Last weekend a contingent of three youth, Martin - a mechanic, Dennis and I travelled five hours to the territory of the Madi tribe in southwest corner of the diocese, to visit the communities of Nimule and Loa, which border on Uganda and the Nile River. We went to prepare for the visit of a team coming from the US in January to conduct parish missions in each of the towns and a combined Bread of Life Eucharistic Youth Retreat for both communities on the weekend in between. One of the reasons we chose this area for the visit of the team is that both parishes sent youth to the previous Bread of Life Retreat conducted by the previous mission team in Ikotos last May. That gives us momentum to build on and a group of youth who can help form the team for the upcoming retreat. We’re hoping to continue that process by inviting youth from another parish that could be the location of a future retreat. The parish missions will follow the model we used in Torit in June, with the addition of the Rosary, Eucharistic Adoration and Mass on the respective evenings of the event.
During the visit we met with the pastors, Fr. Joseph Mawa and Fr. Julius Ido, and the committee they’ve formed to coordinate the effort. We walked step by step through the activities we have planned and explained how and for what we would need the help and support of the local team. The training and orientation took place at the St. Patrick Parish Center in Nimule, where the first mission and the youth retreat will be held. Below are some photos of different groups in the parish preparing on Saturday afternoon for Mass the next day.
On Friday and Saturday evenings we had a time of Eucharistic Adoration with the youth who will be serving with us in January. It was a beautiful and moving experience. Afterwards we showed an inspirational video. On Friday we previewed The Jesus Film dubbed in Madi, which we will be showing on the first night of the mission. Imagine what it would be like to have never heard the story of Jesus in your first and most familiar language, and then to not only hear it, but see it spoken on the lips of Jesus, Mary and the Apostles. This is what the experience is like when these tribal groups watch the film for the first time. On Saturday we watched Karol: The Pope, The Man, an exceptionally faithful and stirring portrayal of the papacy of John Paul II.
Watching the Jesus Film in Madi
Viewing Karol set me up spiritually to celebrate the English Mass on Sunday. The church was packed to overflowing, the Kizito dancers were stepping and swaying, the people were clapping and the choir was outstanding. At the introduction of the Mass I told the congregation how happy I was to be celebrating there, and that – based on the movie we saw the night before – I was sure it was a place that Pope John Paul would have liked to be.
The entire experience of the visit was extremely positive, and left us feeling that there was tremendous potential for the evangelization activities we have planned in January.
To Donate Online CLICK HERE.
During the visit we met with the pastors, Fr. Joseph Mawa and Fr. Julius Ido, and the committee they’ve formed to coordinate the effort. We walked step by step through the activities we have planned and explained how and for what we would need the help and support of the local team. The training and orientation took place at the St. Patrick Parish Center in Nimule, where the first mission and the youth retreat will be held. Below are some photos of different groups in the parish preparing on Saturday afternoon for Mass the next day.
On Friday and Saturday evenings we had a time of Eucharistic Adoration with the youth who will be serving with us in January. It was a beautiful and moving experience. Afterwards we showed an inspirational video. On Friday we previewed The Jesus Film dubbed in Madi, which we will be showing on the first night of the mission. Imagine what it would be like to have never heard the story of Jesus in your first and most familiar language, and then to not only hear it, but see it spoken on the lips of Jesus, Mary and the Apostles. This is what the experience is like when these tribal groups watch the film for the first time. On Saturday we watched Karol: The Pope, The Man, an exceptionally faithful and stirring portrayal of the papacy of John Paul II.
Watching the Jesus Film in Madi
The entire experience of the visit was extremely positive, and left us feeling that there was tremendous potential for the evangelization activities we have planned in January.
To Donate Online CLICK HERE.
No comments:
Post a Comment