Comboni Lay Missionaries

Updates on Cyclone Jude!

LMC Mozambique

Dear friends,

After a long time, we are finally able to write and give you news about this important and delicate humanitarian aid project, which we are developing and carrying out with all our heart and strength.

We are involved in many projects and activities, and we are trying to do our best for the good of these people. We left you with news of an initial emergency intervention supported by our missionary team (lay people together with the Comboni Fathers) working in the parish of Carapira.

If you remember, on the day of the cyclone, we gathered together and opened the doors of the church and other buildings to welcome the displaced people affected and, as a first response, provide them with food and shelter for the night. A few days after the disaster, the district of Monapo, which had intervened with some associations to support these families, asked us for help in reaching as many people as possible. Of course, we did not back down and we supported everything until the situation became a little complicated, because some people were not receiving aid. After various interventions together with them, we perceived and intuited that the support that needed to be given had to take a different form, so we asked ourselves what would be the most appropriate way to help and how. Because let’s face it, we are all capable of giving things and we can all call ourselves missionaries, but the right question is: how can I help them to really give support? So that they can continue to have a dignified life? So that they do not remain in a situation of dependence, but can build their lives from this experience! From this profound question, all our reasoning as a missionary team began, putting all the risks and possibilities on the table. The Lord is great!

From these reflections and seeing the general situation a little more broadly, we started immediately, conducting a general census of our parish, that is, of all 98 communities that comprise it, together with all our regional representatives and the people who work with us in the various ministries, involving every elder of the community and the communities themselves. We assure you that even this first step was not easy, because communicating with everyone in a place where most people do not have a telephone, plus the great distances that separate us from some regions and not having means of transportation, took time. Then Cyclone Jude destroyed some bridges, so it was also difficult for us to reach certain areas by car. (There are some areas that are still inaccessible.) This is to give you an idea of how basic life is and how long it takes to get things done. Starting from this initial census, there were many questions: Who do we help? How many communities? What criteria do we use to choose? How? And if someone comes to us for help, what do we do? But here too, Providence was immense, and all this could only open our eyes even wider, and we were truly amazed at how much good and concrete help came from you! From these initial questions, which on the one hand weighed heavily on us, trying to help/make a difference without excluding anyone, in truth, little by little, all the pieces fell into place. Obviously, we always intervened immediately with food and first aid/help whenever they came knocking on our door. But let’s get to the beauty that was achieved thanks to each one of you.

As mentioned earlier, given the long distances that the regional representatives had to travel, we started by buying five bicycles, one for each regional representative, and delivered them to each of them at the parish council. It was impossible to give a bicycle to all the participants in the various ministries of the parish because there are so many of them, but at least it was a first step for the regional leaders who are always running around their region and their beloved communities, thus helping them to reduce the time it takes to reach the various communities in their region. We started with these five regional leaders to conduct an internal census in each of their communities together with each elder and each area leader responsible for their own area. In the end, your generosity allowed us to help build a house in each community, for a total of 98 houses, for the poorest and most needy families that they themselves identified… The house will not be made of brick, because the costs are exorbitant and we will never be able to intervene with everyone and on a large scale, but here too we have considered supporting the construction of a house with a wooden pole structure and the side structure will be made with blocks of mud mixed with cement, which means a stronger and more durable house… Then the roof will be built with bamboo and a large, strong, resistant tarpaulin that insulates to keep water out, all donated thanks to your great support… Each community will commit to the construction itself by providing manual labor, commitment, and enthusiasm.

We have also intervened to support the construction of almost 30 brick chapels for the moment… they are already working to try to complete the work before the rainy season arrives and, above all, before more cyclones hit. The chapels will be built in brick because, in the future, with more cyclones, they can be used as shelters for displaced people.

You really cannot imagine their happiness, the little hope you have kindled in their hearts despite the many difficulties they face every day… Just think that Carapira is called ‘little Italy’ by the people: they have great esteem for us Italians because, apart from the help they have received, they have always found Italian missionaries who have loved them dearly!

But that’s not all… in addition to helping with houses, chapels, etc., we have bought blankets, mosquito nets, soap, etc., so that we can distribute them to other families and thus reach more people in need.

Some of the missionary team, in particular Wiston and Maria Augusta, with great joy and passion, are also taking a course in natural medicine and are going to various regions to teach basic first aid, since they cannot afford to buy medicines, nor can they find them, and also because after the cyclone the health situation has become much more complicated (simple malaria kills many people every day). Now, little by little, we are building a small nursery for natural medicine plants, and in time we would like to give them these small plants or at least be able to support them a little in medicine… other future ideas: working on the seeds to give them, etc.

So there is no shortage of work, and despite the many hardships we experience every day and share with them, we are not lacking in joy. On the contrary, we give thanks and pray that the Lord will always keep us healthy and build a path for us to remain in the future.

We are grateful to life for this journey, for your continued trust in us, and we do not have enough words to thank you personally. We know the importance of transparency and its value, and every day we fight for a better world and for dignity, especially for the poorest and most distant.

Thank you for believing in us and continuing to walk with us, never leaving us alone, but rather making us feel like family and co-responsible. Knowing how to choose every day and live true values is important for the good of all. Therefore, we feel very responsible for what we receive and towards all of you, and we apologize again if we are unable to respond immediately because so many of you write to us and we are busy on a thousand fronts, but, in our own time, we will get there.

We also have some big news that we want to share. For the brave and not so brave who would like to come and see and touch with their own hands what we do, we invite you to spend some time with us. What we can offer you is certainly a lot of fun, the joy of welcoming you, and a great opportunity for us to open our hearts and learn about the mission that belongs to everyone… and what you will experience firsthand is true humanity and a people who will welcome and love you. What will you take home with you?

Real life and humanity lived… but we will leave that for you to discover… and for those who are ‘afraid’ of malaria, don’t worry, a little prevention during your stay and you won’t notice a thing. We are waiting for you to come and live this life with us because we are all missionaries! This mission will certainly be a mission among the people… but we will leave it to you to discover its beauty!

With great affection, esteem, and gratitude, we send you a big hug; for those we are unable to hug in Italy, we look forward to seeing you in Mozambique for an experience you will remember for a lifetime!

Ilaria and Federica CLM Carapira

Celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Anchilo

LMC Anchilo

It was with great faith and joy that on Sunday, July 13, in the presence of the communities and the people of God in general, several priests, and the rector of the diocesan seminary, Holy Mass was celebrated, presided over by Dom Inácio Saúre, I.M.C., Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Nampula and president of CEM (Episcopal Commission of Mozambique).

As part of the 75th anniversary celebration, how beautiful was the shared lunch and the afternoon with cultural moments presented by the parish communities!

This beautiful moment of faith ended with the parish priest’s blessing to the faithful.

Tito, LMC in Mozambique

This is how Christmas arrived…

Mozambique

In the midst of much struggle, demonstrations and death, Jesus is born in Mozambique. The people struggle to emerge from oppression. The pain of seeing friends suffering, mourning the loss of their loved ones also hurts me like a sharp sword. While some cry, others laugh. It’s not good to feel this pain, it’s not good to see people dying for the ambition of others.

He is our hope, the child God who is born is the hope of a people tired of suffering, of being oppressed.

We do celebrate Christmas, we rejoice at the news of the Savior’s arrival. But let’s not forget our responsibility towards those who suffer.

This is a different Christmas, with a strange feeling that mixes the joy of the arrival with the pain of a population marked by suffering.

Mozambique. Oh, my Mozambique, a land I’ve learned to love, people who make me feel Mozambican, how I wish for all this to end and for peace to come.

The Savior is born, may he come to save the Mozambican people and so many others who suffer.

Merry Christmas!

Message to the confrères in Mozambique

Mozambique

Dear confrères of the Province of Mozambique,

as the General Council, we follow with great concern the news and images of violence and destruction of public and private property coming out of Mozambique as a reaction to fraud and lack of transparency in the announcement of the results of the general elections – presidential, legislative, and provincial assemblies and governors – last 9th October.

The popular demonstrations, which were supposed to be peaceful, degenerated into acts of violence, which were forcefully repressed by the police forces – especially in the big cities –, causing over twenty deaths and hundreds of people injured. These manifestations of violence, which generate only hatred and death, anguish and fear, have prompted us to express, on behalf of the Institute, our closeness to each of you and to all the people of Mozambique.

We know that the whole country is going through a difficult time, and that, as a rule, those who end up suffering the harmful consequences of violent conflicts are the poorest and most defenceless people.

As the situation worsens, we ask all the confrères to remain vigilant and informed about events, and to show solidarity with those seeking truth and justice, in communion with the local Church. Undoubtedly, resilience can and must help us overcome the present adversity and find peaceful ways to give direction and hope to the people and the country.

Our presence in Mozambique over the past 77 years, inspired by the Word of God and the testimony of St. Daniel Comboni, has always stood out for its concrete ability to take on a style of mission that is committed and inserted in the reality of the people, and to make common cause with the joys and sorrows of those entrusted to us.

We encourage you, therefore, to continue to be in solidarity with the people around you, passing on to them the hope born of the Gospel. Today more than ever we are called to proclaim the Good News of peace as the only way to build a society based on respect for human dignity and concern for the most disadvantaged.

We thank God for your witness of dedication to the people with whom you share the mission, and we also feel solidarity with all Mozambican men and women who long for a better future and – today above all – for peace.

We also hope that the deep Christian tradition and the ancestral values of the people will be the pillar from which to start a serene and just reflection that will help overcome the current polarisation of forces between the government and civil society.

We pray for an immediate end to the violence in Mozambique and ask for the intercession of Saint Daniel Comboni that he may help you to live this painful moment with faith and hope.

May God bless you, protect you and give you the strength and wisdom to face these difficult times.

Let us remain united in solidarity, praying together for peace.

The MCCJ General Council

A love that impels us to know and know how to love

LMC Mozambique

We are here again to give you news and to share, with you, this last time. In these months we unfortunately struggle to respond to all your messages (there are so many of them), due to unplanned vicissitudes, but this is all part of being on mission and living it to the fullest, until the last moment of each day.

Last time, we told you about the sorrow of saying goodbye to Father Jaider, the Comboni parish priest, who left urgently for his homeland due to repeated illnesses.

But well behold, on the same day exactly one month after his departure (again on the 5th but in July), the community of Comboni Fathers, was hit again by terrible news. While waiting to welcome a Combonian brother back from vacation in his homeland, the news of his death reached us overnight on the same day he was supposed to join us.

To date, the Combonian community consists of only one father and one theology student. These have been difficult, intense months, full of obstacles, but even in this time, God’s infinite mercy and goodness has never ceased to work wonders and to give us the strength to face this time and to continue to look to an ever higher horizon together with these brothers and sisters of ours. Indeed, in this very time of fatigue, of fragility, the Lord has united us even more as a community with the fathers, as the Combonian family, and we have never failed to feel, that the Lord was leading us. It is precisely in fragility, that the Lord likes to work, if we always leave everything in His hands and rely on His Grace. As a wise woman who walks with us says, “build with those who want to build and always go forward in the joy that comes from the Lord”; these are indeed true words, because the more we leave everything in the Lord’s hands, the more He builds.

In these our first six Mozambican months, there has been no shortage of hardships and obstacles, and in some cases they have not been easy to overcome, especially those derived from the people closest to us, but really only with the Lord’s help, with your being there, with your making yourselves heard and with the help of the people, have we always managed to keep alive in our hearts, the joy, the peace and the hope, to continue to embrace this wonderful land, rich in beauty but at the same time with many contradictions.

Every day the Macua people teach us and give us the joy of sharing our lives with them. During this time, we have also experienced unexpected, enriching moments, such as the visit of the general council of the Comboni sisters and at the beginning of August, also that by the fathers of the Comboni general councils. How much Grace received, unexpected and rich with some more horizons….

Inside our hearts, bigger dreams are opening up with wider horizons that start from listening to the reality in which we are inserted; all this we know for sure that with our forces alone, we will not be able to achieve it.

In this time, we have tried to always stay one step behind to observe and try to understand what the main needs are for real in this land and to really make them protagonists of their history and their land. Here for us mission is this: to create real, authentic relationships, to create bridges, to create network.

We are overjoyed despite some difficulties and some malaria that hits us (both of us are down to 2), but the joy, hope, passion and love we feel for this land is a drive that moves us every day to keep sowing and building. We also continue to thank each and every one of you, because your presence, closeness and help are fuel to continue to hope and grow, to be able to build a better future together with these people and to feel that we are all together pilgrims of hope in a better world, where every man has the right to live a dignified life.

We all are mission and we with all of you, feel like family.

A hug from the bottom of our hearts. We continue to pray for all of you and you too, continue to pray for us

With love, deep appreciation and gratitude – Ila and Fede