Portugal – Page 15 – Comboni Lay Missionaries

Learning to Love…

22 November, 2017 by Alberto de la Portilla

It was a dream that turned into reality! It all started the first time I listened to the witness of a missionary priest and I marveled at the intensity of his love lived and shared. I was an adolescent and at that time my great wish to be able to love like that was born.

Time went by and I almost saw the dream disappear into my routines, responsibilities and job. But God knows what he is doing and could not possibly let such a rich dream die. He was able to lead me along the right path, on the journey of Faith and Mission that helped me grow closer to him, to know myself more deeply and to realize that I was called to do something more. So that, with a million fears and desires he wanted me to go even farther and lived this month where I could learn and savor a bit of the missionary life.

After the preparation, the gathering of funds and the good-byes, I only accepted that it was real when I saw myself in Nampula. So I got off the plane, picked up my camera to take some pictures and a security guard stopped me. There I discovered that this was not the world I had grown in and to which I was used.

On the journey to Carapira, I realized that I was living a different life. On the paved road, without painted lines and stretched to infinity I had the chance to see the reality of living in Mozambique. From the window I could see the scenery along the way, the little markets where they were selling a bit of everything, many women with their babies on their back and others carrying buckets of water or other things on their head. The red soil, the local trees and the infinite plain with some mountains in the distance completed the scenery. In some areas you could see straw huts and inhabited areas.

We arrived in Carapira and the warm welcome reminded me of my familiar world. The place was rather similar to what I had been imagining.

The first days gave me the opportunity to get to know the place where we would spend most of our time, the houses of the different branches of the Comboni family, and the work they were all doing. Tasks were assigned to the entire Faith and Mission community, mostly related to the Technical Commercial Institute (TCI) of Carapira and with the girls at the Comboni sisters’ boarding school.

We developed our assignments during the course of the month adapting them to the local rhythm of life. Time is relative and there is no hurry, always finding time for a chat whenever we were going from one place to another.

Every day we took part in lauds and vespers held in church together with the Comboni community. At first it was not easy to wake up so early for lauds, but as I entered into the rhythm of life I rarely missed any of the prayers. It was a time to stop and join Him and remember all the reasons that had brought me there.

Besides the tasks initially assigned, I had the opportunity to visit a community outside Carapira together with Sr. Eleonora. There I had the chance to “inculturate” myself by eating with the community. I also said the rosary in Makua in a barrio of Carapira and to accompany Sr. Maria José on her visits to the sick. These times gave me the opportunity to get to know a bit the customs and the life of the Makua. They were always happy to hear us use their language, as little as it was.

Marvels happened as time moved on. And each day had a special touch that made me enjoy being there where nothing else mattered. Even though I missed Portugal, the desire to stay was growing with every passing day.

Slowly I was learning more and more, especially with the girls at the boarding. From the first time I met them I was captivated by their smiles, songs and contagious joy. My heart was always full when I was with them! They endeared themselves to me with their simplicity and, even though my job was to teach them and help them in their studies, I felt that I learned from them even more. They were teaching me Makua words and always had a good laugh when I tried to pronounce them.

When I already was feeling my heart warmed by so much love and I thought it could not get any better, there appeared a little one who wanted to talk to me alone. I confess that I harbored many thoughts and some fears, together with much curiosity. What does she want to tell me? Finally the proper time arrived and the question was very simple and expressed very sweetly: “Would you like to be my friend?” I was unable to react and was speechless. I was not expecting such a small question but loaded with so much feeling. I hugged her and told her that we were already friends without having to ask for it. But this little heart was going to surprise me even more. Even after I tried not to accept it, she came with a gift for me. I know that we have a lot and they have little. How was it possible? It was a small notebook with something she, herself, had written. During the month, the little attentions of this child moved me in a very special manner, turning upside down also my world and my way of thinking about love. After all, it is so simple!

All this helped me see life in a simpler way, stopping to value some of the things I have and reflecting over this love almost wordless but very communicative. This is how God took me into the desert and spoke to my heart…

Mónica Silva (Faith and Mission)

“His Eyes Gazed on my Lowliness…”

16 November, 2017 by Alberto de la Portilla

The time has come to share what is in my heart after one month into my mission experience in Carapira. I have some difficulty in organizing my ideas and in getting started, because I have many emotions in my heart. I will try to describe a bit how I have grown throw this experience.

First, I will tell you about the daily routine. We had moments of prayer every day. We always started and ended the day with prayer, both with the pastoral community and in our community.

At the very beginning we were made aware several activities where our cooperation was needed and we built our daily routine around these activities both at the Technical Industrial Institute and at the boarding run by the sisters. We accompanied the missionaries in their visits to people and communities. We took part in the celebrations that were taking place at the time to remember the 70 years of Comboni presence in Mozambique, the 150^th anniversary of the MCCJ Institute and the 25^th of Bro. Alfredo Fiorini’s killing.

We also kept faithful to special moments in our community of Faith and Mission.

Two things filled my heart: the first was the feeling of being small; the second, was a great but joyful serenity. I felt small, light, happy and at peace.

I felt small because I was seeing the best and the worst in me. I learned a lot about myself, I knew myself better. I perceived my limitations and my gifts with more clarity. I found limitations I did not know and qualities I was not aware of. As I grew, I felt small. This was because I was discovering that the work we were doing, even though it was important and done with our full dedication, did not change the world as we would have liked. Because the difference consists in small gestures of friendship and of love that grow and bear fruit. I felt small, above all, because what I received than what I gave. This includes the apostolic community that welcomed generously, the community of Carapira, the communities we visited, the people we met, the children and young people with whom we spent a lot of time, at the Institute and at the sisters’ boarding, and the persons with whom we made community, the other members of Faith and Mission.

At the same time I felt at peace, because my heart was full. It was full of love and of joy. God filled it. With each passing day, I was realizing all the more that I was there because God had wanted to talk to me there. I felt him very near, in concrete moments, in prayer, while working, in the people who were touching my heart. And I realized that He was guiding me and helping me to know myself better. This helped me to be more aware, more genuine. More myself. The one God already knew but I did not – my true self…

I look at this journey. How I was at the beginning and how I am now at the end. How I have changed: how God stayed in my smallness, and how he took hold of this smallness and went on to build something beautiful.

How I was touched by Him. I am happy in seeing and knowing that I lived intensely. For knowing that I lived that time with a passion for Christ and for people. I want to continue this way, with a full heart, thankful for all the marvels that God has done, for all that I received from the people who crossed my path, the many witnesses of faith and love that touched me and made me grow.

Filipe Oliveira (Faith and Mission)

On the way to Meet You

5 November, 2017 by Alberto de la Portilla

On August 17, my seven companions of the group Faith and Mission and I left Lisbon for a long journey to the airport of Nampula, Mozambique. It was not a vacation, but the beginning of a month-long missionary experience in the Comboni community of Carapira. Now that I am on my way back to Portugal, I can only say that it was an unforgettable month that has placed Mozambique in my heart forever.

The main focus of our mission was the Technical Industrial Institute of Carapira (ITIC), where we took part in many activities, each according to his or her own gift. In my case, being a Math student, I had the chance to help in the revision of the accounts, in teaching and in clarifying students’ doubts during the night sessions. Our mission, however, was not limited to the ITIC, because we were asked also to do some teaching to the girls at the Comboni Sisters’ boarding school and we were also able to take part in various pastoral activities, such as visits to the communities, to the sick and others. Despite the large number of activities, what made this month so significant was not the little I gave, but how much I received and learned in Carapira.

Welcoming and sharing are two words holding much of the magic of this mission month. It is incredible how the missionary community of Carapira – fathers, brothers, sisters, and lay people – opened its doors to receive us, to offer us a cup of coffee or to help whenever it was needed.

In my contacts with the people I perceived that such availability and willingness to share is what better describes the Makua with a rich culture very much at odds with ours… While in Europe life is full of stress and people get upset at the slightest delay, for example, waiting for a bus that is late, in Carapira I met people who do not live in a hurry, who know how to be and contemplate. The truth is that during my first weeks in Carapira I found it rather difficult to adapt to the culture and to its rhythm. But it was well worthwhile, because this slowing down brought me to rethink my style of life and to find this interior silence that helps us to listen to the will of God.

To be part of this community was another great challenge I had to face. During the month we were eight young people 100% joined in community. We ate together, we prayed together, we worked together… It was a routine far different to the one I am used to, because I left home when I entered the university and got used to a rather independent and solitary life… Adaptation was not easy, because in community living there are always situations leading to make mistakes – it is enough to be a little too tired and say the wrong word that will cause resentment. These situations are unavoidable and they did come up occasionally, but we were always able to get over them thanks to the power of prayer, which helped us to be more in tune with God, “to die daily in order to go against our will,” as a song we like a lot says, and to be able to forgive.

For anyone coming from a country like Portugal, it is sad to see how the majority of the population of Mozambique lives in a situation of great poverty. And it is even worse to realize that, for the most part, the mentality of the rich countries is responsible for this poverty. For instance, walking through the barrios I was often surprised to hear, “mucunha [white person], I need money.” In time, however, I realized that many “mucunha” help by giving money only to relieve their conscience, without trying to create the means people need to come out of poverty and stop begging. But I was happy to see right there the great and constant flow of charity and love for neighbor done by the Comboni family, faithful to Comboni’s slogan, “to save Africa with Africa.”

I could say a lot more about this “landing” in Carapira. I could speak of the fantastic beauty I found on our visits to the beaches of the Island of Mozambique, or of the great feast for our departure, or of many other good things. But what is most important is what I keep in my heart, and it cannot be put into words…

I thank God for having had the opportunity to experience all this.

Mozambique, let us keep united in friendship and in prayer.

Rúben Sousa (Portugal)

(Re) Living a Dream

27 October, 2017 by Alberto de la Portilla

“We are moved by a dream,” wrote Sebastián da Gama. Many times, a dream rules the soul of a person. It can take us to places we deeply desire, but we not always manage to reach in reality. Since 2015, Carapira had been a dream to me. To return to a place where I had been so happy, to see once more well-known faces, people who had touched me deeply, was something I did not think that could happen again.

But, by God’s grace, the dream became reality and the joy of living the mission God had entrusted to me on Mozambique’s soil filled again my heart with deep gratitude to God and to all those who prayed and worked to turn the dream into reality and make me live it again.

Unlike 2015, my first time in Mozambique, this year the task God entrusted to me consisted in being responsible for seven young people of the group Faith and Mission: Ana, Felipe, Inés, Jorge, Monica, Ruben and Sophia. My main mission was to ensure that these young people would spend a month filled with rich and deep experiences of God, with the people God had us know, within themselves and with the missionaries who, by their example, would teach us about mission.

This year, my greatest joy was to experience the fullness of these young people’s hearts, to see them happily giving of themselves without reserve to all the people who crossed our paths and to all the tasks entrusted to us. Once more, I am grateful to God for the young people he sent to Carapira, for their generosity and goodness, for their cheerfulness and enthusiasm, for all that I learned with them and for all they gave in such a short time.

Despite te fact that we only reached Carapira on August 19, I believe that the long journey was very important, because it allowed us to create greater empathy among ourselves and reflect a bit on mission. So, during the trip we held a catechesis on volunteering and mission, the sacred ground that Mozambique was for us, the other as “sacred” and “a mystery,” and the joy of meeting.

Many thanks to all the missionaries who with open hearts welcomed and accepted us into their homes, who took precious time out in their mission to to stop and be with us, to share marvelous personal stories and took us to see marvelous places.

For me, the best places were the village of Carapira, the communities we visited and all the other places where we were able to be with people. It is for the sake of people that God invites to move. Mission is made of faces: First of all, the face of Christ, filled of love for all and, in a special way, for the most abandoned; then, the face of each person we met and shared of our own selves. At times we only shared our presence, our being there, as it was the case with the sick. Truthfully, this simple sharing brought some people to say to the young people that they had been a blessing from God for the sick. And the young folks allowed themselves to be moved by that. I had the grace to be with some who were attempting to describe what was going on in their soul, on the interior journey they were on, and I can tell you that at times my heart was full of what had been shared, with the marvelous deeds God was working in each one’s heart. Only a loving God can bring about the marvels that our God worked in these young people of “Faith and Mission.”

At the end I said my good-bye to Carapira. Parting was serene, because in my heart I felt the joy of one who does not really say “Good-bye,” but rather “until we meet again.” It could very well be “good-bye” to Carapira, but a “see you again” to mission well beyond our borders. May God make it so!

I end with a little personal Magnificat which I wrote between Carapira and the airport of Nampula:

My soul magnifies the Lord,

I praise and bless God for all the marvels I relived in Mozambique.

The little I had and gave, the Lord multiplied in graces and gifts

transformed in simple gestures of giving and sharing.

Praise be to God!

For our entire group of “Faith and Mission,” the Lord filled our hearts with wonders

translated into a simple “ehali,” into a smile or just a look.

Praise be to God!

Contemplating the natural beauty of this beautiful garden which is Mozambique,

I give glory to God for all of Creation,

for so much love!

Faced with the many signs of God’s presence that we experienced and contemplated

I can only say: God is great!

And God’s greatness shows in all and in everything,

Including myself and my frailty!

Praise be to God!

Pedro Nacimiento, Portugal

Mission on the other side of the Atlantic

26 October, 2017 by Alberto de la Portilla

To have faith is to sign a blank page and le God write on it what he wants (St. Augustine).

The same way, mission means to allow us to be guided by the Holy Spirit who accompanies us and waits for us. We came to this journey with all that we are and this way we left. We carried in our hearts all those we love and are part of us. They sent us here and they will accompany for the rest of our lives, for this is what love demands. We left at dawn and we reached Peru also at dawn. Aware of the length of our journey we found strength in the tight embraces we immediately received. We reached the land that, for the next several year we will call home.

They were waiting for us at the entrance to the airport and received us with joy. We shared our names and our charism.

Outside, we were received by a fine and penetrating rain, and in this whirlwind of sensations we stepped on Peruvian soil for the first time.

It was a time of primary knowledge, stripped of our own selves, we took the first steps with these people who welcomed so lovingly. It’s us, from the other side of the Atlantic, living the mission in the style of St. Daniel Comboni.

To know the CLM meant to get to know our Peruvian CLM family. Each one of them shared with us a little about themselves, their witness of life and of faith. While talking, eating, drinking and laughing we received part of themselves and shared part of ourselves, joyfully, certain that all these lives converge in God.

With the certainty of what has been and that God is calling us to this mission. Let us walk together sure that we will reach where they are waiting for us.

Neuza and Paula, CLM Peru