Mission Team 3: Ikotos

Early on the morning following the UZIMA! retreat we flew to the Kenya-Sudan border. The Toyota Land Cruiser I had been awaiting for months arrived just a few days ahead of us in Lokichoggio (the Kenyan border town), and so its “inaugural voyage” was to carry the team into Sudan. The timing for the delivery of the vehicle was perfect and providential; it’s been indispensable for the work of the team. According to the policy of the Diocese of Torit, we were accompanied by a small Kenyan military escort across the “no man’s land” between the Kenyan and Sudanese borders. We were delayed by the clearance of the vehicle through customs on the Sudan side of the border, and so spent the night just down the road at the diocese’s compound in Narus. We arrived in Torit early the following afternoon (Tuesday, May 26) and spent the next day and a half working with the local team of Sudanese youth leaders preparing for the Bread of Life Eucharistic Youth Retreat the following weekend in Ikotos.

Beginning on Thursday, we made 3 round trips to transport the entire team and all the equipment to Ikotos, about 2 hours away. We were joined on Thursday evening by youth participants from the parishes of Loa and Nimule, and the following day by local youth from Ikotos as well as a few from Hiyala, and finally on Saturday by a contingent from Isohe. The retreat culminated Sunday with a Rosary procession to the provisional shelter atop a small hill where we celebrated the solemnity of Pentecost with the local parish community.

While the retreat in Sudan was a bit more “subdued” in terms of expressiveness, it was perhaps more significant since it was the first time that anything of its kind had taken place in the country, and it laid the foundation for future retreats at other locations. The impact of the weekend was also very profound in the lives of the young people; in their small discussion groups many shared the suffering of painful and traumatic experiences during the war.

Below are photos of the friars with the Kenyan military escort, some children from Ikotos, a photo of Anthony – one of the interpreters who translated the talks from English to local Arabic, several scenes from the retreat – including the final Rosary procession and a group photo of the participants, and finally a series of panoramic shots taken by Br. Cyril – clic on the panoramic images to enlarge them for the full effect.