Shall I Compare Thee To A Summer's Day?

Saturday early morning hours. Waking up in need of a high quality spiritual food. Revisiting once again this little gem, this old tune of David Gilmour singing Sonnet 18 of William Shakespeare. Wondering how fantastic this would be to see David recording a full album of Shakespeare's poetry. A dream! Have a blessed weekend.

SONNET 18

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st;
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Kiabakari Dziękuje Wam!

Thank You!

Sincere and heartfelt words of thanks to all of you, my friends, who kept me in you prayers while undergoing the surgery. I am back home, looks like the procedure went well and though weak and dizzy yet I look forward to the time of recovery that lies ahead now. Thank you and God bless you all!

Back On The Med Trail

The day after the arrival back to Kraków I am again since this morning on the medical trail of doctors and preparations for what is coming up next Monday and Tuesday when I will be admitted to the hospital for the planned surgery which supposedly will ease up my persisting breathing problems, especially when sleeping.

Frankly, I am looking forward to this new challenge and experience in my life. And I am very grateful to the leading surgeon on the surgical team for finding a spot for this procedure when I met him in early August last year at the end of my medical checkup process in May to July when the source of the problem was discovered. I feel somehow relieved that he and other specialists found out the root of the problem that bothered me for long time now and came up with the solutions and the date for the procedure under national insurance policy which will help me avoid the significant costs of this surgery. I wish to thank also my family doctor who helped me last year with all the necessary procedures and checkups and directed me for the surgery.

I am very grateful to my friend and brother-in-arms, Rev. Fr. Stanisław Puzyniak, the parish priest of my home parish in Nowa Huta - The Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Osiedle Teatralne, covering the area of Osiedle Górali where I was born and lived till Form IV before moving to our own apartment in December 1981 in St. Kazimierz Parish in Kraków's Grzegórzki. Himself touched by pain and suffering in his own life, he did not hesitate to cover the expenses of the airfare to get me here and return back to Tanzania after the procedure and six weeks required recovery time as told by the surgeon. Thank you very much, Stasiu!

A very special word of thanks to the CEO with the family of my friends of Foundation Kiabakari, to all my friends who are with me in this point of time of life - for their closeness, support, help, words of encouragement and prayers. Thank you so much!

Prayers very much appreciated for the successful procedure next Tuesday. Thank you and God bless us all!

Yes, We Could And We Did!

What has happened in the past four months (September-December 2014) since I came back from my extended holidays-medical checkup, borders on a genuine miracle category. Yes, putting aside apparent God's Providence and blessings, it is an outcome of joined efforts of so many friends of Kiabakari and of our development push for the betterment of the education of our little ones in Kiabakari.

Firstly - all those who presented me with various gifts during my silver jubilee of priesthood celebrations in 2013 - both in Europe and in Tanzania. These gifts helped me to buy three plots and offer compensation for three families adjacent to our primary school for the purpose of the construction of the new wing. The cost of this exercise was 6,000 Euros.

Secondly - my relatives and personal friends in Poland, Austria and Ireland, parochial communities where I was invited for mission awareness Sundays and fundraisers (Chochołów, Puławy, Krowodrza, Św. Szczepan, Św. Kazimierz, Św. Karol Boromeusz, NSPJ os. Teatralne in Nowa Huta, Siepraw, Ogrodzieniec, Św. Jan Kanty - os. Widok, Biały Prądnik), bank donations from many known and unknown to me persons, Foundation Kiabakari online fundraisers for the construction of the new wing and for the textbooks for standard five students, Makulatura na Misje team at St. Kazimierz home parish in Krakow and the last but not least corporate donor - Murapol S.A. from Bielsko-Biała, Poland, school construction fund of parents of our students in Kiabakari (they donated altogether 200$) - we were able to reach the goal for the end of 2014 - the construction of the new wing for standard 5,6,7 classrooms and computer lab, the finishing and furnishing of standard 5 and six classrooms (the standard six finishing is underway at the moment) and the textbooks for standard 5 students. The total value of the entire project so far exceeds 75,000$.

Yes, we could and we did!

I am so proud and grateful to all of you who helped us in small and big ways. Here are some images of this story:

Haba Na Haba Hujaza Kibaba / Ziarnko Do Ziarnka Zbierze Sie Miarka / Every Penny Counts

Drodzy polscy Czytelnicy / Podatnicy, proszę o wsparcie 1% statutowych działań naszej fundacji. Każdy grosz jest na wagę złota. Każdy odruch solidarnego serca jest absolutnie ważny. Dziękuję!

2015 Anthem

This is the song I play most these days. Of course, Mylene Farmer - as those of you who know me best will attest that she is number one for me in the world of music and beyond. I would dare to say that this may be 2015 anthem as well as I look forward with hope and high spirits to what lies ahead!

TIME

Time, time, time
You need time
Time, time, no no no

Suppose I tell you
Love is the cause
That our life paths
Sometimes overlap us

This is mine
I do not care
My pain
That's all
The antidote to worst
The anti "not dying"

I want to live, to go top
Able to say to me that it is beautiful
But not time, time, time
You need time
Time, time, no no no

Suppose I tell you
Sleeping inside me
A continent of life
Of your mountains and wonders

This is mine
But you
My destiny
Wraps
Around your kidneys
Love, I feel well

I want to live, to go up
Able to say to me that it is wonderful
But not time, time, time
It will take time,
Time, time, no no no

I want to live, to go high
Able to say to me that it is handsome
But not time, time, time
It will need time
Time, time, no no no

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!

Christmas Gift

The best Christmas gift I could ever imagine or wished for from our standard 4 students! The results of their national exam (first ever in a short history of our primary school) have been announced today. Our school was the first in the Kukirango ward (gmina in Polish). Out of 1002 standard 4 students who sat for the exam in all primary schools in the area, our students took the top eleven spots. All of our twenty four standard 4 students took places between 1 and 31. Our girls and boys set a high benchmark to beat for their peers in our school in future years.

We are very happy that our concerted efforts - hard work of our students, sisters, teachers and parents supported by my personal benefactors, Fundacja Kiabakari and its friends and sponsors (including 'Makulatura na Misje' dedicated team) via volunteers, educational adoption scheme, construction of the modern school, textbooks, educational gifts etc. - pay off. Well done, everybody!

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! 

Volunteering in Kiabakari - North American Chapter

I ask all my friends to have a kind look at the website/blog below (click on the caption below the picture to access the blog) and help if possible this young brave lady who dreams about sharing with us in Kiabakari her time, talents and professional knowledge she has acquired through her studies. She will be the very first North American volunteer in Kiabakari. Keeping my spiritual fingers crossed for our future guest! Welcome to Kiabakari, Emily!

Click here

"Ntampata Wapi?" The Tribute to All People of the Foundation Kiabakari

This song I wish to dedicate with all my gratitude and respect to the Chairperson of Foundation Kiabakari, the board and the council and all esteemed volunteers of the Foundation, private volunteers and of other organizations who came or are committed to the cause of Kiabakari and gave our people the greatest gift ever - their selves, their talents, time, love, care, kindness, passions, creativity and devotions...

Out Of Curiosity

Have you ever clicked on and read the content of one of those? Feel courageous to comment below!

Germany Appreciation Day and The Fifth Graduation in Our Pre-School - Images

Selected images in random order from a special day at our pre- and primary school in Kiabakari on Wednesday December 3, 2014, as we - firstly - honored and showed our gratitude to German people who helped us in the span of past five years with two development project and by sending four teachers-volunteers to Kiabakari. And secondly - celebrated the fifth graduation in our pre-school. We were very happy to welcome our special guests of the day - German volunteers from Internazionaler Bund organization - Hanna and Nele who work as teachers-volunteers at Kigori Primary School since August this year. I leave captions and explanations of images to you, viewers. Link to the full photo album on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152841962026912.1073741853.649361911&type=1&l=f227eec667. Enjoy!

Five Minutes To Midnight - Wrapping Up 2014

I have just realized that I haven't posted anything in the whole month of November. Shame on me! Yet, considering the November pastoral and development works package plus the annual holidays of the manager of the health center and my personal secretary at the same time leaving me with all things on my poor head, no wonder that I was a bit too preoccupied to continue posting here. My apologies anyway.

We have just started December and the new liturgical year. The Advent has begun. The time, I would say - five minutes to midnight in the scale of the year.

This is the time for closing meetings of the year, reports, summaries, retrospections and so forth. I have drawn my short list of highlights of 2014 in my life and in Kiabakari. Here it is:

January - first pastoral meetings in the parish, the Holy Childhood annual feast on the Epiphany,

February - 8 days long Faith Renewal parochial retreat (The Year of the Family theme), Baptisms and First Communions in the parochial church and outstations, the end of the registration process of our pre- and primary schools (yes! after a full year of painstaking process!), Furu fanatics team hosting in Kiabakari,

March - Lent spiritual and pastoral activities,

April - Holy Week, Easter, Divine Mercy Novena and Divine Mercy Sunday three days of celebrations, major overhaul of Grandma (my 21 year old truck),

May-July - three month short sabbatical - medical checkups and procedures, pilgrimages to my favorites shrine and Saints in Poland, Italy and Ireland; visiting friends and places in Poland, Austria, Hungary, Ireland and Germany; private fundraisers in parishes and among friends for the construction of the new wing in the primary school in Kiabakari,

August - Third World Apostolic Congress on Mercy in Colombia, Bogota (paricipating as the national coordinator of the Congress in Tanzania) and the proposal of organizing a continental congress on Mercy in Africa and Madagascar in September/October 2016,

September - The Year of Family pastoral program with catechesis on Sundays, Confirmation catechesis on Saturdays, the pastoral visit of the Apostolic Nuncio in Tanzania in the Diocesan Shrine of Divine Mercy in Kiabakari with the blessing of the construction site of the new wing in our school, the beginning of the construction of the wing,

October - The Year of Family pastoral program with catechesis on Sundays, Confirmation catechesis, the construction of the new wing, Holy Rosary daily prayer service in the presence of the Most Holy Eucharist,

November - The Year of Family pastoral program with catechesis on Sundays, the daily liturgical services with prayer for the deceased, Confirmation catechesis, exams, the construction of the new wing, Confirmation Mass for 128 candidates from all outstations of the parish (9/11/2014), the national exams for Standard 4 students in our primary school (26-27/11/2014),

December - The Fifth Graduation in our pre-school (3/12/2014), the official inauguration of the children choir in the parish (14/12/2014), the completion of the construction of the new wing and the finishing of the standard 5 classroom, Advent pastoral program, Christmas, the finale of the Year of the Family (27-28 December) with our bishop presiding.

There is a lot to be grateful to Almighty and Merciful God in this year. And I invite you all, my dear friends, to join me in this thanksgiving prayer. 

There is a lot to be sorry for as well. And I invite you again, my friends, to join me in our prayer of contraction and asking for pardon for our failures and shortcomings. 

There is a lot to be hopeful for in this new liturgical year. And once again I ask you all, my friends, to raise our hearts and voices to our God praying for our dreams, passions, resolutions, desires, plans and goals - may good Lord grants us all that is pleasing to Him and salvific to us.

In Te, Domine, speravi! Non confundar in aeternum!

Happy new Liturgical Year to us all!

Mwalimu Nyerere And Kiabakari

Revisiting the images from the past, I came across an album of pictures taken when Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere (the Father of the Nation and the first President of independent Tanzania) was visiting Kiabakari on his personal pilgrimages to Divine Mercy Shrine in Kiabakari and when we - from Kiabakari - were visiting him in Butiama. Here are few of them in no particular chronological order. Enjoy!

Six Years Ago

It was six years ago when on the day like today, October 25, we celebrated Golden Jubilee of my parents wedding. We had a family small celebration at home with the Holy Mass which I presided and the little function afterwards. It was the last celebration while my parents were alive. Soon after 2008 Jubilee, my Mum passed on to better life in Heaven, on January 3, 2009. Then later my Dad, on May 29, 2012.

Today they would have celebrated with us their 56th anniversary of the wedding. As they continue celebrating in Heaven with the choirs of Angels as I believe strongly, we continue to celebrate here on Earth through prayer and Holy Mass for their intention. In fact, I have just finished celebration of the special Holy Mass for their intention. May Good Lord grant them eternal peace and fullness of happiness in His House.

I ask you kindly to say Rosary or any other prayer you deem suitable for my Parents intention. Thank you in advance!

My Parents - Maria Halina and Wiesław Ferdynand
on the day of their wedding

The Saint We Knew. The Saint Yet to be Discovered.

The celebration of yesterday's first time ever liturgical commemoration of St. John Paul II prompted me to put a few thoughts to paper today. As I celebrated the Holy Mass of the Saint with my parochial community in Divine Mercy Shrine which sheer existence I owe to the Holy Father himself through his lifelong secretary then - and Cardinal of Kraków now - as the majority of funds for its construction came from him back then in 1994-1997, I reminisced all the moments I was blessed with of my personal encounter with the Saint.

Before he was elected as the Pope, when he was our Archbishop of Kraków, the church bells resounding in the city on the evening of his election when I was on my way back home from Form I lessons in my secondary school in Nowa Huta. His first pilgrimage to Poland in 1979, in particular his visit to the Shrine in Mogiła. I was standing so close to the street that I could touch this white big Star truck carrying him.

Then the consecutive pilgrimages, when I was already in the major seminary in Kraków, performing various duties. His meeting with us in the courtyard of Archbishop's palace in Kraków. So many remarkable moments which deepened my admiration of this person and the desire to know him better - and what is most important - his teaching.

When I was on my way to Tanzania, in the first days of January 1991, I was granted a rare opportunity to concelebrate a morning private Holy Mass with the Saint in his chapel in the Apostolic Palace, and then - after the Mass - to exchange a few words with him, as he asked me where I was from (he was visibly happy to learn that I was from his home diocese of Kraków) and where I was going. When I told him that I go to Tanzania, he smiled broadly and exclaimed - "I know! I was there! The Land of Kilimanjaro!" (in fact, he was freshly from the pilgrimage to Tanzania in September 1990). He gave me his blessing for my future missionary work.

Then, so many other occasions, whenever I was on my way home from Tanzania or on my way back to Tanzania, I always passed through Rome and - thanks to Mons. Stanisław Dziwisz - was blessed with more encounters with the Holy Father. Celebrating two more private Holy Masses with the Saint - in the Vatican and Castel Gandolfo, having opportunities to chat with Holy Father and tell him about my and my colleagues from Poland work in Tanzania. He would always listen carefully and say something that stuck in my heart and mind.

One day, when I was visiting Mons. Dziwisz in his office in the Vatican, I asked for Holy Father's blessing of my missionary cross (which hangs over my head in my bedroom till today). Mons. Dziwisz smiled, took the cross and left the office and came back after a while, smiling and saying that the Holy Father just blessed it and wishes me God's blessing in my work. To my astonishment, Mons. Dziwisz said the the Holy Father was in the next room working!

The last time I had a chance to talk to the Saint was in Castel Gandolfo, when, after the Holy Mass, I offered him a special album on Tanzania, thanking him for sending the first missionaries from Kraków to Tanzania and for praying for us as we continue the mission he started back then in 70'.

It would take a lot of pages to put to paper all thoughts that went through my heart and mind on this special day of the commemoration of the Saint I knew personally and had numerous encounters with him. The Saint so much connected to Kiabakari and Divine Mercy Vision we try to implement gradually - first with his personal help, then with the help of other friends - Foundation Kiabakari, Polish government, my personal friends, parishes, institutions, NGO's, well wishers, people who suffer and pray for us, volunteers and visitors who came to Kiabakari in those past years. And the pilgrims who come and pray here - now through the intercession of the Saint Apostles of Divine Mercy - Sr. Faustina and Holy Father John Paul II.

No wonder, the construction of St. John Paul II Center for Education and Formation in Kiabakari is so important and dear to my heart. We have started with the pre-school, continue with the primary school and hope to reach as high as the high school, vocational training center and the home craft school.

Is it too much to ask for? With the help of such a friend and powerful intercessor in Heaven as St. John Paul II, I will not be mistaken to state that - if this is the Will of God, with the power of Divine Mercy, it is possible!

Saint John Paul II the Great, our friend we know and yet we still need to discover you so much more, pray for us! Pray for Kiabakari! Pray for the Divine Mercy Vision in Kiabakari!

All You Beasts, Wild And Tame, Bless The Lord!

One hundred images from the recent day trip to Serengeti with volunteers of Foundation Kiabakari, Teresa and Urszula. Enjoy the beauty of God's creation.