The Last Days Of Ivory

New Year 2015

The last day of the 'old year', December 31, has been always to me a special and opportune time to recapitulate the proceedings of the past twelve months in the eyes of faith and in a quadruple ambiance of prevailing feelings of:

1. Adoration and praise of God,
2. Gratitude to God and people I was blessed to meet, work and interact with,
3. Repentance for what was lacking in me and my service and asking for pardon from God and people I offended, even if not purposefully,
4. Hope and consecration to God's Mercy and Providence for the year to come.

It is no different today. This is exactly how I feel, meditate upon, think about, recollect and pray.

I will not dare to attempt to commit to this post what has happened in the past twelve months of this year. Instead, I will celebrate a special Thanksgiving Mass this evening immersing in Divine Mercy Ocean this year, all people I met, everything that has happened, all that we and I were able to achieve, everyone and everything, with all my hopes, dreams, passions, plans for the next year.

Thank you, Lord! Thank you, all my loved ones, friends, benefactors, readers of my blog and all I met this year! At the same time I ask God and all of you for pardon and absolution for my mistakes, failures and shortcomings.

I wish us all a wonderful New 2015 Year full of God's Love, Light, Power, Joy and Peace. A year full of personal accomplishments and genuine satisfaction.

Take My Dearest Treasure

In her Diary, Saint Sister Faustina writes:"... when Mass began, a strange silence and joy filled my heart. Just then, I saw Our Lady with the Infant Jesus ... . The most holy Mother said to me, 'Take my Dearest Treasure,' and she handed me the Infant Jesus. When I took the Infant Jesus in my arms, the Mother of God and Saint Joseph disappeared. I was left alone with the Infant Jesus" (Diary, 608)

In this holy time of the celebration of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ as I celebrate the Christmas Eve Mass tonight, I wish and pray for all of you, my dearest relatives, friends, benefactors and readers, that what Sister Faustina experienced, we all may experience as well - tonight and every day of our lives: taking Infant Jesus in the Holy Communion - Our Lady and ours Dearest Treasure, the Incarnated Divine Mercy of the Father.

May Jesus let us feel His loving presence, blessings and light in our daily lives, especially in times of trial, loneliness, distress and cross.

May Jesus empower us through our merciful words, thoughts, decisions and deeds to radiate His Presence, Power, Love, Mercy and Light to others in our daily lives - to those hungry of love and understanding, those in need of a listening ear, of a shoulder to lean on and of an appreciation, to those searching for a deeper meaning of their lives, to those crying for our help and support. 

Lots of love to you all from all of us here in Kiabakari!

Germany Appreciation Day And The Fifth Graduation Ceremony in Kiabakari - A Short Movie

This is just a short YouTube version of the full-length DVD (2,5 hours long) of the special celebration on December 3, 2014 in our pre- and primary school. I have posted already a still images but the video is a totally different quality of reporting. A special word of thanks to Mr. Aldimilablis Novatus for the shooting and expert editing of the movie. I hope you enjoy what you are about to see! 

School Anthem

New Milestone In The History

Today some of us witnessed a history in making, with a new milestone in the history of the Congregation of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ firmly laid down with the first vows of three novices in Kahangala, Archdiocese of Mwanza. These three young men are the first Africans to enter the Congregation. As a neighbor and a friend of the Resurrection Fathers since the very first day the first one of them arrived to Tanzania ten years ago, I could not miss this great opportunity to show my support and appreciation for their efforts in Tanzania.

Radio Interviews

When women didn’t eat eggs, wear trousers...

Monday, being an easy and laid back day off for me today, helped me to infuse my mind with some great stories I came across the web. It is sometimes a futile catch-up chase with the modern world for me, with poor internet connection in Kiabakari and busy schedule, which hinders my 'get in touch' with the world attitude. This time though, I have ample time on my hands as my beaten up truck undergoes repair and service and I sit with my macbook and go slowly through interesting pieces of journalism one by one. Among those I read an excellent and inspiring article, which comes along well with the just a week ago celebrated Women's Day and my Brother's art exhibition on the woman's theme. I copy and paste the full article for your convenience.

Reliving The Past

Living in Tanzania for twenty years now and witnessing the wind of change sweeping through this country and East Africa, I found it extremely stimulating and interesting to go slowly through a set of vintage photos recently published by the National Archives of the United Kingdom. What a marvelous piece of photo evidence of the yesteryear...of the past that is on side long gone and on the other side still present and alive in people (some of them) I personally know. This is the link to the website with those photos. Tanzanian album - which is the fifth largest in the whole archives of photos from colonial era Africa -  is here. A sheer pleasure to relive the past!

We Walk By Faith, Not By Sight

2 Corinthians 5:7. Very challenging text. As if walking with our eyes closed, believing what we are being told and accepting it at face value. Walking by faith, not by sight. As if landing in a thick fog, guided only by ILS, knowing that the instrument landing system will guide me correctly at a right glide slope path to the center of the runway. As if walking along the edge of a cliff, guided by a voice of someone else, trusting that person completely. As if looking at the valley covered in thick mist, seeing nothing and being told that there is a beautiful valley with picturesque village on the curvy river meandering through the valley towards the horizon...

A Welcoming Sign

I have been quiet on this issue for some time but I have to admit that the election of the first black African Member of the Parliament of the Republic of Poland has been a very welcoming sign of opening of our Polish society to the world and human races...

Homesick

A very relaxed morning, kind of reward for the past busy, action packed days... And the homesick feelings creeping in, as I go through emails and smses from Tanzania and Kiabakari... Something just hit me in the stomach and made me wanting to go back to Tanzania as I miss it badly... I can be in paradise here in Canada, I may be surrounded by the most wonderful people imaginable, yet still my heart and soul belongs to Africa, to Tanzania, to Kiabakari...

Ellis Park

These two words have become familiar to every soccer / football fan across the globe. Famous Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, the venue for the opening and closing of World Cup 2010 and some of the games during the month long tournament. But its history reaches much  further in the past...