Poland – Page 14 – Comboni Lay Missionaries

Madzia´s community experience in Poland

2 November, 2014 by Alberto de la Portilla

From the beginning of October I started community experience in Kraków. This is the last part of the formation before going on missions (because in January I’m going to Ethiopia!). During these two months there are a lot of things which I experience – life in the community (in theory – through the formation meetings and reading, as well as a practical through living in the community of MCCJ), except that there are a lot of learning:

Language (English for now, in order to improve it, and then in January I’ll begin learning Amharic, which seems to be quite an interesting adventure 🙂
Bible (meetings with s. Joanna, who helps me to understand the Scriptures, and to see better what God is talking to me)
Comboni (learning about Comboni, his idea of life and work on the mission, as well as various aspects of the CLM).

I also participate in the meetings of a missionary students’ group, help in the animations in the parishes, do some voluntary work, explore the history and culture of Ethiopia, spend an afternoon and integrate with CLM recognizing group from Krakow, what would it even a little more to build a secular community.

And, what is the most obvious and most important thing – the prayer – Community Lauds and Vespers, daily Eucharist, personal prayer, adoration. And at the end of the Ignatian retreat in Zakopane.

So many things happen 🙂 I hope it will be, though so short, but a fruitful time which will help me to prepare better for my mission in Ethiopia.

Madzia

We are already in Uganda!

9 September, 2014 by Alberto de la Portilla

The Community in Gulu is complete, we have finally met with Ewa and Joana waiting for us with open arms in St. Jude Orphanage.
Monika and I now fulfill our second week and we are celebrating with an intensive “Acoli” language course, that will allow us to communicate and try to learn and understand those who are our brothers for these coming years.

The first days in Kampala, we had occasion to meet with the Comboni Lay Missionaries and share an interesting talk about how we are going to organize this time we will be in Uganda with them. They explained how they live the lay status, what are their plans and dreams, their limitations, and personally made us very excited to check that we are much closer than we thought.

We also share dinner and prayer in a very friendly atmosphere and with the feeling of being at home. It is a fortune for us that there are CLM in Uganda and Gulu, because we’ll just join what they are already doing and see what may occurs being together.

The next day paperwork and preparing for the long journey that leads north to Gulu. We said goodbye to the Community of Comboni Fathers in Kampala so well received and welcomed us on our arrival.

These are days of discovery, “landing” in a new land, it is time to observe and enjoy the contrasts.

We have also been fortunate to meet Dana (Polish Comboni Lay Missionary, who is completing her service time in Matany) and Marco and Maria Grazia with their sons Francesco and Samuele (Italians Comboni Lay Missionaries) who also complete their mission time in Aber. We went to visit them accompanied by F.Ramón and F.Luigi.

Just one day to share experiences, but enough to see that it was a nice life time for all of them.

It is very positive for us to meet other lay people nearby Gulu who knows realities, is positive as well listening stories and experiences of those who have preceded us, which help us to place ourselves before starting to take over our reality.

That is our time to learn Acoli, sharing Eucharist, meals and tours with Acoli people and the Comboni family and quietly enjoying what Uganda is giving us these first days.

Carmen, Monika, Asia and Ewa

Wawotowu!*

5 September, 2014 by Alberto de la Portilla

Greetings from our very beautiful Gulu. Firstly we’re very sorry that we write so rarely but time goes very quickly. We (me and Ewa) have been for 3 months in Uganda! During this time we’ve got to know the place- children, mothers and also district in which we live. Now it’s really our Home. We still get to know Acoli culture, every day we discover new things, customs and rules… Of course we had an opportunity to see a richness of Acoli culture, I mean dances. Acoli tribe has more than 20 different traditional dances. Each of them very energetic and full of life. When we see dancing people we’re in owe of them, their moves and their condition. We also finished Acoli course. Acoli is not as easy as we heard, but little by little we start talking with children using their local language.

As I wrote at the beginning, time goes very quickly, probably because we’re very busy. In this moment we try do our best and help br. Elio to give a new fresh spirit to St. Jude orphanage. Now we are involved in different department-offices. Ewa works as social worker, I had to change my occupation for a moment and became an accounter. When we came here we didn’t dreamed of working in the office, but we know that sometimes mission demands changing your ideas. That’s why with humility and openness we involve in places which needs our help. We still observe and inspite of a lot of things make us angry and annoyed we humbly waiting for co-operation with local workers. Every day we discover a lot of needs of this place and in our heads there are a lot of different ideas to organize meetings for children. We are full of will and happiness and this is the most important.

We also co-operate with local CLM, on every first Friday of month we have meeting and common prayer. We’re wondering how to organise our co-operation in the future, what we can do for this place. The local community is very opened so I think we can do a lot of very good things together. We also met Marco and Maria Grazia, who’s just finishing their mission in Aber and coming back to Italy.

On Thursday Monika and Carmen have joined us, so we are very happy because finally we are together. Now girls have Acoli course so they stay in Layibi but we live in the same Town. Now we really start organizing our community live and activities. We’ll write about it soon.

Thank you very much for your support, for your prayer, which is very import ant for us. We also pray for you and think of you. We greet you again.

Asia

*in Acoli- We greet you

Magda Plekan, “New” Comboni Lay Missionary

7 July, 2014 by Alberto de la Portilla

On the 27-29 of June we had the last CLM meeting before holydays during which we concluded our formation year. This was special meeting not only for the CLM group but for the all Comboni Family as well.

On the 27^th of June during the Holy Mass of Solemnity of Sacred Heart of Jesus, presided by Fr. Maciek Miąsik, Magda Plekan officially entered into group of CLM Community. The most important moment was the official reading of her prayer as free act and wish to join the community of CLM.

It was big celebration for all our community, although young in age courageously answered the call of God. We are proud and happy for Magda, who beside to Danka, Ewa, Asia and Monika is already fifth Polish full member of the community of Comboni Lay Missionaries. All the girls and all international community of CLM we embrace with our prayer and we wish them unfading enthusiasm taking as their model S. Daniel Comboni.

During the Eucharistic Celebration on Saturday we celebrated missionary sending for monthly experience of our group of seven people. Zuza, Magda, Kasia, Piotrek, Maciek and sister Ula under the eye of fr. Maciek will spend one month in Africa experiencing a bit of missionary life discerning their own vocation.

On Sunday we’ve heard the testimony of Magda, our new CLM. She underlined that the community was very important for her during the missionary experiences and how important is prayer which unites. She shared with us how looked like her way to decide to enter to CLM community. She underlined that during the discernment is important patience and trust in God.

We thank God for Magda and her vocation to be a CLM.

CLM group of Poland

Greetings from Africa!!!

23 June, 2014 by Alberto de la Portilla

kampala1

Finally our dreams have come true. We are in Africa again. We’ve lived at the Provincial House in Kampala since Saturday. We’ll spend here about 2 weeks. Our time is filled mostly by visiting different places and meeting new people. Little by little we enter in the atmosphere and culture of Uganda. Everything is new, everything delights us, there are so many things to see, to get to know that sometimes it is impossible to remember everything, especially names. But slowly, slowly we’re learning everything.

We’re very happy that we can be here. At every step we feel like at home. People always surprise us with their openness, hospitality, help and kindness.

kampala3

In the first week we were able to visit several communities and see some of the projects implemented by the Comboni not only in Kampala. And we also met the CLM who live and work in Kampala. They have their own house where their meetings are held and in which some of them also live. Some have their own families, so they live in another place, but every day they come to the CLM house. At the beginning they told us about themselves, about the CLM in Uganda, in which places they work, what they do and how is their formation. Immediately we felt like at home, we feel that we are one community, which has the same goal and the same motivation. Thanks to them, we also have the opportunity to learn about the life and culture in Uganda because they offered us a series of meetings on various topics. Thanks to this we get to know the atmosphere in Kampala, in Uganda.

We are also waiting for brother Elio, who returns from holiday and with him we’ll go to Gulu, the place where we spend the next two years. We cannot wait to see our mission…, but we have to be patient. At the moment we are trying to take advantage of the time we spend in Kampala. We are getting to know the fathers, but also the Comboni sisters who live here. Of course, everyone knows Gulu, so from them also we receive information about our new home – St. Jude orphanage. We got to know the history, but also the most important problems which we’ll meet for sure. Such meetings are very fruitful, because each person gives their advices; thanks to this we are getting more knowledgeable about St. Jude, but also a variety of initiatives in which we can get involved.

Greetings and big hugs for all the CLM

Asia and Ewa