Comboni Lay Missionaries

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Poland

Wawotowu!*

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AsiayEwaGreetings 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

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MagdaOn 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 27th 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.

Magda Magda
Magda Magda

CLM group of Poland

Greetings from Africa!!!

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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.

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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.

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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

Three months in London

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LondonThree months has lasted our experience in London, in this process of intensive training before leaving for mission, where we worked to improve our English, and where we could know each other better and walk among us as a Community.

It have been the last stage before traveling to Africa, Gulu (Uganda) and it’s been a time we live intensely, to confirm our vocation and to confirm ourselves in this way. Since we landed in March, (Monika, Ewa, Asia and me), we have shared joys, birthdays, walks on the “city”, cultural visits, prayers, moments of doubt, some moments of sadness, but a lot of conversation and laughter.

We have also shared our hopes, our experience of God and our desire to live in this world with an attentive and generous heart. We have begun to discover each other praying together, listening, wondering, watching and we all want to do so in African soil.

We felt welcomed and cared by the Community of Comboni Fathers who have helped us with the language and manage on this amazing city, making these months have passed quickly and without any difficulty.

With the ending of our English classes, our meetings and other activities with people from school, we have realized it was time to start saying goodbye.

Ends specific training, but we know that training always will continue wherever we´ll go, learning every day… and let God transform us slowly. We will try to be open to the Gospel and to evangelization trough others.

With a big smile we leave this country, another experience in the heart, and with our suitcase in hand we are now ready for the next destination…

LondonCarmen Aranda