetings, as we don’t fit anymore in the guesthouse which we’ve been using so far.
Mission is a passion, which can drive each one of us to contribute in their own way: those who are in the field, abroad or doing service in the place where they live, those who support economically near and far, those who dedicate their time and service to fundraise, to make our work and charism known, to build relationships, to involve new members and form them, to connect with the other branches of CLM and remain united.
And as we thank the Comboni family for involving us in this exercise, we want to send a message of encouragement to all CLM: let’s not lose hope and keep reaching new places, physically and virtually (social media!) with our mission animation! The only tool for us to keep growing, in numbers and strength, so that the good work we’re doing everywhere in the world, and especially in the international communities where we so need more missionaries, will not be wasted.
Receive warm Easter greetings from Comboni Lay Missionaries – Kenya (CLM-K).
Easter season is the heart and soul of our Catholic Faith. Christ died for us and through Him, we obtain eternal life. Throughout the season of Lent, we are called to mind our sinful nature, repent and believe in the gospel! Our Saviour bears all our sins through His passion and His death on the cross. The Easter season is a new dawn. Christ is risen and in Him we have new hope. St. Paul in his second letter to the Corinthians, chapter 5, verse 17 says “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” We must celebrate! Our Saviour has conquered death! Through Christ, we have new life!
CLM-K celebrated the resurrection of Christ in bravura. We travelled to our mission in Kitelakapel, West Pokot County, to celebrate Easter with the international CLM community working there. We arrived at the mission station on Holy Thursday morning, and we were in West Pokot all through Easter Monday. We were fortunate to have our assessor – Fr. Maciej with us, who celebrated mass for us through Holy Week and the beginning of the Easter Season. On Good Friday, we were joined by a large number of Catholics from the Kitelakapel community and we had the most solemn Way of the Cross, reflecting upon the suffering and death of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. The Easter Vigil on Saturday night was so beautiful. As we were gathered around the bonfire, I couldn’t help but stare at the stars, so beautifully aligned, gleaming with hope. From then on, all we could say was Alleluia! Christ is risen! We will rejoice and be glad! When Jesus appeared to His eleven disciples after resurrection, he said to them “…surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Mathew 28:20. In the same way, we must live out our lives in confidence knowing that Christ is ever-present.
We are grateful to the international CLM community based in Kitelakapel, Maya (Poland) and Pius (Uganda), for being gracious hosts. Thank You for everything and for the work that you continue to do in West Pokot. All for the glory of God!
In a special way, we would like to thank our assessor, Fr. Maciej. Thank You for your selfless nature and thank You for guiding us in our journey of faith. We are grateful for your warm demeanour and your patience as we each discern our vocation. May you be added many more years and experience the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. (Psalm 27:13)
Remember the words of Miss Clara Williams? Miss Clara Williams is a character in the award-winning book and 2015 movie, War Room. She is a powerful woman of God, who goes to ‘war’ (prayer) for the sake of her family. There is something she says that I absolutely love and that has stuck with me. She says, “My God is Faithful, my God is powerful, my God is in charge. You can’t fire him and he’ll never retire! Glory Alleluia!” This is true. He is all this and more. He is our light and salvation. He has given us new life. We must live it for his glory. Alleluia! He is Risen!
May this Easter season renew your faith, strengthen your spirit, and fill your heart with profound joy. Happy Easter to you and all your beloved!
The month is still fairly new, so please allow me to begin by saying happy new month!
I would like to take this opportunity to wish all the women out there, especially in and around the Comboni Family, a happy women’s day, celebrated internationally this past Friday, the 8th of March. Did you know that our patron St. Daniel Comboni was a great champion for women? All through his mission work, he was insistent on the importance of including women in evangelisation. On May 5th 1878 (W5117) he wrote: “…My secret, based on my long experience of 21 years, is this: in a mission station in which there are six or seven sisters, I only need to put two missionary priests. Two priests and six sisters in a mission in Central Africa will do more good than a Mission with twelve priests and no sisters. This is a fact.” (Pg. 24, Daniel Comboni, Witness of Holiness and Master of Mission.) ‘Without women missionaries, men would achieve nothing in Africa.’ (Pg. 186, The Spirituality of Daniel Comboni by John Manuel Lozano.) To every female, I hope you feel seen, loved and appreciated. You are wonderfully and fearfully made and you deserve to be celebrated every day!
This past weekend, beginning Friday 8th to Sunday 10th March, we, the Comboni Lay Missionaries – Kenya had our monthly formation meeting. We had a guided recollection at Uganda Martyrs Scholasticate with Fr. Sylvester Hategek’Imana MCCJ. We delved a little more into what our identity is as CLM – adding to what Fr. Maciek taught us last month. My identity and my call/vocation to be a CLM should never be in conflict. My values and my work must always reflect my identity as a CLM. We have been called to be the salt and the light of the world. We must let our light shine before men that they may see our good deeds and praise our Father in heaven. Mathew 5:13-16.
Fr. Sylvester shared this beautiful story with us. Once there was a holy old man who loved to meditate every morning under a large tree on the banks of a river. One morning, after he had finished his meditation, he noticed a large scorpion stuck, fighting helplessly against the strong current of the river. He reached out his hand to help free the Scorpion and immediately the Scorpion stung him. And again, he reached out his hand to help free the scorpion. A young man who was passing by saw this. He asked the old man, “Why risk your life to save such an ugly useless creature?” The holy old man was in much pain having been stung violently, severally. In his pain, he said to the young man, “Friend, because it is in the nature of a scorpion to sting why should I give up my own nature to save?” The world is consumed with different shades of darkness. Our nature as CLM is rooted in Christ. We have been called to be kind, loving, empathetic, selfless, forgiving and so much more. In our daily lives, we get stung – by friends, family, employers etc. We can only find solace in Christ. At no point must we allow it to alter our nature.
We also learnt that love and forgiveness go hand in hand. The greatest commandment is love. Christ is the embodiment of love. That a man should give up his life for the sake of his friends. There is no greater love. And while Jesus was stretched out on the cross, he showed mercy to his persecutors and asked the Lord to ‘forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ Jesus set a great example for us. He expects much of us. Every day we must love more and forgive more. Christ will give us the grace to love the unlovable and forgive those who show no remorse.
This weekend was more special as we had a chance to hear from Fr. Gregor MCCJ, the Provincial of the Comboni Community in South Sudan. He was pleased to learn of our formation program for CLM-K. In Juba, they only have Friends of Comboni. They are yet to have Comboni Lay Missionaries. Christianity is very young in South Sudan. So young that the first generation of Christians in Nuer are still alive. The country is also young. Infrastructure is almost non-existent and illiteracy levels are as high as 70%. It was very grounding to hear of the work the missionaries are doing in South Sudan. Being a missionary there requires that you truly give up everything and offer up your life in service to God. We are very thankful to Fr. Gregor for taking the time to share with us and indulge our curiosity.
We would like to thank the Scholasticate for having us through the weekend. Your environment offers the stillness that one requires when seeking and hearing from our Lord. Thank you for your hospitality that knows no bounds.
We would also like to thank the Comboni priests stationed at Holy Trinity Kariobangi for allowing us to do our apostolate there and at the outstation, on Sunday.
This coming Saturday, March 16th, all Comboni family will gather to commemorate St. Daniel Comboni’s Birthday. St. Daniel Comboni pray for us that we may follow in your footsteps. May we use our time on earth to prepare for heaven.
This fourth week of Lent, let us reflect on what matters most in this life. St. Mother Teresa said, “At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done. We will be judged by ‘I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was naked and you clothed me, I was homeless and you took me in.’”
Remember, the goal is heaven.
Warmly,
Cecilia Nyamu
Comboni Lay Missionary – Kenya
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