Lay and Youth Missionaries, and the Uganda Martyrs, in Helio

Lay and Youth Missionaries interacting with the Catholic villagers of Helio.

Last Sunday, October 31st (by the way, thankfully there wasn’t even the faintest hint about Halloween here) we began what we hope will be a regular Sunday sacramental outreach to the village of Helio. I had celebrated Mass in Helio last year, and we’ve passed the village many times on the way to Katire. But now that we have another priest, Fr. Sylvester, it’s possible for one of us to be dropped off (Helio is much closer to Torit, only about 20 minutes outside of town) while the other continues on to Katire.

A damaged classroom in Helio that's still used for teaching.

Because repair work is being done on one of the bridges further up along the road, it’s not possible for a large vehicle like ours to make the trip; only motorcycles can get through. So, all of us landed in Helio to get things started with a bit of a bang. The three visiting lay missionaries and two youth missionaries, Flora and Joseph, quickly made friends with the children and the youth of the choir.

One of the seats in the classroom.

Charles, the local catechist, has done a great job of organizing and animating the Catholic community there, so even though it had been a little while since Mass was celebrated there, there was a good turnout and active participation at Mass. He's also a great translator. A well trained and dedicated catechist really makes all the difference in the faith life of a village. They are on the Church's front line.

Watching the story of the Uganda Martyrs.

After Mass, we showed the congregation a video that dramatizes the story of the Uganda martyrs. As I write this, Fr. Sylvester, Joseph and Roger (lay missionaries) and George, John, Wilson and Simon (youth missionaries) are in the village showing the Jesus film in their local language of Lotuko.

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