Today, on the solemnity of the birthday of Saint John the Baptist, June 24, the MCSPA and the Catholic Church in Turkana rejoice with the gift of the newly ordained missionary priest Zacchaeus Okoth. The ordination ceremony took place at a beautiful church of St. Paul the Apostle in Nariokotome, Kenya. The atmosphere was filled with happiness and prayer, with family, friends, faithful and well-wishers who came to witness the great occasion as Zacchaeus, who has undergone years of formation, is finally ordained priest by Msgr. John Mbinda, Bishop of the Diocese of Lodwar.

The ordination ceremony was followed by a cheerful celebration, during which the newly ordained priest received the congratulations and blessings of the priests, members of the MCSPA, family, and friends. It has been a graceful day of celebration for the MCSPA, as it welcomes a new missionary into its fold, who will carry on the charism of the community in the style of Saint Paul, and spread the word of God to the ends of the earth.

The celebration ended with the thanksgiving procession and a reception for everyone. We wish Zacchaeus well in his mission, praying that the spirit of God will be with him always. We also pray to God, through the intercession of St. Joseph, that the example of Zacchaeus may inspire and touch the hearts of many young people, to be brave to leave everything behind and follow a missionary vocation.

Michael Mwangi Aprendiz MCSPA

Last Friday, at Startup Lions ICT Hub Loropio, we MCSPA missionaries of the Kokuselei mission held a two-day workshop with the 40 women volunteers of the committees responsible for our eleven Mother-Child Centers and the child-care agents of each centre. This celebration marked 15 years since the nutrition program was firmly established and has been running throughout in the mountain area of Nariokotome Parish. Two days in which we celebrated the generosity and perseverance of many people who have participated in concrete ways to the success of the program: hundreds of Turkana children every year who can eat twice a day and grow up healthy!

Our special thanks to the men and women of the committees of our mother-child centers, who have voluntarily and cheerfully served and unconditionally loved the children. All the families in more than 14 communities covered by the Kokuselei mission appreciate that these volunteers take on the daily responsibility of preparing breakfast, lunch and assisting in the daily hygiene of the children in a part of Kenya where hunger is still the main challenge to be solved.

We all thank the benefactors who have been part of starting and maintaining these children’s centres, thanks to which infant mortality caused by hunger has been reduced in this area. Our thanks also to the child-care agents, young women and men who help us to monitor the nutrition and health of the children and with various educational activities in each centre.

As missionaries, we want to continue to serve the most vulnerable and respond concretely to the needs of the children of Turkana.  And we trust that these children’s centres will continue to encourage their communities to transmit the virtues of generosity and perseverance, both essential to achieve true development.

Diana Trompetero MCSPA

Yesterday we started a procession with Mother Mary in preparations for our centenary celebrations of Ave Maria Parish, in South Sudan, on the 1st of May. The image of Our Lady will visit all our outstations in the two parishes, Ave Maria in Ngboko and St. Thomas in Source Yubu.

Enjoy some photos of our 3 hour rosary procession at Ave Maria.

Let’s Join our hands in prayer and ask God to grant us peace in South Sudan.

Lillian Omari MCSPA

It has been ten years since Paco left us yet as we have seen, his memories and life are still very much imprinted in ours. That means that he truly lives for ever! To talk of Paco, is not easy since he influenced and changed the lives of so many people, as Fernando said yesterday, there are very many versions of the Man! These versions of Paco also changed with the passing of years, and nobody can do justice to his persona since we all experienced him in different shades. That is why allow me to give my version and my understanding of my experience having lived with Paco for 20 years! Though somehow some aspects do stand out!!

It was in 1993, when I was only 20 years old when Paco met me in the streets of Nairobi, near Jamuhuri Estate. This encounter started a relationship that would change my life; it’s a journey that has been repeated in this house. It involved eggs from Othaya house, and it would lead to my visit of Turkana in that same year. It was then that I was attracted to this missionary community; then followed a call to leave everything and follow Christ.

In these years, I experienced 4 kinds of love in him that have been in turn infectious towards us.

Tender love
It was Paco’s tender love that revealed to me the love of Christ at first-hand. It was his tenderness that marked my soul and changed me. It was not only to me but mostly to the poor, to the elderly and to the downtrodden. He did not see people as trees, (as in the story of Mark 8:22-26) or a landscape. He saw people as they were, people.

In many ways he was like the Samaritan man in the story of the good Samaritan: He cared and patched the wounds of those whom he met and were broken. Many times, he was also the father in the story of the prodigal son, who received us with open arms when we had wasted love. How many times did that happen to me?

He loved everybody and paid attention to all, either you were the excavator driver, or a waiter, Paco would pay attention to you. He did that to me and that is why I am here; he saw in me that which I didn’t see in myself, and being from different cultures and race, I was for him his sheep as was the rest. He treated people as Christ treated us, selflessly.

Tough love
Paco combined and sewed together the tender love with tough love. He was tough, no doubt since he insisted on truth and honesty from us. He did not entertain mediocrity. This made us be aware of our weaknesses. He did not sugar-coat it, he said it as it was; he called a spade a spade, in this way he did not allow us to shipwreck our lives, since for him truth telling was more important than peace keeping. By peace keeping I mean being politically correct. His tough love stood out and this for those who were with him did help us to bring the best version of ourselves!

Sacrificial love
In this fusing of tender and tough love, Paco also portrayed the sacrificial love to us in many ways. He always put us first before himself. I remember once we were visiting the Nuncio in Spain and Paco immediately mentioned that we didn’t have a good reputation, but the Nuncio was quick to respond that we do not need a good reputation here on earth but rather in heaven. He didn’t mind sacrificing his reputation for what was right. Paco dedicated his life for us so that we might live, he dedicated his energies so that the world might become a garden. Until his last breath he was out there working making manure and gabions even when he was very sick, there was no self-gratification, but rather to build a community of Christ, a community that is to do good, as in the words of evangelist Mark (Mark 8:34-35), “whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it” this sacrificial love was not just a feeling but an action. And that is why MCSPA members we are ready to go out to the most challenging missions, to places where few would rather venture, since this sacrificial love has been infused in us by Paco. As Paco found his strength in the Lord, so shall we.

Radical love
Lastly Paco combined the tender love, tough love, and sacrificial love with radical love. In the tempest of trouble, he would not defend himself. He would rather turn the other cheek than fight. Even when we suffered division, he was ready to give everything! For Paco there was no bare minimum, it was all or nothing. A dam had to be bigger. If we had to support someone, there was never halfway, it must be all the way! As in Matthew 22:37-40, Paco loved with all his heart, soul, and mind. And these lessons we have learnt well, we go beyond the call of duty. In living this radical love, we try to break the vicious cycle of hunger, war, and drought and not to be indifferent in the middle of people’s suffering.

Paco was tough with us, so that we can live and be a sign of this love in the world, in the places where we work. It’s been ten years since you left us, you showed us that this is the best way to imitate Christ; as written in your tombstone, “to be a good shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep”. You too were the good shepherd who lied down your life for your sheep. Continue watching over us, continue resting in peace!

Fr. Steven Ochieng MCSPA

The MCSPA have celebrated on 15th February the 10th anniversary of the death of its founder, Fr. Francisco Andreo (Paco).

He died in Nariokotome mission after a long illness at the age of 71. His legacy remains behind with a community that is present in 4 African countries, namely Malawi, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya. The MCSPA is also present in Colombia, Mexico, Philippines and Germany.

Fr. Paco, touched the life’s of many and invited many to leave everything behind and follow Christ and be compassionate as he was. The charism of Paco and the MCSPA was forged after many years working in Turkana, feeding the hungry, giving water to the thirsty and healing the sick.

The anniversary was attended by a multitude of people from everywhere, and the Mass was presided by Rt. Rev. Dominic Kimengich, the former bishop of Lodwar and now bishop of Eldoret.

We continue praying for Fr. Paco’s eternal rest as we ask for his intercession to continue being faithful to the charism of the MCSPA.

ETERNAL REST GRANT UNTO HIM.

Fr. Ángel Valdivia MCSPA

For Mechela Kindergarten, Under Muketuri mission in Ethiopia, 15th of January 2023 will remain a remarkable day as they inaugurated new kitchen and toilets within its fence. The whole village of Mechela, young and old, gathered at the compound of Mechela Kindergaten to celebrate the opening of its new facility. From the entrance of the kindergarten, one could clearly see the grass which was spread on the ground to mark a traditional fragrance of the celebration.

The Missionary Community of St. Paul the Apostle (MCSPA) has always believed that integral education is a key to transform lives. With that intention, MCSPA has emphasized on quality education from the early stage of a child. It is equally important to note that poor health of children does not only compromise growth of the child but also result into educational setbacks and lowerperformance of the student. As a result, MCSPA rendered it an imperative to run centers which cater for the two principle needs of the students. Thus, education and nutrition. Mechela is an example of such centers which operate as an education unit and at the same time as a nutrition hub. The two-fold needs of the children are given a priority.

For some time, Mechela lacked proper facility like a kitchen and toilets to meet the required delivery of quality education to the children. This compromised the dream of MCSPA to always compliment education with pleasant nutrition and health of the student. Consequently, Josephine Amuma took an initiative to close this gap through a construction of a kitchen and toilets. Now the Kindergarten is also equipped with its own vegetable shamba (garden) and a wire fence to ensure its security.

Speaking during the inauguration ceremony, Fr. Fernando stresses that, ¨A child’s early years are the foundation for his or her future development, providing a strong base for lifelong learning and learning abilities, including cognitive and social development. ¨ He also explained in simple terms the importance of early childhood education as an essential building block of a child’s future success.

Josephine was delighted with the collaboration of the local community. In her speech, she urged them to continue with the same spirit of commitment. She also assured them that children are the stronghold of the future, therefore worthy investing in them.

The ceremony reached its climax when the representatives of MCSPA shared a common meal with the local community of Mechela. As per tradition, the community had prepared njera, typical Ethiopian food, for lunch. During the meal, different performances were done by the children and the scouts from Muketuri. The cerebration ended with a coffee ceremony to mark its significance.

By Innocent Letasi

Since last Friday we hosted 200 young soccer players from Ave Maria parish, Catholic Diocese of Tombura- Yambio, in South Sudan.

We had workshops on how to play soccer as a team without fighting or hurting each other, team building and friendship.
Players came from the following villages; Tombura, Nabanga, Akpa, Dingimo, Mozungu, Bambú, Sabamile, Ave Maria, Bariguna, Hia Matará, Rii Yubu, Bariguna. In most of these towns there were massacres last year, and now through sports we are trying to help young people reconcile and learn to live together peacefully.

Thank you the deputy Commissioner of Tombura, the Paramount chief and the Sultan for building bridges for peace.

Let’s embrace peace wherever we go and this time football for peace one of the ways of reconciliation.

Lillian – MCSPA

#mcspa #AveMariaMission #TomburaYambioDiocese #FootballForPeace

We have recently returned from Ethiopia, from the project that the MCSPA is carrying out in Muketuri and that MOSSolidaria NGO supports, supporting the kitchen and checking the nutritional status of children under 7 years of age, pregnant and lactating mothers in the village of Gimbichu.

World Food Day is celebrated every year on October 16th, the anniversary of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) which was founded in 1945. This day aims to promote healthy eating and eradicate hunger, according to the 2030 agenda, by this year world hunger should be eradicated. I am very afraid that, although it could be achieved, it will not be so.

There are large pockets of poverty and a lot of hunger, for the few people who work on the ground, from the base. We have to be there, but also make known what the missionaries do, here, without our moral support and solidarity, it is very difficult that they carry so much forward. It is sad to know that, while some Western countries allow us to waste food, because we can pay for it and we have it within reach, others suffer from diseases derived from an insufficient and monotonous diet, which prevents them from developing their most essential capacities.

Boys and girls are born with low weight and suffer from the deficiencies presented by the wasting, that their mothers suffered. Then, their babies suffer, due to the lack of such basic and essential nutrients as proteins, vitamins and minerals.

The MCSPA mission in Muketuri, and its responsible, Lourdes Larruy, make an effort to maximize the feeding of the more than 370 boys and girls who attend the Muketuri mother and child center, plus the soup kitchens in the surrounding villages. The combination of the food is properly done, so that it is sustainable and provides the maximum of varied and complemented nutrients. This is not an easy task, if we take into account that to obtain milk you have to feed and care for the cows. To offer eggs you have to buy corn for the hens and that to provide vegetables you have to take the water to the garden, plus complement it with rice, pasta, vegetables, bread etc. Even so, the missionaries achieve it. In the kitchens they prepare delicious stews, which fill the atmosphere with a special smell, a traditional home, all of us, young and old, enjoy those delicious meals, simple but complete and well accompanied.

But hunger is not only alleviated with bread, it is also satiated with love, lots of love, with hope, with assistance and listening, with faith, a strong and powerful faith that is contagious and brings more faith and conviction that a more equitable world is possible. Because of that faith the missionaries continue there and in so many other difficult and hostile places, which they soften with their iron conviction, because they know that they are not alone, that God protects them and that other men and women are attentive to their needs. To continue with the mission of assistance, listening, health, personal growth, which they offer to those who request it. Thank you for enabling us to  hope that hunger can be alleviated!

Mari Olcina (10/16/2022)

Geographical Location Nyangatom is an area that is difficult to access; it is located in the southernmost part of Ethiopia, bordering South Sudan and Kenya. The few rural tracks in the area are in very poor condition and passable only with 4WD vehicles appropriate to the rough terrain. During the rain season roads become completely […]