On December 26, we traveled 75 km from Naturomoe mission in Southern Ethiopia to Lotimor, a remote village in South Sudan at the foothills of Mount Naita.

We camped on the grounds of the old mission founded by the Saint Patrick’s Missionary Society, which now lies in ruins 25 years after the missionaries were forced to leave the place.

We stayed there for three days. It was an opportunity to speak about the importance of Christian unity across different denominations, as well as unity between the Toposa and Nyangatom, the ethnic groups that coexist in the area.

Jacob, a South Sudanese catechist, who – along with a few others – keeps the flame of the Catholic faith alive in this remote place, presented us with a list of people ready to receive the sacrament of baptism, and another list of 23 catechumens still under preparation.

On Sunday, December 28, sheltered by the ruins of the old mission, we baptized 182 persons. It was a day of celebration and color, where everyone danced and sang.

These visits overwhelm our hearts. Living alongside people who, despite being so isolated, remain faithful to the faith received from the missionaries, is an opportunity to witness a miracle from the front row. There, it becomes clear that God walks with them; He is the one who feeds and sustains them – otherwise, what is experienced there would be impossible to understand.

By Blanca Beltran, MCSPA

Muketurri Mission

[Ethiopia]