A great Missionary
experience in the Desert
By Deo Bagonza
M
y three months experience working in one of our
This first impression to a greater extent killed the creative part
parishes in the north eastern Kenya gave me a new
of the congregation, so receiving from the church is part of their
definition of mission.
culture.
Loiyangalani, one of the Consolata Missionaries run parishes in
You might speculate that it is one of the poorest parts of the
the Diocese of Marsabit, has four outstations. The nearest is 15
country Kenya, but this is not true. These people own hundreds
kilometers and the furthest is over 139 kilometers away, from
heads of cattle, goats, sheep, camels, and donkeys.
the parish.
Five Consolata missionaries; two priests and three sisters work
in Loyangalani.
Today that, the parish priest Rev Fr Steven Mutuku is trying to
instill the culture of owning the Church by supporting it.
He is working to remove the mentality from the faithful that
The parish priest and his assistant manage to go round the
the Church or the “mission” is for the priests and the religious
outstations at least twice every month with an exception of the
sisters.
nearest that always receive mass on Sundays.
Fr Mutuku - a true missionary with great love for the mission
What surprised me is that during the Eucharistic celebrations,
and for the parishioners, he has been able to enter into lives of
the highest amount these outstations can offer as offertory is
the people.
one hundred Kenya shillings.
This in turn is helping him to change their thoughts as far as the
It is very true that the first impression matters a lot in every step
church is concerned and most important to have their cultures
we make in life. This year Loiyangalani celebrates 50years of
rooted in the culture of the Gospel. He is doing this not only
evangelization, but the approach of the first missionaries is still
by preaching during the Mass but mostly by his actions, so to
much alive in the people’s lives.
speak, he is a man who gives witness through his actions.
The pioneer missionaries had enough resources, to the extent
The community has built a lot of trust in him, I came to realize
that after the Mass the whole congregation would receive
this by the number of people who came to seek his advice, and
something from the missionaries in form of food or clothing to
these include the elders, government officials and the leaders of
take home.
other religious denominations around including the Muslims.
Consequently this gesture of generosity brought many to be
He is a bridge between the government and the locals and for
baptized, not because of accepting the Good News but rather
the different often conflicted tribes of community.
because through the church they were able to get their daily
bread.
I wondered how all this was possible with such a young priest,
This was a very good idea in those years, though it seems a bit
mission is prayer.
difficult to make the people understand their responsibility to
the church as Christian.
but I came to discover the secret behind all his successful
In spite of his entire busy schedule, he will never miss prayers,
meditation and celebration of the Eucharist.
THE SEED - VOL 27, No. 10 OCTOBER 2015
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