And On This Rock...

I will build my...tank...

Amazing workers I am privileged to have, I have to say in full praise! They were able to pull an incredible feat. To finish laying concrete slab as a base for the water tank in less than 20 hours with such huge problems with water, borders on impossible! They are trashed now completely, so after paying them their dues and thanking with all my heart, I couldn't but wish them a good night, haha...

The Guest

I've got an unexpected but very welcomed guest. The whole morning has been very hectic for us. Fetching water by car from a creek on the outskirts of Kiabakari, some one kilometer or so from the mission, to save mixed cement and continue concrete laying of the tank base.  At the same time, I've been busy in the parochial office. Tuesdays are customary office days, so people come from distant corners of the parish and from Kiabakari itself to have their 'shidas' (problems) solved. Add to the flavor the incoming Confirmation on this Saturday, and confirmants swarming around the office to finish 'office staff', then you get a lively morning... Then the Guest arrived...

The Last Day

August 31st - the last day of summer holidays in Europe, tomorrow 71st anniversary of the break out of Second World War, with Germany invading Poland on September 1st, 1939 - as the benchmark starting point (well, we may count other benchmark points as Anschluss (annexation) of Austria on March 12th, 1938 etc.)... In Poland tomorrow thousands of pupils will start a new school year (I remember my anxiety mixed with joy I felt whenever September 1st was approaching, as I always liked going to school)...

Night Watch

Keeping a night watch with my commandos - workers who lay concrete base for the main water retention tank at the side of the shrine. Note that we do not have such a luxurious equipment as concrete mixer. Everything is done manually. So, to boost their morale and keep fatigue away, we made some coffee for us so we don't fall on our noses into the pit, and after initial several hours of concrete mixing and pouring by means of water buckets filled with concrete in half and passed from one to another all the way down to the pit where 'mafundi' (masons, experts) were - and a dinner break, we set off with second mix of concrete. Hopefully, if we do not run out of water, which is quite possible as the water level in my home tank is dangerously low, we may finish the job by today's (yes, it is today already) afternoon...

Solidarity

My country is (and indeed the whole world should too) celebrating today the 30th Anniversary of the birth of NSZZ 'Solidarnosc' (the first free independent trade union 'Solidarity' after the Second World War in Poland) which brought eventually the end of the communist era in Poland and Eastern Europe...

Useless Gift

I've just come back from Zanaki Parish, our mother parish, from which Kiabakari, Butiama and Nyamuswa parishes were born (the old Mama - Zanaki Parish giving birth to three new parishes in the spread of a few years in the nineties). The parish priest is on vacation, so I give a helping hand once a month there, and there is another priest from Musoma helping also once a month. The remaining two Sundays each month are covered by a resident catechist. It is so tough to get substitution in our diocese in times of long holidays. We do try our best to secure services for every Sunday while away, but it is not always possible. There are still very few priests in this diocese and things if improving, they improve in a snail's pace... New priests are being ordained every year, but others are dying or getting sick or simply finishing their service and going back home...

The Beginning Of Love

“Today there is so much suffering - and I feel that the passion of Christ is being relived all over again - are we there to share that passion, to share that suffering of people?...

Milan

The day after St. Monica's liturgical feast, the Church celebrates the feast day of St. Augustine of Hippo, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, her son... Since August 2005, when I visited Milan in Italy guided by Don Emilio, my friend and confrere from our ordination class of 1988 in Kraków, Poland, my perception of today's feast and my personal relation with St. Augustine deepened and strengthened in a special way...

Those Tears

The circumstances of St. Monica’s life could have made her a nagging wife, a bitter daughter-in-law and a despairing parent, yet she did not give way to any of these temptations. I always liked her and she has been my inspiration in my struggle to fulfill the vision of Divine Mercy in Kiabakari that was revealed to me on that morning of one of Lent Sundays in 1991...

Zero-Zero

Just a quick post on what has just happened. Shortly before 7pm, community superior of my sisters came to me asking for help in picking up two sisters coming to visit us from Shirati, some 120 kilometers from Kiabakari. They sent her a sms asking for pick up at Zero-Zero junction (zero-zero, because all distances in our area are counted starting from that junction) which is exactly between Musoma and Kiabakari, some 20 kilometers from here. This is a junction of Musoma-Mwanza highway which passes through Kiabakari and the highway going to the Kenyan border and beyond to Nairobi and Mombasa....

Sinkhole

I guess 'The Day After' Syndrome is going to pass rather quickly this time. And this I will owe to the most hated place in the entire Divine Mercy Hill. Strange, to say the least! For around ten long years I was staring in this disgusting, repulsive, depressing sinkhole which sucked life, joy, hopes out of me big time day in, day out mercilessly, silently, efficiently...

Black Madonna

Today is the solemnity of Our Lady of Częstochowa on Jasna Góra which has become the National Shrine in my country, the spiritual capital of Poland. Thousands if not millions of pilgrims come to Częstochowa day after day throughout the whole year from all over the country and abroad to pay homage to the undisputed Queen of Poland who, throughout the centuries, has showed the way and guided and protected our nation from her throne in Jasna Góra...

The Day After

Nah, it won't be about the pill. Just about the syndrome I suffer from whenever doing or going through something that demands a lot of physical or psychological input on my side to accomplish. This syndrome of feeling like trash, feeling shallow, feeling empty, feeling sad 'the day after' has been haunting me since I can remember...

Gentleman's Handshake

Feeling a bit exhausted mentally. It's been a delicate moment, this evening, when I sat with my friend and foreman and talked about money. Labor charge to be precise. For the school project and for the water tank project. It has been always tense conversation throughout past 15 years, whenever we sat down to talk about money. In times like these friendship simply seizes to exist....

Tomatoes Or Oranges?

Today is La Tomatina Day in the town of Bunyol in Spain. I heard about this festival of sheer madness and saw some videos of it. I always wanted to take part in atrocities like these that never end in fatal accidents. But considering my spectacles and the fact that my targeting system might be compromised big time by the lack of eyewear, I would turn into a moving target for others, rather that be an effective tomato propulsion device...

Instant Prayer

Having my morning instant coffee with milk, thinking about the kind of innocent, pure prayer, full of trust in Lord's Mercy and Kindness...The prayer that brings instant results. Instant Prayer... This is precisely what happened this morning...

The Lord Of The Dust

That's how I can describe myself today. Simply and genuinely the Lord of the Dust. When I arrived home yesterday evening, I noticed how dry the whole area has become during these past two months of dry season, called here in swahili kipupwe. But what I have seen today, surpassed my wildest expectations. I was shocked to see how ugly the whole Divine Mercy Hill has become. Ugly, dry, dull, lifeless. Couldn't believe my eyes... African winter in its ugliest...

Home, Sweet Home!

I'm back home in Kiabakari. Eventually, our plane departed at 3pm from Dar es Salaam and after uneventful flight which took some two hours (watching Mr. Bones movie all the way onboard), we landed safely at gravel airstrip called Musoma Airport, right in the middle of the Municipality. I always get stressed when approaching Musoma by air. There usually are quite strong crosswinds in evening, blowing from west, northwest, making for a bumpy descent. The runway is made of gravel, poorly maintained, so i always wonder how pilots keep plane straight, feeling how it shakes and wants to go sideways. It scares .... out of me, to be honest! This afternoon at least it was not so bad and - because I was busy taking pictures of Musoma and the Lake Victoria, I didn't pay to much attention to what was going on with the aircraft...

Precision In Constant Changes

I should have known and choose to fly to Mwanza instead of Musoma... I should have known! Aaaargh! It happened again... Precision In Constant Changes should be the new name of Precision Air. I was all in smiles when checked in to Musoma and sitting comfortably in the domestic departures lounge waiting to board ATR 42 enroute to Mwanza via Musoma at 1.30 pm. Then, precisely at 1.30 pm THEY announced. The plane will be delayed two hours due to technical problems. Ouch! So, here I am, continuing my wait and training yet another time in patience as Precision Air won again... With a cup of coffee and veggie samosas...

Ambivalence

This is exactly how I feel getting ready for my return flight to Musoma early afternoon today and then a short drive (some 40 km by car from Musoma) to Kiabakari. Ambivalence is a right word to describe my state of mind as I brace what awaits me there back 'home' in Kia (as we got used to say in short)...

Rohobot

On my last day in Dar es Salaam, before I fly tomorrow early afternoon to Musoma (hopefully - to Musoma, not to Mwanza, as it often happens) by Precision Air flight and come back fully recharged to the pileup of things that await me in Kiabakari, I decided to reward myself with a nice dinner with a bunch of nice people at Rohobot Ethiopian Restaurant...

Sacred Birds

It always amazed me that in Catholic Symbolism birds (doves, eagles, pelicans, phoenixes, peacocks etc...) hold a sacred meaning with no connotation of evil, contrary to what we sometimes experience and believe in secular world and our cultures, be it Polish culture and popular beliefs or in Tanzanian diverse ethnicity...

Defenders Of The Cross

Since that inexplicable tragedy near Smoleńsk on April 10 this year, we have been witnesses to the evolution of people's relation to the cross that has been erected by Polish scouts in front of presidential palace in Warsaw, which for a long time was a place bringing together all Poles and other people sympathizing with us, commemorating that sad event, praying for the victims and for the nation, expressing their pride and patriotism...

Coincidence?

Just thinking...as I go about my tiny duties this morning, sorting myself out and getting ready for the onslaught of tough three weeks ahead of me in Kiabakari, in which I will try to supervise preparations for the Bishop's visitation and confimation on September 4th with numerous items on this agenda (catechesis, liturgical preparation of candidates and participants, confessions of confirmants, preparations for the very day including Holy Mass, festivities and lunch for all parishioners, decorations, preparations of gifts for Bishop and catechists etc...) and at the same time construction works in the center for education and formation (plastering of walls of two classrooms and laying cement floors in there - if funds allow for this) and the construction of main water tank. And - at the same time - my own logistic preparations for Canada and USA voyage. I surely need these two, three days in Dar es Salaam to recharge and get ready for this...

Peice Of Heavan

Laughing out loud to myself, watching this short self-made documentary by a young Tanzanian on Dar es Salaam, called in this video Peice of Heavan :) Apart from spelling mistakes, this video (in two parts) is a genuine effort to present the city to anyone who intends to visit Tanzania and Dar es Salaam in particular... Check it out...and enjoy...

Joy

Just woke up this morning, feeling happy! Yeah, things went pretty well yesterday, unexpectedly fast and efficiently...Actually, I was quite surprised! Got my ticket for Canada / USA voyage (thank you MM for your kindness and generosity in giving me 'friend's ticket' which saved half the price of the regular fee!). Went to German Embassy in Dar and was genuinely surprised that all paperwork was waiting for me, so just a signature and the funds towards the construction of main water tank in Kiabakari were there at my disposal. Went to the bank to deposit the money, met with friends here and there, and all this in very pleasant weather...How NOT to be happy after a perfect day like yesterday?...

Lone Rider

I have traveled several times by trains while in Europe. Never alone. Always with and among fellow travelers...But when it came to the last trip by train before boarding the plane which would take me back to Africa, there was no one on board with me. There was not even a train driver...

Inversion

For the very first time in my missionary life in Tanzania, I had this weird sensation of arriving from Africa to Europe in reverse...Actually, I was flying from Europe to Africa yesterday, but it felt, temperature-wise, the opposite! I flew from a hotter continent to a cooler one... It's colder in Dar es Salaam than it was in Kraków, just a couple of days ago! Strange feeling, weird sensation... From a humid hell in Kraków's melting pot to a gentle pleasant breezy Dar es Salaam with moderate temperatures, liveable...

Wrong Turn

Once I watched the movie under this title. Wrong Turn. What a disgusting, gruesome movie it was! Arghhhh! Yesterday it was not about the movie again...It was all about the title...Wrong Turn. This is how you can precisely describe the finale of my long haul flight from Zurich via Nairobi to Dar es Salaam...

Familiar Feeling

This kind of feeling flows through my system whenever I 'stumble upon' a picture of Divine Mercy in a place I would not expect it straight on... On Tuesday, upon arriving to Okęcie Airport in Warsaw, I had ample time on my hands to wander around the terminal and get to know it better than normally, when I am in haste... So, I decided first to see how the chapel in new terminal looks like. Well, I must say, I was very impressed!

Dark Matter

Packing has never been tougher than this one today...It has never taken me so much energy, emotions, strength of will and time to pack that few wee things I take with me back to Africa...I feel like I am not ready to go back yet...that I need a few days of rest and give myself a chance to wind down high wired emotions...These few things I put to my bag made it so heavy to move that I suspect there may be some dark matter involved in it...

Hollow Profile

I don't know what kind of words I should use to describe how I feel on the eve of my departure for return trip to Tanzania...I've been sitting here, staring at my laptop, trying to verbalize my feelings and the general sense of hollowness....

Sudden Blow

Today's Liturgy of the Word is all about painful loss. "The word of the LORD came to me: Son of man, by a sudden blow I am taking away from you the delight of your eyes." (Ez 24:15). These words from the first reading hit me hard...By a sudden blow... How many times in my life it has happened...by a sudden blow...The Word of God came to me this morning in all its naked truth and reality as I went to the Rakowice cemetery to lay flowers, light candles and pray for my Mum, my Grandma, my Grandpa and all my beloved relatives and friends I lost in my life...By a sudden blow...

20 Years

Twenty years exactly to the day passed yesterday since I boarded the British Airways plane in Warsaw Okęcie International Airport en route to Heathrow, then switching to Aer Lingus from Heathrow to Dublin, together with my fellow rookie missionary, Fr. Janusz Zajda, on our way to Archdiocese of Armagh, to spend three months there in order to improve our English language skills, before we were able to fly to Tanzania to begin our kiswahili language course in Maryknoll Language School in Musoma as the first step of our new missionary life...

Upon The Palms of My Hands...

Solemnity of the Assumption of Our Lady is just round the corner. I will celebrate it in Divine Mercy parish, a parochial community in Skawina, a town in the vicinity of Kraków, where I was asked to substitute for one of my colleagues, who is on vacation now. I will have an opportunity to raise mission awareness by preaching in all five Masses tomorrow and hopefully to collect some funds to pay for expenses of my new book. We will see how it goes... I am too old to be either overoptimistic or over-pessimistic. I guess I am more realistic with a positive attitude...

Schengen

Sitting at the table with my laptop, fresh after a quick three days holidays in Austria. I just realized that the distance from Ulmerfeld in Austria to Kraków is more or less the same as the distance from Kraków to the Baltic Sea - approx. 580 kilometers. And yet, throughout all these past years, it seemed as if Ulmerfeld was on a different planet! Actually, it took us less time to get from there to Kraków, and the journey was pleasant and seamless, contrary to the arduous trip to northern tip of Poland, taking the condition of our roads into consideration.

Simple Elegance

I love the parochial church of my friend, Fr. Wieslaw. Its simple elegance is stunning and I feel very much at home in this House of God. Nothing is too much in there, everything is simple, elegant, balanced and 'user friendly'. I enjoy every moment spent on prayer in this holy place or just sitting in there or admiring its well-appointed interior and a pleasant architecture.

Eat Me

Yesterday we arrived to Father Wieslaw parish at Ulmerfeld-Hausmening-Neufurthin in early afternoon and after a short rest, we celebrated a solemn Mass in a parochial church with a brass band and a parochial choir Audite Nova. I was deeply moved by their warm welcome, love and joy. I had an opportunity at the end of the liturgy to offer my heartfelt thanks to Father Wieslaw, my classmate and best friend of more than 28 years now, and to the parochial community which has been with me for a few years now and helping as best as they can, under circumstances, with mission projects in Kiabakari and my personal upkeep.

Rosa Mystica

Visiting my best friend in Austria in Ulmerfeld-Hausmening-Neufurth parish. Today we (our host, Marek I came with from Krakow, and myself) set off in the morning to make our personal, private pilgrimage to the most famous pilgrimage site in Austria, the shrine of Our Lady in Mariazell (Wikipedia - here). It was a great spiritual, cultural, geographical and environmental experience. I loved the shrine, loved the place, loved the countryside, loved the picturesque road leading to Mariazell from our base in my friend's parish. But apart from the spiritual main reason for going there - which was to pray to Our Lady for my beloved ones and friends, for the intentions of their hearts, for myself and Kiabakari and for all heavy stuff in my heart, apart from the beauty of the prayer in a beautiful shrine, I left Mariazell mesmerized by another experience of beauty...

Cheerful Giver

These two words are the keywords for today's Gospel of St. Lawrence, the Martyr, liturgical feast. But. Where to find exactly that type of person in this world? Hmmmm.... A cheerful giver? Give me a break! Rather in my life I tend to bump into a tearful giver, moaning, bitching, complaining, finding-any-excuse giver, and  to the contrary - I am easily found by a cheerful receiver, demanding and skillful claimer... Anyway... Yawn... I guess I had a fraction of sleep and woke up too early this morning getting ready for a long haul to Austria with my classmate to visit another classmate working there, to be in a generously positive mood. Coffee did not help either... Anyway, have a nice day, and we - let's have a safe journey... Yawn...

Citizen G.C.

Suddenly I felt an impulse, an urge to go back to Citizen G.C. (Obywatel G.C. a.k.a Grzegorz Ciechowski and his former band Republika) songs. Sitting after an eventful day in my room, trying to wind down and get ready for tomorrow's trip to Austria to visit my classmate, I just - unfortunately - let my mind slip into time travel mode and found myself back in 80's when I was a secondary school lad who listened to all kinds of music - be it Polish or foreign...This time I went back to Obywatel G.C. and Republika Band. I miss those guys...It is not only about their music, but about everything that it evokes in me, tons of memories, fond memories of those passed times...

Right In The Heart Of The City

Right in the heart of my City of Kraków, in The Main Market Square, is where the smallest church - among all churches in the whole of the Archdiocese of Kraków - is located. The church dedicated to my Patron Saint - St. Wojciech (or in Latin - St. Adalbert). My favorite church!

Where God is Absent

It is on August 9th every year since the year of the Lord of 1987, that the Church commemorates one of the most intriguing Saints, she has ever elevated to the glory of altars. "We bow down before the testimony of the life and death of Edith Stein, an outstanding daughter of Israel and at the same time a daughter of the Carmelite Order, Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, a personality who united within her rich life a dramatic synthesis of our century. It was the synthesis of a history full of deep wounds that are still hurting ... and also the synthesis of the full truth about man. All this came together in a single heart that remained restless and unfulfilled until it finally found rest in God." These were the words of Pope John Paul II when he beatified Edith Stein in Cologne on 1 May 1987.

Who was this woman?

Pigeons

While in Poznań (I have just come back from the wedding affair trip which proved to be a great success to my relief as a priest who blessed the marriage and delivered a homily; and to the glory of the newly weds and their families who did a splendid job to prepare and execute one of the best weddings I have ever attended in my life; so professional, so balanced, so nice in every aspect)...

'W' Hour

'W' hour has finally arrived. The Wedding Hour of my close friends. Marta and Daniel. It seemed an eternity since they called first back in early February, asking me to bless their marriage today, on August 7. I refused at the first instance as there was a bishop's canonical visitation planned for this week supposed to end tomorrow. And it is never easy to change such a huge agenda as this. But, as Marta was full of hopes that God will do miracles, He surely delivered miracles...

Poznań By Night

I've just come back from local vision of the venue of the wedding Mass and the reception after the wedding. Great couple of hours spent with the bride and the groom. It felt so good to reconnect, share and do some rehearsal of the wedding Mass in the church in Komorniki, just outside of Poznań.

Poznań

So, here I am in Poznań, enjoying the company of my friends, reconnecting with them, sharing our stories and getting ready for the wedding Mass tomorrow afternoon. As my access to the internet is limited due to time constraints, please, bear with me as I will post account of my visit to Poznań on Monday, along with uploading some pictures from Poznań tours, day and night, and from the wedding itself. I wish you all a blessed and restful weekend. God bless us all!

On My Way

Yes, I am on my way to Poznań, right now as I type these words on my iPhone, sitting in a train couch, for a series of meetings with people who wish to join Foundation Kiabakari starting with highest vacant position of a chairperson of executive board through posts in the council up to volunteers task force. Hope things will go well and we are able to move forward.

But the main reason of my travel to Poznań is to officiate at the marriage ceremony of my close friends on Saturday, who wished that I am present at their wedding. And they paid for air ticket from Tanzania to Poland! Amazing! I am deeply moved by their love and friendship...

Looking forward to meeting my fantastic friends in Poznań!

My City

It feels so good to be back home. Back in my home town, Kraków. Back to neighborhood I grew up and lived in. Back to the city ambiance, streets, history, art, culture. Back to my friends...

Anfield To Become A Rice Field?

Just read a story on Chinese businessman Kenny Huang who is set for hostile takeover of my beloved football club, non other than Mighty Reds, Liverpool FC (a full story here). As controversial as it may sound for hardcore football fans not used to Far East investments in English soccer world, but I guess I share a view of one of Kopities (staunch Liverpool supporters, usually sitting at the Kop end of Anfield Road stadium, who wrote just minutes ago on Liverpool's official forum: 'I haven't prayed in f...ing years but I will do so for a couple of hours today. I don't want anything more than new owners for our club.' It just reflects a majority of our feelings on how our beloved club has been run in the past few years since Americans took over Anfield Road club and failed to deliver on many promises, including a construction of modern stadium at Stanley Park...

Inception

It's a beautiful sunny summer day here in Kraków, temps are in the range I am used to over there in Tanzania, so feeling happy and 'at home'. After a morning Mass with Little Servant Sisters (my neighbors), I went to the hospital to see my leading doctor. I had to wait a bit as she was busy in wards with patients. Anyway, it did not take long. What is most important that all results are great, perfect so to speak, only that liver is still in bad shape, so more diet and medication and taking it easy.

So, as the news were great, I felt relieved and decided to reward myself by going to Galeria Kazimierz in the vicinity for 'Inception' movie, I have heard of already so much. I was wondering if it would be any good and if I didn't make a mistake to waste time for this.

Vanity

A keyword of today's first reading of the liturgy of 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time. 'Vanity. All things are vanity!' And the Gospel adds: 'You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?'

I look at this Word of God in a perspective of two people. First is a priest emeritus who lived in our home parish in Kraków and died 26 years ago. The second is Patrick Morley, a co-author of the book "The Dad in the Mirror."