As years roll by, I keep asking myself why I am here. Am much stricken by the sentiments of the Apostle Peter in the event of the transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ. He discovers the divine mission of Jesus and he quickly admits that, “…it is good that we are here.” Am always convinced that my being here is closely related to this divine revelation.

For the very first time, six years ago, I discovered Turkana-a place that has become my home. More deeply, I have discovered my loving family of the Missionary Community of St. Paul the Apostle (MCSPA). As a third year student at Kenyatta University I, among other four students, was selected for a community outreach program in Todonyang Mission. Little did I know that this would become the start of my vocation journey. All the experiences of a two-months stay in this beautiful Mission at the shores of Lake Turkana were a springboard that would throw me this far into interacting with people who had practically very little and a big heart.

Becoming a missionary in this corner of the world is one of the beautiful things that happen in my life. You get to understand that we don’t actually need much for us to be of help for others. St. Paul the Apostle walked far and wide proclaiming the Good News. He established a number of Christian communities founded on Divine Providence-trusting that He will always provide. This concept of life based on strong faith is something to hold onto. The MCSPA style of life and of doing things revolves around this concept, something I found to be very interesting. 

When I concluded my studies at the University, I wanted to be here and I didn’t know how I could be of help. The memories of joy, service, participation, needs among others that I experienced with the Turkana community of Kenya and the Dassanech community of Ethiopia, two groups of people that the Mission of Todonyang serve, were forces of attraction. I finally got to make an arrangement with Fr. Andrew on a possible stay on volunteering basis. More and more I got to know the people and their ways of life. Discovering the needs of others and letting these needs provoke me into action is the final good reason to be here.

I remember vividly concrete cases over the years that are a good reason to travel this path. To begin with, Asibitar, a young girl given up unwillingly for marriage to an old man ran up to us one day as we visited her village and asked to be taken to school. In her I saw the image of my younger sister asking me for help. This girl is at the moment in her final primary level. Aalem, a sick little girl with very bad wound that was almost consuming her up now laughs joyfully. For me this is more or less equivalent to the raising of people from the dead by Jesus Christ. He instructs us all the time to do good things in his memory. This is my mission and it informs my vocation at all times. Ekai, a four year old, was brought to me seriously burnt as a result of hot water accident. He healed and is now in Grade one at Todonyang Integrated Centre and School. It is so beautiful to see the great impact that the school at Todonyang Mission has on this population. More and more, young shepherds leave the parents’ flock and ask to be allowed into the school. In the past two years, I have received up to twelve boys in dire need of education. Their age, a little bit advanced, is a challenge to admit them into the lower levels in the primary at Todonyang Mission with very little children. However, they all got admissions into the government primary schools at Loarengak and Lokitaung. They live with us in the Mission on school vacation days and help with light chores.

My interest in child nutrition has seen the weekly milk and egg distribution program attend to more than 500 children in the school at the Mission and in the three nutrition centres at the villages of Todonyang. We produce up to 6 litres of milk locally each day and have 100 egg laying birds at our farm in the Mission. Nomadic youth animation is one of the very important activities that I do on a daily basis. Engaging youths in sports and in various forums aimed at their growth is one of the practical ways of redirecting their energies from the perennial inter-community conflicts to development agenda. Participation in church activities is too good for their spiritual growth.

Cosmus Onyango (MCSPA-Apprentice) 

Todonyang Mission, Turkana-Kenya

(Extraordinary Missionary Month 2019 – for more info contact us on admin@mcspa.org )

The Diocese of Lodwar through the Missionary Community of St Paul the Apostle (MCSPA) and in conjunction with the Strathmore University has been organising a training of directors and head teachers of Catholic private-run schools in the Diocese of Lodwar. This training programme – dubbed Schools and Teachers Empowerment Programme (Turkana STEP) – started last May with the first module. Now we are at the next module which has been running here at Nariokotome Mission.

The emphasis of this training programme is to bring in Catholic identity into the Catholic-run schools with the virtues and ethos of a Christ-centred education. Dimensions of school leadership and improvement of teaching methods are also covered. This training will culminate in May next year when the participants will be awarded with certificates from Strathmore University.

Fr. Steven O – MCSPA

On Sunday 8th of September the community of Naturomoe gathered together to celebrate the blessing of the first buildings and the first stone of the new Church at the Prince of Peace Catholic Mission.

The celebration was attended by many people and it was very colorful. Those in attendance were South Sudanese rebels and refugees, representatives from Kakuta community, regional authorities, MCSPA members and mission staff.

The occasion started with the celebration of the Holy Mass presided by Bishop Dominic Kimengich, accompanied by Bishop Markos Gebremedhin. During his homily, Bishop Dominic expressed his happiness of seing that, what started as a dream during his first visit to the area 6 years ago was now becoming a reality.

He also stressed that it was very important that people from three different countries were present, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Kenya. And that if not brought together by God, we could have been fighting and calling each other enemies. However, thanks to the realisation of the mission, we can now stay together as brothers and sisters.

At the end of the Mass Lourdes Larruy explained the pre-history of how the mission started: 20 years ago it began as a suggestion of Mons. Silvano Tomasi, the then Apostolic Nuntio to Ethiopia, to Fr. Paco and the MCSPA members. The Nuntio said that if our community had missions in the north of Kenya, and in Wolega, Ethiopia, we could easily open a mission half way. Then this became also the dream of Fr. Paco, our founder, as he envisioned having missions as centres of life, in the style of our missions in Turkana, from Turkana to Alexandria.

After the mass the community proceeded in procession to the site where the future church will be built. The first stone was blessed and the church was dedicated to Mary Mother of the Church. Afterwards, we proceeded to the blessing of the technical buildings and staff houses.

We hope that these buildings will give the necessary logistic support to the missionaries and staff of the mission, to carry out apostolic work from Naturomoe, aimed at spreading the Good News through practical help.

We give thanks to all the friends and benefactors especially to Misso Aachen and the Nazareth Trust for supporting this project, and for all those who in one way or another have been part of this dream with your help and prayers.

Fr. Angel Valdivia MCSPA

On the afternoon of 7^th September 2019, Bishops Markos Gebremedhin from Jimma-Bonga, Ethiopia, and Dominic Kimengich from Lodwar, Kenya, blessed the new St. John XXIII – Ekisil (Peace) Day care Centre for Small Children in Kakuta, Nyangatom, Ethiopia.

The celebration was very colorful and joyful as the people of Kakuta gathered to receive the two bishops, the fathers and the representatives of the MCSPA team who attended the celebration, with dances and songs.

The Day-care centre will cater for children from 3 to 6 years of age through different activities such as pre-school education, songs, health and higiene, agriculture, nutrition and peace education.

In addition the centre aims to be a place of encounter with the parents of the children, where relevant information will be shared with them, especially towards improving the education of the small children.

The new school is still in the process of being constructed. So far we have been able to complete one classroom, with a second one under construction, and the fence. We thank all the benefactors and friends who have been supporting this project, especially Trekking for Kids, Fundación Kyrene and Ekisil Group.

We continue asking for your prayers and support to be able to provide a better life for the children of Kakuta.

Fr. David Escrich MCSPA

On 7th September 2019, Bishop Markos Gebremedhin of the Apostolic Vicariate of Jimma-Bonga (Ethiopia) and Bishop Dominic Kimengich of Lodwar (Kenya), came together to celebrate with the MCSPA team at Nyangatom the first confirmations at the Prince of Peace Catholic Mission in South Ethiopia.

This comes as a result of 5 years of living among the Nyangatom pastoralist people, visiting the villages around and carrying out different pastoral and developmental projects.

Frs. Angel and David have established a humble but notable presence of the Catholic Church among the Nyangatom people.

With this event, we are able to see how the Gospel message is being passed on, and also learn about the Good Shepherd who takes care of and knows his sheep.

These are the fruits that come from the dedicated works which Frs. Angel and David have put in this beautiful land.

Bishop Markos encouraged the South Sudanese refugees, at Tollay Refugee Camp, by telling them that God is always faithful amidst their difficulties. He was faithful to the people of Israel during their exodus from Egypt. In addition, Bishop told the young people who were confirmed that they should not be afraid and that they should be connected to Jesus through the Holy Spirit, be outspoken about their faith and find disciples for Jesus.

Let us pray that the Prince of Peace Mission at Nyangatom will enhance peace along the Kenya-Ethiopian border.

Thank you for continuing the dream of Fr. Paco, who wanted a chain of missions from Kenya all the way to Alexandria (Egypt).

We would like to thank all the people who have made this possible, all those who have supported the mission in various ways (material and prayer). Thank you!

Thanks to all the staff of Nyangatom Mission: the security personel, catechists, the nurse, the driver, the cook and other casual staff. Without your support and friendship, our two priests would not have managed to carry out this mission on their own.

Lastly, thanks to all MCSPA members and apprentices for supporting our men there and having hope in them, who through God’s grace, are able to carry out the mission of Christ beyond.

Lillian Omari – MCSPA

In the tradition of the Oromo tribe in Ethiopia horses are adorned for the great celebrations of life: a wedding, a birth, a funeral… And now, the farmers of Abo Kaso wanted to celebrate by adorning their horses that they´ve got water thanks to the drilling of a well, as a sign of how important water is for life!

Last Friday, June 14, a hundred people waited on the main stone road for the vehicle of the members of the Missionary Community of St. Paul the Apostle who live in Muketuri. From there several kilometers across the field to the place of the well a score of peasants on horseback surrounded the car and singing they started their typical dances that are done on the horse back. All of them with the coloured saddle with the motive of the Lion of Judah, a sign of Ethiopian culture.

These were sublime minutes! A vast landscape of the Ethiopian plateau, 3,000 meters above sea level, people hardened by poverty and cold, today, wrapped up in celebration: having a water tap has changed the lives of 68 families, more than 500 people!

When arriving at the place of the well the construction of a 4 meters high structure of reinforced concrete is glimpsed. A deposit of 10.000 liters is going to be placed there from where the gardens will be irrigated with a system of drip irrigation… When approaching to the place a group of women dancing and singing to the rhythm of their clapping hands receive us, next to the deposit they are already taking water from every morning and afternoon; an event that this community celebrates like a milestone…

The Community of Abo Kaso has waited for 4 years, since they made the petition to the MCSPA to get water. Many of the children in Muketuri’s malnourished children’s care programme come from this village, which until now only disposed of water from small streams and puddles, a murky, scarce water that forced women and girls to walk miles to fill their 25-litre jerrycans.

Now, they have a well with a flow of 4 litres per second, for domestic use and to plant gardens in the dry season and add vegetables to their diet.

As part of the programme, they have received training in home gardening, composting, crop rotation, nutrition and hygiene.

It was a great experience to celebrate with these men, women and children the importance of water, an event comparable to the celebrations of the mystery of life, birth, death … and now, to have water!

At the celebration, for which they put up an overhang, benches, and cooked a sheep, the speeches followed a prayer of thanks from the local elders and poems from several young people.

The MCSPA missionaries thanked God for the occasion, and proposed a prayer for the common dream of a more just world, as God wants it, and for which people leave their homes and families and share their lives with people so far away.

The applause followed the request to cooperate all from our possibilities so that the children of this community could have a dignified future.

Lourdes Larruy, MCSPA.

20 farmers from the villages of Arkiso and Gore Ketema visit the agricultural project at Jebene, Ethiopia.

On 30th May – the feast day of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary to Elizabeth – a group of farmers from the villages of Arkiso and Jebene from the Ethiopian plateau visited Jebene, where the MCSPA is present since 2014.

With great expectations, the farmers trekked to St. Joseph’s Mother and Child Centre in Muketuri where two vehicles were waiting to ferry them to Jebene, 20 km from Muketuri on a gravel and dirt road. In Jebene, the MCSPA started in 2014 excavating hand-dug wells and organizing agricultural courses to start family vegetable gardens. This was following the request of the women and men after seeing the vegetable garden of the Mother and Child Centre at Muketuri. They demonstrated their interest by producing in the dry season. From then, 70 men and women have undertaken the course, and in 2016 a well was drilled and a drip-irrigation system was set up in a 1,000 sq. m. plot. The Emalaikat Foundation, Arcadi Motion Picutres, the Autonomous University of Madrid and the Foundation Harena participated in this project.

The secret to this community’s proper functioning is due to the presence of an extraordinary man: Tibabew (a word which means “wisdom”) who is the owner of the land where the project is being carried out. Tibabew is a man recognized by all as a “good man”. In 2018, he offered more land to enable more farmers to use the drip-irrigation system to produce onions, zucchini, cabbage, spinach, carrots, beetroot etc. during the whole year. This is a big change in a society where only some cereals are produced in the rainy season. Now they have 3 harvests in a year which the families share for the own consumption and they have also started to sell vegetables in the local markets nearby.

Furthermore, in 2018 a feeding programme for children under 7 years and pregnant women was started; this was to ensure growth through an appropriate nutrition.

Tibebew was proud to explain how they shared the vegetables produced and how he goes to the vegetable garden every morning to collect vegetables for the feeding programme.

It was an encounter full of optimism and hope, but it was also a challenge for the visitors. All were happy to see the fruits of their effort and they shared their fight to improve their situation and that of their children, very much like Mary and Elizabeth in the Gospel!

The women of Jebene prepared food for all: they slaughtered a sheep and shared the bread that the visitors brought from their villages. At the coffee ceremony, the leaders form each place gave thanks for the encounter.

The met each other, they shared experiences … they visited each other.
Many expressed their wish to repeat this experience and in the future the farmers would visit the different communities.

If it has been possible at Jebene, it will also be possible in Arkiso and in Gore Ketema! And, we hope in many more villages!!

Lourdes Larruy. MCSPA

Bishop Dominic Kimengich visited Kenya Security Personnel in Todonyang and Lobur area. He encouraged them to continue ensuring peace around these areas and the Kenyan border at large.

After the 6th Peace conference that was held in Lodwar a few days ago, Bishop Dominic visited some of the border areas along the Lake Deanery, encouraging Christians to remember that peace starts with disarming our hearts and minds first in order to be able to do away with guns.

The Missionary Community of St. Paul the Apostle (MCSPA) is also trying to build peace in these areas with the different development work carried out for the people along the border areas through dams that provide water for both communities, a health post to provide health and curb malnutrition through the Mother and Child Centres that they run, and all the pastoral activities to constanly speak about peace. Let us go out and be people who bring peace wherever we go.

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your heart, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” Colossian 3:15.

Lillian Omari – MCSPA

When life is so low and down, it is difficult to be thankful for anything. So it was for Mr. Alemayehu when his wife and two of his children passed away. Alamayehu was left with only one son. He himself suffered from severe elephantiasis. Alamayehu lost all hope of living and all he sought was to be in a place where he could rest in peace.

While working at his “kebele” or village, MCSPA members were informed of Alamayehu’s case. We immediately took him to Aman Hospital where he was diagnosed with a malignant tumor in his left leg. The doctors advised that his leg be amputated. Alamayehu did not hesitate: he chose amputation because he wanted the pain to be taken away and to smile again.
 
After the surgery, we visited him at the hospital everyday. The smile on his face revealed the deep joy in his heart. Alamayehu’s gratitude only proved that it is not how much one gives, rather how much love is put into that giving that matters.

Alamayehu has since returned to his “kebele” in Bench Maji Zone. He is very grateful for being able to return home free of physical pain. He is conscious of the many graces that God has given him, the most important of which is that he is able to be with his only surviving son.

We thank all those who supported Mr. Alamayehu, for a helping hand is a great gift that brings a smile and joy to others.

Esther Kerubo MCSPA

Bishop Dominic Kimengich is currently visiting Nariokotome Mission after several days visiting other parishes in the lake deanery, Diocese of Lodwar. He has spent the day visiting the Mission primary school, the constructions taking place at that school. He later on visited St. Rita ECD/Nutritional centre.

The elders of the area and the women with the children in the ECD paid him a courtesy call where issues of social and spiritual development were discussed. The Bishop was gifted with two goats by the elders.

The Bishop finishes his visitation to the Deanery tomorrow with Mass and deanery meeting at Kalokol. It has been a pleasure to have our Shepherd visiting us.

Fr. Denis -MCSPA