On 24th December, 51 children were baptized at the Mission of Naturomoe, in Nyangatom, South Ethiopia, close to the Kenya border.

On the same day, a child was born – a baby girl – to one of our catechists. They are refugees from South Sudan, and they live in a dusty plain at the foot of the hills which act as the frontier with their country. Their faith is one of the few things they have not lost. They cannot go back to their country and they are less than 5,000 people, the minimum number required for the settlement to be considered a refugee camp … Hence, they have nowhere to rest, just like Joseph and Mary!

If Jesus were to be born today, would he be a refugee? We can’t know for certain, but, what we know for sure is that he would be standing up for the millions of people that suffer the consequences of wars and forced displacements.

Nyangatom Mission – which was began by the MCSPA about 5 years ago – is in a remote area: it is Ethiopian territory, but many inhabitants are South Sudanese and they live just a few kilometres from Kenya! Here, peace is being preached as the main Good News of the Gospel, and it is so often related with the need for water for survival.

The joy of the people surprises one, because despite their difficult situation, they enjoy moments like the Christmas celebration, and song and dance are so much a part of our Eucharist celebration here. They made a crib out of mud – a crib with a lot of animals! That is the ideal condition! We painted the faces of the children with colours for the celebration. And after that, chocolate for everybody!

The men, hardened by the violent escape from their country, were moved and touched when they saw their children celebrating, and the songs retrieved a certain feeling that hovered between nostalgia and joy.

Our missionaries and some volunteers from Muke Turi Mission assisted at the Youth Meeting of the Diocese of Emdibir under the motto Vocation and Mission. More than 800 young people came to the event from the different parishes of the Eparchy.

Through music and drama, the youth expressed their ideas on the motto. The MCSPA participated with their testimonies and some songs.

The common vocation of the baptized and the universal mission of the Church were some of the topics exhibited. The Bishop and the organizers thanked the MCSPA deeply for their participation and testimony.

Lourdes Larruy MCSPA

At the St. Joseph’s Mother and Child Center at Muketuri, we welcomed Advent with a play. On 5th December, the children of Grade 3 acted out the passage of Isaiah which describes how the wild beasts would be led in peace under the protection of a little child who announces peace.
In this time of violence and uncertainty in the country, the MCSPA promotes peace through different activities.

Lourdes Larruy MCSPA

It was with great joy to have several of our farmers graduate from the furrows in the dessert program at Lobur. They were given certificates, signed by Arava higher Institute of Agriculture – Israel and a set of basic tools for starting their farms back at home.

The Caritas coordinator of Lodwar diocese was the guest of honour, she presented the certificates to the farmers. We would like to thank Mrs. Agnes Mana the chief guest of the day, for her kindness and support.

During the celebration we were blessed by heavy rains. That was a blessing because all the farmers of SITFA who attended the graduation and held their annual General Assembly, planted 700 indigenous trees to combat climate change and improve soil erosion.

Our gratitude goes to all our supporters from Spain, Israel, Germany, U.K. and overall Kenya, the Lobur mission staff, the furrows team and the MCSPA community in Lobur mission. Thank you all for making this programme successful.

Lillian Omari

From the 2nd to 7th Decemeber 2019, the youth from 26 parishes of the Diocese of Lodwar gathered at Queen of Peace Primary School-Lodwar for the 2019 Diocesan Youth Convention. The theme was “YOUTH: AGENTS OF EVANGELIZATION. The event was graced by facilitators from various sectors and different important topics were addressed. We pray and hope that this convention will be helpful to these young people as far as shaping their lives is concerned. The youth from MCSPA run parishes also attended; Nariokotome, Todonyang and Kibish.

Fr. Wycliffe Ochieng, MCSPA

Today we had an early Christmas celebration with some children that are involved in our outreach programme from Daan Tubo. We held the Christmas party here at the MCSPA Formation House at Quezon City, Manila. A total of 50 kids and 5 mothers were able to attend the party which was facilitated by friends from Singapore and Philippines.

The children are part of a group that we give remedial classes to, for Math, English and Science, while the younger ones are encouraged to improve their communication skills in english through drawing and coloring and conversation.

By Timothy Kaburu
MCSPA Apprentice
Manila

Today we distributed over 200 mosquito nets to families at Ronas Gardens a depressed area (slum) within the parish where we have our Formation House.

The 200-odd families were very happy and were all smiles on receiving the large nets which were donated by friends.

The proper organisation of all the families and the distribution of the mosquito nets was made possible with the help of Ma’am Yeng, who is the “Secretary” of Ronas Gardens settlement.

Rev. Victor Otieno, MCSPA

The chance was too good to pass up. For the first time, our parish in Singapore – the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour (OLPS) – was holding a visual exhibition to showcase its various outreach activities.

The event, which saw different ministries putting up display panels over two weekends, was prompted by Pope Francis’ designation of October 2019 as the Extraordinary Mission Month. 

My husband, Michael, and I thought it was the perfect platform to promote our ongoing collaboration with Fr. Francis Teo and his team in Manila. 

We had visited Nariokotome and other MCSPA Missions in Kenya in June 2017, and were moved to spread the word about the community’s tireless work after we came back. 

At a church camp later that year, we shared our experience and had people coming up to us wanting to find out more. 

Like us, most of them were keen to expose their kids to outreach activities that would help pave the way for an others-centred life in an increasingly self-absorbed world. 

Many children in Singapore are blessed with a comfortable life but not attuned enough to appreciate their good fortune.

A trip to Turkana, however, is neither an easy nor cheap one to make. Instead, Fr. Francis proposed a group visit to MCSPA’s Asian base in Metro Manila. 

When some of the potential visitors asked what they could do to help, he gave his standard reply: “Just come and see.” 

So in December 2018, five families from OLPS went and had a glimpse of MCSPA’s scope of work in a few slum areas. 

Over four days, we visited some of the homes, organised Christmas parties for the families and distributed food and presents.  

We didn’t do much. But the seven youngsters in our group of 16 learnt first-hand that applying their talents and resources  – no matter how meagre they might seem  – for the good of others brings much joy and meaning in life.

This is not a one-off, feel-good project though. We have scheduled another visit to the Manila Mission in December this year. This time, the group size has nearly doubled to about 30 people.

Through these annual visits, we hope to forge a long-term relationship with some of the families there and continue to support MCSPA’s work in any way we can. 

This is also the message behind our display panel at OLPS, which featured photos from our Manila trip in 2018, summed up what we did there and shared the ethos of MCSPA.

May we, like the missionaries of MCSPA, learn to put our faith into action and share the Gospel through personal witness and welcome. 

By Gemma Tee

On the 8th and 9th of November we had a colourful graduations at St. Teresa – Riokomor and ST. Mary -kokuselei Mother and Child centres (MCC’S). 

It was the first time we have graduations at Saint Teresa Centre which was officially opened in April this year. 12 children have graduated and will be joining the primary school next year. They were accompanied by their parents and the whole community during the celebration.

At St. Mary, mass celebrated by Fr. Denis followed by the graduation. 31 children will soon be attending grade 1 at Kokuselei primary school after completing PP2 at our pre-primary centre.

Both communities mentioned their appreciation for the work done by the MCSPA in Kokuselei – Riokomor area.

Eleni Tsegaw- MCSPA