I am James Mangeni and I was born in Busia County (in Kenya) but I grew up in the bustling city of Nairobi. I am the 5thborn of a family of 6 siblings brought up in a Catholic family. My parents instilled Christian values in us ever since we were young.
I have been with the Missionary Community of St. Paul the Apostle for the past 7 years, working at our missions in Kenya and Malawi. It took me time to confirm if I had the vocation to follow Christ or not, as I felt that I was not good enough to be a missionary, leave alone daring to dream that one day I would be serving the people of God somewhere in Turkana or Malawi.
Immediately after my secondary school education, I opted to look for employment, which, by God’s grace, I did find – cooking at one of the busy small restaurants in Nairobi’s Central Business District. While I was working at the restaurant, I met a seminarian from Uganda, who encouraged me to discern carefully if I had a vocation or not. He was very concerned and checked on me every day asking if I had made phone calls to religious congregations which he had recommended to me. Despite this seminarian’s insistence, I still did not show much perseverance! However with time, my heart became restless and a certain desire got the better of me: I felt a strong urge to give missionary life a try. I began sending out application letters to different congregations.
I could have approached my parish priest to express my desire but I did not. One thing became clear to me: I wished for something different, other than being a diocesan priest or a Comboni priest. The booklet on congregations and institutes that I got from my Ugandan friend, gave me an idea and a summary of various missionary communities in Kenya. Thus I first came to know of the Missionary Community of St. Paul the Apostle (MCSPA), whose way of life and apostolate caught my attention. I also had an opportunity to attend the Yarumal Missionaries’ “Come and See” Programme which lasted a few days.
Soon after the experience with the Yarumal Missionaries, I received a reply from my earlier application letter to the MCSPA. It was from Fr. Fernando Aguirre and Andrew Yakulula, both members of the Missionary Community of St. Paul the Apostle. At this juncture, I was confused as to which path I should take. However, through constant and regular interaction with Andrew (who was then still a seminarian in theology studies at Tangaza College, Nairobi), I began to know more about the work and life of the MCSPA, and I was touched by the missionary work which its members were doing in Turkana. I visited the mission for 2 weeks and then, later on, I met Fr. Fernando for the first time. We exchanged contacts and I began to visit and help them with different activities at their Nairobi residence.
After 3 months, my mind was made up; I resigned from my work, and left Nairobi to start my formation with the Missionary Community of St. Paul the Apostle (MCSPA) in Turkana, particularly at Todonyang Mission. It is now 7 years filled with joy and happiness, and I have never doubted my decision.
I feel God’s grace showering on me throughout my time in Malawi. I thank God for the opportunity to be part of the initial team that started to set up Benga Mission in Malawi; we started the mission from scratch!
One of the beautiful things of Benga is the smile and kindness shown by the people, despite their difficult socio-economic situation, and this makes one feel accepted and loved. The people do their part in sustaining the parish activities through their annual contribution of tithes, grain from their harvests, and in building up the Small Christian Communities in the area.
Although I encountered serious challenges in starting the philosophy course with the University of South Africa, I was able to overcome these challenges, thanks to the support and trust from Frs. Fernando and Manuel, and other members of the MCSPA family. At present, I completed the philosophy course and am currently doing pastoral work at Benga Mission. I spend most of my time at the farm with the different communities of Benga area, imparting to them animal management, aquaculture and solar lighting technology. I am also assisting with our program to assist albinos in the area.
What motivates me to be a missionary – and this is the message that I would like to give especially during this Extraordinary Month of Missions – is the support and encouragement that I receive every day from the people in the MCSPA family, especially during difficult moments. It is not an easy journey but together, as a family, and with the grace of God, we will be able to keep moving forward. We journey with one another despite our cultural and racial differences but through these differences we are able to build up the communal spirit and confidence. This is what motivates me, and it is what fills me.
James Mangeni, Senior Apprentice MCSPA
