Comboni Lay Missionaries

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Poland

Visit to the Polish CLM group

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LMC Polonia

Before Christmas, I could visit the CLM Group in Poland.

As always, visit Poland is a joy and a moment to feel in family. From the host receive from Anna and Fr Chris at the airport until the last day. The first night I went to dinner with CLM community that was in training, we had a nice time walking the streets of Krakow, watching the Christmas atmosphere and keeping out of the winter cold.

The first days I worked with Kasia, Magda and Anna. It was an intense period of training, talked about community life, the CLM internationally, countries where they will go, intercultural relations, the period of inculturation, the presence and missionary methodology and other practical aspects of the mission.

We also had time to connect via Skype with Barbara in Italy and share with her some time about the experience of community formation that each of them was living. We also discussed how it would be the period of common formation that she and Kasia have in Portugal (where the Portuguese CLM Group in Braga now accompanies them).

During the weekend, the house was filled with young people from the CLM Group in Poland. We share a weekend where we could talk about the organization of the CLM internationally, the challenges we are facing calmly and respond to all questions that new CLM candidates had about the movement. It was also time to talk personally, to share concerns about the mission and even the possibilities for future incorporations to CLM and also for mission (hopefully they come true).

In addition, we get some time with the new coordinating team. Facing forward to this new commitment. As a new group does not have much experience in the field but their enthusiasm and desire to do things right make up. Michal was already in the coordinating team in the past as treasurer, now becomes coordinator, for her part Krystyna joins with enthusiasm and with Fr Chris (and the support of others MCCJ in Poland) face forward this missionary service. From the Central Committee we will be helping in any way we can.

During the weekend, we also had time to pray and celebrate Christmas together, sharing good wishes one to each other for the year that soon began.

Finally, on Sunday afternoon after the meeting, I could accompany Anna to say goodbye to her hospital patients and their fellow volunteers with whom she has worked over the past years. Leave a service to serve elsewhere. That’s the life of the missionary.

Magda is now studying English in London to Ethiopia, Anna is studying French in Congo with Congolese CLM before going to Central African Republic and Kasia meets Barbara in Portugal to perfect their Portuguese before going together to Mozambique.

A great joy to share the enthusiasm for the missionary sending. May the Lord bless them and all CLM groups and youth (one for age and other of spirit) who come to discern their vocation and prepare to serve as missionaries wherever there is a great need.

Greetings

Alberto

First Day – International PI (immediate preparation) community

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Braga

It was with great enthusiasm and attention that the Academic Community of Braga was with Kasia and Barbara on this first day for these CLM in Portugal.

During this event, organized by the University Pastoral of Braga, the CLM shared their life stories and their missionary testimony at this time before departure for the mission of Carapira.

CLM Portugal

Training International community in Portugal

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Portugal LMC

We are happy because we have just received from Barbara (Italian CLM) and Kasia (Polish CLM) that will stay with us until April to learn Portuguese. This preparation aims the preparation before departure for the mission of Carapira, Mozambique.

During this time, both will share many moments with us and together we will walk toward a greater internationalization of our CLM family.

We welcome them and we ask you for prayers for this time of specific training before their missionary service.

CLM Portugal

The joy of Gospel the source of mission spirit

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LMC Polonia

Polish CLM celebrated a greatly unusual thing. Three girls from our community officially entered to the CLM community. God bless them!

During the meeting from 12th till 14th June we co-organized and participated in 4th Mission Congress of Poland. On Friday we began with the Holly Mass and entering of Katarzyna Tomaszewska, Magda Fiec and Anna Obyrtacz to CLM movement. Friday Mass was the very beginning for girls to join our community. They had arrived to Warsaw the day before to have some spare moments for prayer and meditation in silence. During the mass, the girls our friends have been reading the special prayer prepared by themselves for this particular occasion and undersigned the official declaration of participation. The Delegate of the General Father of Combonians fr. Gianni Gaiga submitted girls’ declaration with other Comboni’s fathers celebrating the mass. It must be emphasized that we hosted a family and colleagues of Kasia who arrived especially for this day from Silesia province. Kasia is willing to go to Mozambique, Anna is designated to go to Central African Republic and Magda is still making decision about destination about her mission. Later on the day there was a time to take care about stomach as well – we organised big barbeque. Fr. Guillermo Aguinaga Pantoja who is the superior of the house said that we are always very welcome and the Warsaw community is always open for the CLM. There had appeared our first missionary – Danuta Krol who shared with us the experience from Uganda. We took the possibility of speaking “last minute” with fr. Andrzej Flip who serves in Mozambique and had a return flight the day after. Our well known sister Ula Bayer with the group of children from Mosina near Poznan was also present.

We were in the city centre the next day. The organiser of the congress was Polish Episcopal Commission on Missions and Papieskie Dziela Misyjne (The Catholic Church’s official charity for overseas mission). “The joy of Gospel the source of mission spirit” was theme of the congress with a patronate of John Paul II. It was an unusual meeting because such congress is not a regular one and takes place in ten of fifteen years or even few decades.

Three forms of participation was prepared up to the age of visiting people: for children, youth and adults, so we had divided into three groups to work in parallel. All locations had been in the centre of Warsaw and the adult part was held just in front of the central church. The place and the open nature of the meeting had attracted many people. We promoted the CLM and missions in general, giving leaflets and promotional materials. We had an opportunity to speak and encourage people to this forms of actions in the Church. We had met many orders, congregations and communities also lay organisations involved in mission ad gentes. In the neighbourhood we had met our familiar mates from Akademickie Kolo Misjologiczne w Poznaniu (Mission Academic Circle in Poznan). We spoke with the representative if MIVA (Mission Vehicle Association) who sponsor all kinds of the vehicles to the missions to help missionaries. One of them will go to Equator to fr. Adam Zagaja MCCJ in the nearest future. The congress hosted many NGOs (Non-Government Organizations). One of the most attractive was Szymon Holownia’s: The Kasisi Foundation. Holownia is one of the most popular catholic journalist, writer, blogger and TV presenter who is involved in many actions in Africa now. In the conference panel Holownia emphasized the essence of the lay mission and real meaning of brotherhood help not only in Africa but also here in Europe e.g. for the present massive African immigrants in south Europe. There was also one point of the World Youth Day with youth people from east Europe. They encouraged us to help people from East willing to participate with Pope Francis next year. We met also Karol Pawlowski who had been inspired by Saint Adalbert and the pilgrimage way of Santiago de Compostella and now is trying to establish and promote the way of Saint Adalbert from Gniezno in Poland to Magdeburg in Germany (the web: http://www.droga-swietywojciech.pl). All those meetings helped us to understand that our Church is so rich and diverse and there is still a lot of things to do.

At the end all participants joined the Holly Mass leaded by cardinal Fernando Filoni – Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. The homily was told by Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz from Warsaw. Cardinal emphasised that every single man who believe in Gospel must live as a missionary. All walked to The Holy Cross Church in the procession with the cross and icon – the signs of World Youth Day. The day was fulfilled by worship concert and finished with singing the Appeal of Jasna Gora (Jasna Gora is the place of pilgrimage to Virgin Mary).

That rich day and all of the meeting gave us a joy the same as Gospel. Let us joy then and move together on our mission ways keeping the smile and Gospel in heart!

Tomasz Wierzbicki

CLM Krakow

First months in Ethiopia

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Madzia-AdisIn the beginning of January I came to Ethiopia, beginning my mission! I’ll work as a physiotherapist in Bushullo Health Center, near Awassa (in the south part of Ethiopia). Joining there Maggie & Mark with their children!

amaric

But now the first months I’m spending in Addis Abeba (in the community of MCCJ) on the language training – trying to learn Amharic. It is the second-most spoken Semitic language in the world, after Arabic.  The graphs of the Amharic writing system are called fidel. Each character represents a consonant+vowel sequence and there are more than 230 of them! Now it’s such big joy for me to be able to read something (finally!). So wherever I go I try to decipher the texts around me – on the buses, on the buildings… 😉

After school usually I spend some time for voluntary service, using my physiotherapy skills and at the same time improving Amharic through communication with the patients 🙂 . People here are so friendly for me, helping a lot with everything, always smiling and greeting. I really enjoy it! And also they teach me their culture – like for example inviting for coffee ceremonies or for enjera. I also had the possibility to be here for Timkat – one of the biggest feasts of Ethiopian Orthodox Church, which celebrates Epiphany and Baptism of Jesus. For me it’s so interesting to experience the variety of churches here – catholic is only 1%, the biggest is Orthodox church, then protestants and Muslims. But the religion seems to be very important part of live, even in the language all the most common expression include God – like for example the answer for greeting is “I’m fine, thanks be to God”.

peopleSo slowly I’m getting to know this place, these people, this culture, this language. And day by day I’m more and more happy that God sent me here!

Madzia Plekan. CLM in Ethiopia