I am John Amadi Obila and I was born and raised in an Anglican family. When I was about 10 years old, I remember my parents used to take me for Sunday School and that was when Christian teachings and values began taking shape in me. However, during the upper primary school days until throughout high school, I was not much of a church-goer; even my parents did not go to church regularly. We would march to church only during Christmas, and, unfortunately, I did not find much meaning in attending the services and Sunday School at all.
After high school, when I was about 20 years old, I struggled very much so as to support my family especially since I was the first born in the family. I worked as an untrained teacher at a private primary school for 1 year. Thereafter I moved to a larger town at the invitation of a friend; there I worked as a waiter in a restaurant. Thereafter, I moved to Kisumu city to join my cousin in a small business to try to eke out a living. In Kisumu city, I was exposed to another kind of life, so different from the village; there, I experienced much in terms of social life. I used to commute very early everyday to town and return very late in the night. I was not content and certainly disillusioned with much in life. I wanted something more fulfilling. Many critical questions began surfacing in my mind – How would my future be like? What was my purpose and calling in this world? Why certain things happen to certain people? And so on … It was all so disturbing!
It was during those days of so many questions about the world and my existence, that a relative of my family came into the picture – Fr. Steven Ochieng. It was one evening in December 2010 when I my mother suggested to me about going to a mission called Todonyang in Turkana; that was where Fr. Steven, my mother’s cousin, was parish priest at the time. Fr. Steven happened to be in Kisumu then and the following day I went to Kibuye Catholic Church where Fr. Steven was to celebrate mass, and we met there after mass. We immediately made arrangements to travel to Turkana. As I did not know Turkana, I was accompanied by a young man from the mission called Robert who was very willing to travel with me to Lodwar town and then on to Nariokotome Mission.
The journey from Lodwar to Nariokotome was one of those that I will never forget as it was really challenging and still an amazing experience for a first-timer like me. We arrived at Nariokotome Mission in the evening, totally caked in dust all over our bodies. Despite the bumpy roads and dust, I thanked God for granting us a safe journey. It is all still fresh in my mind. It was a Sunday and the usual weekly session of catechesis was on going. We attended the catechesis session, although we were very exhausted from the long journey all the way from Kisumu. Finding myself in the midst of a gathering of people from different backgrounds who were sharing their thoughts on Scripture, surprised me. I was happy with this and I really liked the idea that people could share and comment on the readings, and describe how the scriptures influenced their lives. That kind of sharing eventually gave impetus to my desire to be a missionary. I had not had an opportunity to be in such a gathering where people talk about God. In my previous life back home, at no time did I experience such a kind of sharing; it was just attending church on Sundays and that was all.
Todonyang Mission is where the foundation of my discernment and formation was laid, and it began with Fr. Steven as my mentor. I cannot afford not to state there that I encountered beautiful moments living with Fr. Steven; he was not only a father to me but also an educator and a formator, from whom I have learnt a great deal especially from the spiritual engagements that we had during meals, evening prayer and mass that I attended everyday. All this galvanized my aspiration to follow in his footsteps. My idea of God was transformed from the prior belief that I had, and this was as a result of communal living and the sharing during catechesis. Through all this, I encountered Christ in the people I shared my life with. The communal life has been amazingly beautiful to me especially since I come from a society that is centred on the individual.
I am therefore grateful to Fr. Steven for having invited me and for the love he showed me, and how he continues to journey with me to towards becoming a better missionary. I finished my degree in philosophy and development studies last year with the University of South Africa and am looking forward to pursuing theology. Currently, I am studying an accountancy program at the Technological Institute of the Philippines; I hope that the knowledge and skills learnt can be of service in helping with the accounts of the houses and missions and also for teaching Mathematics at the Payatas livelihood centre in Metro Manila where I am presently residing.
At Todonyang Mission, I used to accompany Fr. Steven to the out-stations for masses, to bring good news to people living in harsh conditions. We were going to the schools there that provided food and education to the children; we even went with the mission nurse. I was involved in helping the nurse give medication to the sick of those areas. The organization of educational workshops and peace talks for purpose of establishing peace between the Turkana and the Dassanech tribes people along the border areas were a constant activity since they was always conflict between the two communities as a result of inadequate pasture and water. Living and witnessing all this in the flesh at Todonyang Mission, made me want to be on the side of the vulnerable, the poor and the underprivileged. I felt for them and was motivated by the desire to do the same as Fr. Steven did. At the same time, I was under pressure from my family who wanting to pull me back to the village as I was the first born. I have remained adamant and insistent over the years, trying to make my parents understand my decision to be a missionary, and that I really want to help others and to bring some light to those in darkness. It has not been easy with my parents because of their expectations of their first-born to support the family especially the younger siblings.
My spiritual journey has always been premised on my keen observation and listening to people, and through that I obtained some inspiration. I am also grateful for the privilege of meeting the founder of MCSPA, the late Fr. Paco … may his soul rest in eternal peace. Fr. Steven introduced me to him and I stayed with him for about 2 months until the time he passed on. I had edifying moments of discussions with him, and I remember so well how he enjoyed reflections from the divine office. We would read paragraph by paragraph and reflected on them through discussions and I was really moved by that. I cannot forget the practical activities that we were involved in such as the building of gabbions, giving food and clothes to the children, etc. Thus a sense of humanity and generosity was inculcated in me through these encounters.
Paco would occasionally let me know how he saw me, how I might have changed for the better in the way that I understood things and led my life; those words of Paco are always imprinted on my mind. He showed me that we had to be fruitful by doing good.
I am currently in Manila, Philippines, where I am involved in our outreach programs such as teaching at the Payatas Livelihood Center, doing home visitations, visiting the prisoners and doing vocation promotion in other parts of the Philippines, with Fr. Francis guiding us. I find joy in reaching out to the needy and responding practically to their needs through the development projects that we have drafted.
John Amadi
Senior Apprentice, MCSPA.
