At times I look at where I am, what I do and ask myself; How did I get here? In my vocation life, the gospel values that I witness among the people of God in the Diocese of Lodwar (Turkana County) is propelled by the motto “For God and Humanity”. It is my maxim, it is the base that holds me and keeps me stronger even in challenging and difficult moments. All that I do, all that I am in my vocation and mission among the people of God is done “For God and Humanity”; that in my mission and works, God’s Kingdom may come to His people and that humanity may enjoy God’s mercy and grace through my little input!
Fr. Wycliffe Ochieng, MCSPA

Nariokotome Parish marked Mission Sunday by celebrating the Silver Jubilee of Catechist George Lokiru. Catechist George Lokiru is a Commissioned Catechist married to Alice Lokiru. He has served in several outstations within Nariokotome Parish. Prior to Nariokotome Parish he served in Loarengak and Lokitaung Parishes. He is renowned for his singing skills and for being a cheerful preacher.

His silver Jubilee was commemorated with people coming from all over Nariokotome Parish and beyond. There were a big number of his fellow catechists from within Nariokotome Parish and other neighbouring Parishes.

The celebration began with Mass where the letter of the Pope on Mission Sunday was elaborated with the theme: ” Here am I, Send me”. The preacher of the day challenged the Christians to support the catechists and invited young people to want to serve the Church as Catechists.

After the Mass there was entertainment by the different Church groups. Afterwards there were speeches whereby George was praised for his dedicated service. Gifts followed. He was showered with an array of gifts. Several Christians also pledged various construction materials to help the Catechist construct a better house.

The guests were served with lunch after the ceremony of the cutting of the silver jubilee cake.

We thank the Lord for the 25 years of service of George Lokiru. We pray that the Church may be blessed with many committed Catechists to carry on the Mission of Christ.

Fr. Denis Odongo MCSPA, parish priest

Missionary Community of St. Paul the Apostle in Muketuri, Ethiopia

At the beginning of 2020, the social reality in Ethiopia was already complicated by the imminent general elections. After almost three decades with the same party in power, Ethiopia is facing an urgent “aggiornamento”.

This responds to the concerns of a society affected by poverty, different ethnic and cultural realities, and a large number of young people who know the world through social media and want a fair job that allows them to live with dignity.

As if preparing democratic elections in a country like Ethiopia, with more than 50 million voters (with a population of 105 million inhabitants) was not enough, in March, as in the rest of the world, we were invaded by the covid-19 pandemic. Ethiopia was one of the fastest countries to react, with measures such as closing schools, universities, offices, regulating transportation.

However, the worst challenge for the ordinary citizens was to face the economic consequences. Around 80% of the jobs in Ethiopia are not regulated by an employment contract: if you don’t work, you don’t get paid. Many get what they need simply to eat daily. The loss of employment that has occurred in all countries is of immense relevance in Ethiopia, where it is impossible to do a confinement, because this would mean facing starvation.

Since March, members of MCSPA wanted to be close to the people, facing the greatest need: a dignified nutrition. The families of the poorest children in the Mother and Child Center and the program for children with malnutrition have been provided with food weekly, such as grain, vegetables, eggs, milk and soap.

The farmers, who see food prices rise daily, have been supported with improved potato seeds for planting and obtaining better harvests.

In addition to this, we have been praying together every week, especially for all those affected by the pandemic in Ethiopia and in the world, especially in the countries where volunteers and visitors who come every year to Muketuri and who are already part of the mission.

Humble people have shown us, once again, their generosity, praying again and again in a very special way for our families and friends; in all their prayers they have incorporated the “foreigners who help us and love us”, as a universal prayer. A good sign of the mission ad gentes – we are united by mutual love, prayer and vulnerability in the face of catastrophes.

We thank God for the possibility of sharing our lives with the Ethiopians, and for having so many supporters, friends, and volunteers who are part of this adventure of announcing the Good News in Ethiopia.

Lourdes Larruy, MCSPA

The Missionary Community of Saint Paul the Apostle and Mary, Mother of the Church (MCSPA) is present in Ethiopia, since 1993, through the invitation of Mons. Fikremariam, Bishop of the Apostolic of Vicariate of Nekemte.

Since then, has been running a public health project including medical and preventive health, environmental health, training of the staff, nutritional rehabilitation, pre-scholar education, agricultural and water resources development, in Angar GutenValley.
This Valley is located in Oromia region, in East Wollega Zone, has an extension of 15,000 km2; the total population is 80,000 people. The valley has different ethnic groups that came different parts of Ethiopia.

The important groups are the Amhara (70%), Oromo (13,8%), Gumuz (9,9%) and Tigray (6,3%). Though now a minority, the Gumuz are the original inhabitants of the valley. They are a Nilo-saharan ethnic speaking group, inhabiting the Benishangul-Gumuz Region and Qwara woreda in Western Ethiopia, as well as the Fazogli region in Sudan.

In Angar Guten we have the Gumuz in a village called Anger Meti and Badessa, most of them are Christians, and among them many are Catholics.

Last week we joined them for Sunday mass celebration. The church was full of men, women, young people and children, there was a group of young people mixed, boys and girls that were singing, drumming, and dancing with joy and happiness, there was a wonderful mixture of colors, sounds, rhythms in the church.

Let us hope that the beautiful experience of the Eucharist be celebrated more widely in our Church.

Lydia Obok, MCSPA.

The mission I carry is not personal but for Christ. When I see the needs of others which are more than mine, I become encouraged.

On the other hand, personal and community prayers are like fuel for my vocation. Love of mission and love for service. Trying to do good to others and being surrounded by people who see my needs at every single moment, helps me to keep moving even in challenging moments.

Fr. Joseph Githinji MCSPA

Following the request of our Bishop, Barani Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala, yesterday, 7th August, we have opened a new chapel in Navuru, half way between Ngboko and Source Yubu. We have celebrated mass and blessed the land that was donated for the chapel. 7th of August is, in the Roman calendar, apart of St Sixtus and several other saints appears St Afra. So, the new chapel is called St Afra.

Who was St Afra?
She was born sometime towards the end of the third century AD. Her mother was a Greek from Cyprus, her father was a Nubian. He could also have been a Nuer, a Dinka, a Balanda or a Zande. Why not? We do not know it for certain.

We only know that her father was really black, and Afra took the genes from him. She was born dark, and so they named her Africa, or in short Afra. Her mother was a prostitute, and Afra followed the trade of her mother. As it is customary with prostitutes, they follow the soldiers. Afra went to the north of the Empire, where there was a large military camp, Castra Augusta Vindelicorum, present day Augsburg. There, Afra was running a lodging / brothel, with a group of younger prostitutes.

It happened that in 303 there was a fierce persecution throughout the Empire. In Spain by that time, Christianity was already established. In Gerona, northern Spain, there was a bishop called Narciso, and together with his two deacons he tried to hide, and so he escaped to the northern part of the Empire where there were no Christians and where he would not be known.

When arriving to Augsburg they looked for a lodging. Afra welcomed them, offered them a room and supper, as well as the service of her girls. To her surprise, they were not interested in the girls, but prayed before the meal.
Eventually Afra was converted to Christianity and together with her were all her girls converted. From then on, they would continue running the lodge, but no longer offer sexual services.

A small Christian Community established in Augsburg. After some time the persecution seemed over and Bishop Narciso returned to Gerona. He left behind a small Christian Church and consecrated one young man by name Dionysius as overseer (Episcopus). On returning to Spain a new persecution started and Narciso was put to death in 304.

In the meantime in Augsburg, the soldiers in the barracks were very angry, as the girls would no longer follow their sexual advances, no matter if they were handsome and with money. So, they accused Afra of having bewitched them. She was dragged on to an island in river Lech and burned on the stage. Her girls collected the remains and buried them.

St. Afra is one of the patron saints of my home Diocese, Augsburg. Whenever I go to Augsburg, I go to pray at the tomb of St Afra.
There is also a shrine of St Afra in Gerona (Spain), and now a chapel of St Afra between Ngboko and Source Yubu.

St. Afra is also the patron saint of the repentant sinners. I think, we all need repentance. So, as a Saint, regardless if her father was from the Nubian Mountains or from Zande land (we only know he came from somewhere in the region), Afra is still a Saint that can appeal to all of us.

Fr. Avelino Bassols MCSPA

In Ethiopia, despite the strong measures taken due to the pandemic, cases have been increasing every day and growing faster in the last couple of weeks.
In the cities and semi-urban areas, the main problem for the population is the drastic lack of income, since in many cases people work every day, either in small commerce in markets or in construction work, services, which during the pandemic have been reduced to an unprecedented minimum.

Many families are living from day to day, and now obtaining the necessary food has become a challenge.

Farmers, 80% of the Ethiopian population, have seen market trading activity reduced and the prices of all products they cannot produce gradually rising.
Since March, the supply of products of all kinds has been affected and prices are constantly rising. The livelihood of the rural population is their grain harvest, which they harvest from November to January, and those who have cows sell what little milk the zebu cows produce. But now the sale of milk is difficult, income is reduced and last year’s harvest is further and further away, so food in the houses is becoming more scarce than “normal”.

In Wuchale Woreda, in the Oromo Region, where MCSPA has been working since 2007, child malnutrition was already a reality before the pandemic. Twin births, women who are anaemic during pregnancy and poor nutrition mean that many babies do not receive adequate nutrition before the age of two, those thousand days that are so important for the physical and psychological development of the human being.

In view of the current situation, many families in the countryside express their great concern: how will they be able to cover their alimentary needs until the next harvest, which will not be until November?

Since 2011 MCSPA has been carrying out a program of digging artisan wells that supply 5 families with each well, for sanitation, consumption and planting of family gardens, adding vegetables to the family diet and with the possibility of harvesting food 3 times a year.

To support this situation of precariousness and distress, we have started planting potatoes, taking advantage of the rains that begin in June, so that families can harvest potatoes in September. During the rainy season, temperatures drop drastically and many children are affected by respiratory diseases, making good nutrition even more necessary.

Since May we have distributed 3,200 kg of seed potatoes to 320 families in 4 villages in the area of Muketuri, so that each family can produce 120 kg of potatoes for consumption in September. They will also be able to keep 10% of that production and plant in the next 10 years.

This activity does not solve all the problems but it does improve the diet of families in difficult times and it strengthens their self-confidence and ability to cope with adversity.
Rumours has spread and all the villages want to be able to plant potatoes, but funds are limited…

When we arrive in the villages a line of people is ready, all of them with bags to receive the potatoes and patiently greet us with blessings: “May God give you a long life.”

We hope that we can continue to share hope among the most needed, who with their gratitude and welcome remind us that we are all brothers and sisters!

Thank you to those who have supported us for years and have kept us in your prayers. May we continue to plant potatoes for many more families!

Lourdes Larruy, MCSPA

Today, we celebrated the solemnity of Corpus Christi at our Mission in Nariokotome. Due to the ongoing public gathering restrictions because of the pandemic, only a small group of our members, young men and women associated with MCSPA and some of our workers attended the Mass.

After the Mass we had a procession to four different homes within the mission taking Christ to them. It has been almost three months that most of our parishioners have not been able to receive Christ. The families that we went to were delighted to have the Blessed Sacrament reach their homes and were very reverential during the benedictions.

May the body and blood of Christ keep us united and in peace.

Fr. Denis Odongo
(MCSPA)

In mid-April we started a campaign to handle the threat to the Covid-19 pandemic in the neighbourhoods near El Paraiso, in Mexico City. The MCSPA has been working in these neighbourhoods for over 3 years. To control the spread of the virus, we intended to conduct talks on hygiene and to distribute food and basic hygiene products the people to stay in their homes. The aim was to give 80 basic packages consisting of food and toiletries.

Two months has passed and with the help of many people – friends, our families, organisations, foundations, businesses and schools, we have been able to distribute 1,168 care packages to six villages in Tlahuac and five in Xochimilco. We are now waiting for more donations for the next round of distribution.

The safety protocols have become stricter as the days go by. We have the responsibility of protecting ourselves and also others from being infected by the virus. The hygiene talks on preventing the spread are very important in the villages which are further away and more isolated. The information that they normally receive is very vague. They may receive messages that increase paranoia or those that claim that the virus is not real and only an invention of the government!

We are still receiving food and toiletries. We want to see if it is possible to reach out to four more villages in the mountains of Xochimilco where there is serious food crisis since many families have lost their jobs and have no means to feed themselves. These are families who do not receive support from the government as they are so remote. We would like to give care packages to 400 families in these villages and 200 more to other families in Apodaca Nueva Leon, where the parish priest, Fr. Alejandro, friend of my family, has offered to help deliver the packages.

We would like to thank all who have been helping out to make all this possible. We are counting on your support to help the families who are suffering from the economic consequences of the lockdown and thus give them a breath of hope in these times of the crisis.

Blanca Beltrán

MCSPA

Now that COVID-19 has forced so many to be locked down, we, in Malawi, are no different. The seminary where we study in Balaka closed and we had to go to stay at the mission in Benga. Another colleague and I asked Fr. Fernando and Fr. Steven to teach us how to make cheese. They happily accepted and agreed to teach us that very evening. Being a doubtful person, I was somehow hesitant but decided to give it a try. I am happy to confirm that it has been for me a learning experience helping me to be more determined to explore what my talents are and not being afraid to fail because it is through trial and error that we learn and move forward.
This is how this time of uncertainty for many has become a moment for reaffirmation for me and my colleague Sylvester, a “come and see” who has been at Benga Mission for the last six months. Processing the milk of the mission cows into various types of cheese, yoghurt, and cream has been an opportunity for us to grow personally as missionaries in the making as well as to contribute to the wellbeing of our community. This has helped us to learn that our mission should not be deterred by setbacks or difficulties but, on the contrary, it is precisely the setbacks and difficulties that can enhance our missionary drive. Because it is when we reach out and empty ourselves that the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, fill us with its love and helping us to achieve extraordinary things in spite of us being ordinary beings. I must acknowledge, that I was gladly surprised to see the joy of His Grace Archbishop Ziyaye when we took cheese to him at his residence at Maula, Lilongwe.
Being missionaries in the making, this experience has taught us that it is through little things that greater things can be achieved. The patroness of the Missions Teresa of Liseux, advocated for doing little thing with great love and this is truly what mission is about.
Some other lessons we have learn that cheese making is not just an activity but a craft. The lactic bacteria used to do cheese, often called “starter cultures” play a key lowering lactose’s PH turning it into a place not suitable for spoiling organisms and what can later be, or not, a delicious and nutritious cheese. In our case we are still learning and hope that with time and humility we might improve and turn cheese making from an activity into a craft.
Another lesson milk processing has taught us is that hygiene, time management and patience play a key role in its success. We still wonder how a negative thing like the COVID19 has taught us a lesson that we will be with us forever.
Having done the cheese for 37 days has also help us to have some practical lessons, which we here share with you.
a. Average milk production from our two milling cows is 18 liters per day
b. We make 2 cheeses of 350g each from 9 liters of milk.
c. We drink 7 liter of milk daily in our community house of 20 people.
d. We share also them milk with our 4 workers to get 2 liters daily.
It is our hope that this activity will help us in the future to make our mission station sustainable and help us to improve the nutrition of people in the area who have a deficit protein intake.

Bernard Okuku, apprentice MCSPA