Yesterday (August 27), in the afternoon, members of the MCSPA celebrated the silver jubilee anniversary of the community’s presence in Ethiopia at Holy Saviour Church in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia. The Eucharistic celebration was presided over by His Eminence Berhaneyesus Cardinal Souraphiel of Addis Ababa accompanied by Msgr. Markos Gebremedhin, Bishop of Jimma-Bonga. It was a great joy to celebrate this mile-stone surrounded by many people who have been with us since the begining of our missionary work in Ethiopia: friends, beneficiaries and staff from all the four MCSPA missions in Ethiopia.

During his homily, the Cardinal congratulated all who made this mission a reality: from Fr. Paco to Cecilia, Lourdes and all who are now working in Ethiopia. He spoke of how Fr. Paco had a boundless energy and how he encouraged the MCSPA members to take care of the poor, recalling the words from Scripture, “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink”.

The Cardinal also encouraged MCSPA members to be people of prayer like St. Monica and to seek God in each one of us, as advised by St. Augustine.

Finally Cardinal Berhaneyesus also adviced us to continue to seek out the lost sheep, bearing in mind the charism of MCSPA.

After the mass, everyone gathered in the church hall for speeches, refreshments, a slideshow and, finally, songs and dances in the Nyangatom (southern Ethiopia) style!

We wish to thank all those who made this day a success especially all the friends, relatives, and staff who attended, and we pray that God may continue to bless us with more vocations so that we may be able to reach many other places in Ethiopia and the surrounding countries where the harvest is still so full.

Thank you for all your prayers and support throughout these years!

Lillian Omari MCSPA

The members of the Missionary Community of St. Paul the Apostle (MCSPA) in different countries remembered their founder who passed on 6 years ago.

At Nariokotome Mission, where Fr. Paco was laid to rest, the villages came in large numbers to remember him, carrying branches while singing and dancing. It was a great celebration as we fondly remembered Fr. Paco as a man who brought light to people, like a lighted candle in a dark room.

Lillian Omari – MCSPA

A new look for Our Lady Queen of Peace School at Todonyang …

Pictures send powerful messages. At the school in Todonyang, we use wall murals to teach and catechize.

Lillian Omari

We would like to share with you a recent article written by our friend from Singapore Wilson Wong. He was in Turkana for a week with his family and these are some of the insights and experiences that he would like to share with us.

http://www.cps.org.sg/mission/articles/Turkana_Wilson_2016.php

El día 7 de enero llegaron a Etiopia 19 voluntarios de Chile a colaborar por dos meses en las cuatro misiones del país: Angar Guten, Muketurri, Nyangatom y Mizan Teferi. Los voluntarios apoyarán el trabajo en las guarderías, programa de pozos y agricultura, aula con niños con necesidades especiales, centros de salud y en todo lo que haga falta. Hasta la fecha 89 chilenos han venido apoyar los proyectos de nuestra Comunidad, estamos muy contentos con su visita y valoramos mucho su tiempo y energía en pos de las comunidades con las que trabajamos.

Valentina Correa

On December 12^th, Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Deacon Wycliffe Ochieng was ordained to the priesthood at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle at Nariokotome Mission, Diocese of Lodwar (Turkana), northern Kenya. Wycliffe, who is 33 years old, is a member of the public association of the faithful Missionary Community of St. Paul the Apostle and Mary, Mother of the Church (MCSPA).

The ordination mass was presided by Rt. Rev. Dominic Kimengich, Bishop of Lodwar, who emphasized the tremendous work of the Community in the north-eastern part of this vast diocese in bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ to the people of Turkana. He praised the number of local African vocations in the MCSPA and asked the faithful to support and pray for them.

In typical Turkana way of celebrating, the mass was very colourful with exuberant singing and dancing. The joy of the people could not have been more apparent! After the mass, there was food for all the people, who came from the different settlements by the lakeshore and the mountains, some a whole night’s trek away. There were visitors from Spain and the UK and also from Mombasa on the Kenyan coast where Wycliffe comes from.

The following day, Sunday 13^th December, Fr. Wycliffe celebrated his first mass. The MCSPA asks that you keep him in prayer as he begins his journey as a priest in this mission land.

Fr. Francis Teo

Every Monday and Wednesday 4 of our collaborators take the jeepney, the local filipino public transport, after their classes at the University of Santo Tomas, Manila, to Parola, a sprawling slum area at the Pier District of Manila where thousands of families live in deplorable conditions.

After braving the traffic for hours in the heat and humidity, they arrive to a windowless chapel with a falling roof to wait for the children whom they teach Basic Education and English. With no fans still available and sweating profusely, the children run towards the Centre with a great excitement to learn. It clearly shows in their little faces that it is a day they have been waiting for – they are so eager to learn. It is a challenging task but the collaborators show diligence and patience with the children as they go through the lessons.

Learning and conversing in English, they build up confidence among these children, educating them in a positive way as they gradually become aware of their possibilities and passion for education.

Fr. Steven Ochieng