Poland – Page 8 – Comboni Lay Missionaries

New comers course in Ethiopia

25 May, 2017 by Alberto de la Portilla

In the first week of May all our community participated in the new comers’ course. It was organized by Comboni Family but participants were from different congregations. All together we were over 30 people.

First day we had lecture about Christianity in Ethiopia. Ethiopia is one of the first Christian countries in the world, starting from IV century. Also in the Acts of Apostles we can read about converting the Ethiopian.

Second day we focused on the Catholic Church history, which was also very interesting, as e.g. how it happened that Ethiopia has two different rites – Ethiopian Ge’ez one (based very much on the orthodox tradition) and Latin.

Then the next day was about the liturgy, mostly about the one of the orthodox church, which also has a lot in common with the catholic one.

And then following day was about culture and some every-day life issues. These four days were common for all of us. But the last day was only for the Comboni family, we got a lot of information about history of the MCCJ’s missions in Ethiopia (starting from the time of Comboni himself) and CMS, and also some present issues of the Comboni Family’s presence.

It was very enriching time. We got many information, but also many new questions appeared, so we are motivate to continue discovering Ethiopia with its history & culture, to serve better here. Also it was beautiful time to be together and getting to know each other.

CLM Ethiopia

Easter among the Gumuz people

24 April, 2017 by Alberto de la Portilla

This year our community spent Holy Week and Easter at the Comboni missions among the Gumuz tribe. Madzia and I stayed in Gublak most of the time; Adela and Tobiasz stayed in GilgelBelez. However, we all visited both places. I would like to share with you something of this impressive experience.

The journey from Addis Abeba to GilgelBelez was very tiring. We spent 13 hours on a bus packed with people. At times, only the beautiful landscape gave us some relief. We arrived in the evening and, while we were having supper together, the fathers told us a lot of stories about the local people. Many of them sounded incredible. We were very happy to have the opportunity to meet those people and the missionaries during their daily activities.

We spent the next day in GilgelBelez, a town where many different tribes, including the Gumuz, live. The Gumuz face discrimination in their daily life because of the dark colour of their skin. They were even discriminated by the churches until the Catholic Church came. Today the parish community is made up entirely of Gumuz people. In the days before Easter we could observe them working together preparing for the feast. They all worked hard for the good of the community. We also visited a certain boy and his family, whom Madzia helped two years ago. She showed him and his parents some exercises and found crutches for him. Now he is able to walk on his own. It was nice to see the good results of Madzia’s work. We also visited the town and the kindergarten belonging to the parish.

After our short visit to GilgelBelez we moved on to visit Gublak, a mission founded five years ago. Before the Triduum we saw the daily work of the missionaries. They celebrate Mass in the morning and then each one goes about his work. The main job is visiting villages to teach the people about Christ and our faith. We went to some villages together with them. The first thing they do when they arrive in a village is to greet people. Only after the greetings can the meeting begin. The people pray and sing and, then the fathers, the sisters or the catechists give them some instruction. Some of the people are already baptized while others are still catechumens. The catechists act as translators from Amharic into the Gumuz language. There are very few texts in this language and the missionaries speak only Amharic. During a meeting with the women, Adela and Tobiasz gave them testimony about family life. They had prepared it for some days with their Amharic teacher and it was their first speech in Amharic (after a three-month course!). Congratulations to them!

Then we started the Triduum. I went with Father Isayas to bring the catechumens to our compound on Thursday. Starting from the furthest village we brought some of them on the pick-up car. The catechumens who live close to the mission came on foot to the church in the evening. On Holy Thursday evening, I went with Fr. Isayas to a chapel where we celebrated the Last Supper Mass. There were around 50 people (most of them children or teenagers). During his homily the father described what happened at the Last Supper and explained, about the institution of the Eucharist. Then he washed feet of twelve chosen young people. After the Mass, we had a time of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. I must say that the youth behaved properly.

After that we took some of them to our compound where they joined the 130 young people already there. From Thursday till Sunday the youth stayed in the compound. They had prayer, teaching, and group work and participated in the main program: the Stations of the Cross, the Friday Liturgy, the Passover Liturgy and, the Sunday Easter Mass. I was very impressed by the people. They participated very actively. The catechists who are also young boys served all this time, from the morning until night. They did it with joy, without complaining. They translated, they organized the prayers, the services, the meals and, they kept order and discipline. During the Passover Liturgy 102 catechumens were baptized, on Sunday there was a group of 24 adults who also received baptism. Even if the Mass lasted so long, it was great to see the people who became Christians. It was something very meaningful in their lives. Some of them were really moved.

Most of the new Christians are very young, children or teenagers. Most of the adults who received the baptism were the mothers of the children who were baptized in past years. It is amazing how the Catholic Church is growing where there were no Christians at all just a few years ago. Many of those people don’t know how to read or write and do not know Amharic. Nevertheless, they listened to the missionaries and believed. Of course they still need Christian formation and that’s why the missionaries’ work is so important. Saint Daniel Comboni must be very happy to see the fruits of their work.

CLM Ethiopia

Comboni Friends’ meeting in Awassa.

21 April, 201718 April, 2017 by Alberto de la Portilla

The Comboni Lay Missionary of Ethiopia is collaborating with the Comboni´s friends group.

Part of this collaboration is on organization and formation of this group of lay people.

We have celebrated a meeting in Awassa where we talked about Social Teaching of the Church, but also about how St. Daniel Comboni cared for slaves and the most abandoned people.

There was also time for meditation of Bible fragments on which STC is based and some sharing.

It was really good meeting.

Madzia Plekan. CLM Ethiopia

Beyond the time

8 April, 2017 by Alberto de la Portilla

Exactly a year ago I was still in Poland, now I am in St. Jude Children’s Home but not only.
Since my return to Gulu has not passed another year yet but everything looks different than it was before. Just like everyone thinks the return is easier- familiar place, people, culture. Despite this, I am still learning something new. This is also a result of changes in my mission- I’m not only in the orphanage but also in the school running by St. Monica community, in the prison and also in the house for our older boys.

The area of our missionary service has expanded considerably, not only mine but also Asia’s and Carmen’s – each of us has found new places of commitment which enriches our community in sharing and experiencing mission.

As I mentioned above, besides my daily activities with children in St. Jude (the redeemining the level of education, motivational support and self-esteem of children, feeding and caring for children with disabilities, having fun and praying together with young girls) I have engaged in other projects as well.

St. Monica is a place running by one Community of Sisters. They have many different projects-activities like School of Basic Literacy for Adult Women, Tailoring school, Clinic and Kindergarten. At this Kindergarten, twice a week, I have classes with children who have learning difficulties. Our classes take place in the classroom where I try to show the child, within a half hour (classes are held individually) that he is able to write, count or answer questions. However, the most important is to make the child feel accepted and that someone believes in him. Unfortunately, the biggest problem among these children is very low self-esteem, they are timid and they do not feel like special. They come from many families where everyone is the same and if you are slower in learning or writing, it means you are worse, stupid.

The another place is a prison where I’ve already spent two weeks together with a prayer group celebrating Mass or sharing the Gospel with the prisoners – so far this is the beginning, so I am still new in this but I am so glad I can be there. I also hope to go to the prisoners-women but it will start after Easter.
The boys’ home is the part of St. Jude but this is separated house situated about 2 km from the Orphanage. On Saturday afternoons, I go there to read with them the Gospel of coming Sunday, to talk about their problems, help with study. For example, one boy is in P.3 class (Primary School) but still has problem with writing his name, concentration or memorization – but this is not due to his laziness. His difficulty of acquiring the knowledge is caused by the boy’s mother who was drinking alcohol during pregnancy. Unfortunately, alcoholic fetal syndrome (FAS) and AIDS (drugs are very strong and have side effects) have a great impact on their ability and functioning in the life and also in school.
Time goes by very fast, each day is similar but events, faces, other situations are different. Everything teaches something – mainly about myself. I am grateful to God for the gift of this vocation, sometimes difficult but surely full of His love and power. Because no one of us would do anything if it were not His will.

For this extraordinary time of Holy Week I wish all of us moments of silence and desert – that in our organized daily life we find time for Him and on the Day of Resurrection let our souls be filled with Faith, Hope, and Love.

Ewa Maziarz, Polish CLM in Uganda

The miracle of Blessing

3 April, 2017 by Alberto de la Portilla

In the Mother Teresa Home where I work, most patients stay for only a few weeks – months, just for treatment. However, there is also a small group of people for whom the center is home. They are mainly people with intellectual disabilities who do not have any relatives, who were found by the sisters on the street. Among them is Bereket (which means Blessing) – man with Down syndrome. He has been living here for many years, so since I came to Awassa I have been meeting him almost every day – either at the center or somewhere in the street when he comes back from school or in a church where he serves the Mass… Every time he greets me, usually with a wide smile and great joy, he likes to talk about various things, such a cool moment for me was when once he came and said he’d like to show me something… He led me into the room, opened the cabinet and proudly presented a collection of stickers with football players 🙂 Such a small thing, but for me it was very touching that he wanted to share something important to him, such a sign of friendship.

But recently, Bereket has started to get seriously ill. One day when I saw himself alone in the room and feeling a little better, I came with the Picture Bible and together we started to read and tell biblical stories, it was so beautiful! His faith in God, so simple and so strong! And it seemed to me that he was in quite good health, that he was getting back to strength … But when I returned to the center the next day, he was unconscious, with a face full of bruises, with people gathered around him in prayer. It turned out that he had epilepsy all night (for the first time in his life), fell out of bed and got some wounds and bruises. For following few days, his condition worsened, epileptic attacks were repeated, he did not want to eat or drink anything, the sisters tried their best to help him, but the drugs did not work … The priest came and gave him the sacrament of the anointing of the sick. It seemed like he was going to die soon… It was very difficult time, filled with prayer and hope. And I was so surprised when, after coming back from Addis, where I was staying over the weekend, Bereket greeted me at the gate! Except the bruises on his face, he was looking totally healthy! Miracle! And when we started talking, the first thing he showed in the image of Merciful Jesus and said – “thanks to him I’m healthy! After the priest came with Holy Communion, I felt much better.” Such strong testimony of God’s power and power of prayer. And then when we continued the conversation he asked when there will be the Way of the Cross from Awassa to Gethsemane (a retreat center located about 7 km outside the city), because he is already looking forward to go there. Hearing it from a man who was barely alive a few days earlier … Amazing … Glory to the Lord that works such miracles! And I’m so thankful for the testimony of Bereket’s faith, which is also very strengthening for my own faith.

Madzia Plekan. CLM Awassa (Ethiopia)