Bureau of the Mission Security

Yesterday evening I had a wonderful time with a group of people who I call fondly the Bureau of the Mission Security...

Arrogance

"Job opened his mouth and cursed his day." (Jb 3:1) These are the opening words of today's Liturgy of the Word. And, boy, how right and spot on he is today, on a miserable day, windy, low pressure, and a headache that makes me go ballistic, even after coffee and double panadol...aaaarghh....Geez, I kind of feel the same as Job today, cursing the day...

For Nothing

The First Reading of today's liturgy of the commemoration of St. Vincent de Paul, priest, offers to us a richness of meaning and insight into our own spiritual attitude and relationship with God and the world...

Mama

Just came back from the Rakowice cemetery in Kraków. It was dark and rainy. Close to the hour of closing the gates. Went to light a candle and pray at the grave of my Mama, Grandma and Grandpa. In just a few days I will fly to the unknown world and I do not know what to expect and what will happen. All my dreams and hopes I put in that tiny little flickering light of the candle. Asking Mama, Grandma and Grandpa to protect this journey and its outcome for the benefit of Kiabakari. Especially for the benefit of girls and ladies along with our Sisters, who still lack proper housing in Kiabakari...

The Heart Of Poland

While in western Poland, I visited two places near Poznań, meaning a lot to me. One is Gniezno, a city of St. Wojciech, my Patron Saint, where his basilica is located, and main shrine to his honor, with his relics in silver coffin are placed in the heart of the shrine. The second place is Lednica, a lake located between Poznań and Gniezno, with two focal points - one on the northern tip of the lake, and the second on the south western side of the lake...

Wonderful Time

Back from a five day long trip to western Poland, which turned out to be a trip to Berlin eventually, to visit and comfort a very special friend of mine who just came back from Tanzania after suffering a horrible bus accident on her way to Kiabakari on Monday morning...I will try to write a fuller report in the following days. Today I just thank God for giving me such a wonderful time spent with fantastic friends I love and respect so much!

Going To The West

Setting out this morning on a - hopefully - lovely and memorable trip to the western part of Poland - Poznań, Zielona Góra, Wrocław and elsewhere...Such a beautiful weather, let it stay this way all the way till the end of the week. Feeling in a mood to sing along with Connie Dover...

Taken Away

"Take care, then, how you hear. To anyone who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he seems to have will be taken away." (Lk 8:17-18)

This are the final words of today's Gospel. Take care, then, how you hear... HOW YOU HEAR... This expression has taken me strongly this morning during the Mass at Sisters' place, as I always celebrate there, while being at home...

Peace

Such a peaceful day in the Royal Capital City of Poland, my City of Kraków. Not much to do, just hanging around with friends and communicating here and there. A few meetings on the line. And the weather is gorgeous, fitting to the splendor of the city. Thank God for such a beautiful gift of a day!

Home

Arrived safely, at last, home this afternoon. Tired, delayed, but eventually happy. My happiness grew immensely reconnecting with my Dad, Brother, closest friends and Sisters whom I visited and said Holy Mass for them and for myself, thanking God for safe journey, for he past month and all achievements, asking for forgiveness and committing myself, my loved ones and the stay in Poland and the travel to North America to Divine Mercy through the intercession of Our Lady of Fatima. More thoughts, feelings, reflections to follow tomorrow. Going to bed now! Good night!

Prayer Room

Just came out of the prayer room, after saying the Divine Mercy chaplet and praying a bit for various intentions, located near dayrooms, where I checked in after wandering aimlessly, tired and unfresh after all night flight from Dar es Salaam and trouble at the airport here in Zurich, having missed my connecting flight to Warsaw and being forced to stay the whole day and night till tomorrow morning when I will hopefully conclude my air travel to Poland...

Victor Novorski

Do you remember that movie `Terminal` with Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones? Yeah...This is me now. Stuck in Zurich as the flight from Dar was late, I missed my plane to Warsaw and all the remaining flights to Warsaw are fully booked today. Will have to stay whole day and night here in Zurich waiting for my morning flight and paying extra charges as I have a special friend ticket which is fixed and cannot be changed. Talk about more obstacles on my way to holidays...Still, all this will bring blessings...Missing my Dad though, relatives and beloved friends....Will have to wait one more day....:(

Anticipation

This is the prevailing feeling which took possession of my soul and mind, as I sit in the departure hall of Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam, expecting the departure which has been already announced as delayed by 40 minutes due to the late arrival of the incoming plane from Zurich. This simply means that I will - most probably - miss my connecting flight from Zurich to Warsaw tomorrow morning, as there is only 40 minutes of the gao between two flights and it always has been a run from one side of the Kloten Airport in Zurich to the other, barely catching the bus leaving the terminal A to the plane...So far I was able to get on time, but tomorrow, if the plane does not catch up with favorable winds over Sahara, I may have to be put on another plane departing two or three hours later. Anyway, this is not what my anticipation is directed at...

Mwenge

On the day of my flight to Europe, usually I go to Mwenge, an area of Dar es Salaam, which years ago was on the outskirts of the city and now is considered one of the most prestigious locations in Dar, almost a downtown Dar es Salaam, such is the expansion of the city. Mwenge is famous not only for the St. Maximillian Maria Kolbe Catholic Parish, which parochial church was built by a Polish Salesian missionary, Fr. Karol, in late eighties and early nineties, but also for one street where the small shops of dealers in African art of all sorts are lined up...

Tanzanian Hospitality. Swiss made.

I've been their faithful client for the past twenty years. And today, before I met with Florian, an artist and my friend, I went to Swiss Airlines downtown office in Dar es Salaam to pick up my favorite seats in the coming flights to Europe and further on to North America and back...

Florian

Today was a calm and productive day. First full day of rest after landing in Dar es Salaam last night. The keyword to this day is Florian. Florian Ludovick Kaija, to be precise. My friend and partner in crime - working together on many artistic projects in Kiabakari, Musoma and also for our Foundation 'Kiabakari'. I went this morning to see him at home, then we came back to city center for lunch and business talk...

Listless Smile

Too tired and mentally exhausted, on the eve of my departure, to get excited and triumphant...After hard fought battle against time and elements, I smile to myself like a soldier barely alive in the aftermath of a fierce battle which cost him a lot...

Exaltation

Interesting way to conclude yet another period of apostolate and work in Kiabakari before setting off for yet another trip, crossing the continents, cultures, time zones, nations, countries...spreading the word about Kiabakari,  this unassuming place in East Africa, which God in His inexplicable decision touched and made His house in which He is praised and exalted as the Father rich in infinite Mercy...

Chief Ihunyo

Yesterday, apart from WAWATA feast celebration in my mission, I also went to Zanaki Parish, the mother parish of Kiabakari,  for the third and last time - substituting for the parish priest, who is away for holidays. Right after finishing the first Mass in Kiabakari, I drove to Magorombe (the place where Zanaki Parish mission is located) for the Holy Mass. And then, after that Mass, to the Chief Ihunyo Girls' Secondary School for my third Mass. It was my third time there at Chief Ihunyo and the thing that particularly pleased me while celebrating the Holy Mass for Catholic girls studying in this educational facility )who are not allowed to attend Masses in the parochial church due to various reasons which I won't dig in), built by our Member of Parliament, Hon. Nimrod Mkono, who shows in deeds and not only in words, how much he cares for the education of new generations, with emphasis on the education of girls, which is crucial taking under consideration the negative bias of many parents - preferring to focus on the education of boys rather than girls. This problem is particularly acute in our Region, and Zanaki area, including Kiabakari, is leading in sad statistics....

WAWATA

Lasy Sunday of September in the Catholic Church in Tanzania is observed as a feast day for WAWATA (Wanawake Wakatoliki Tanzania - Catholic Women in Tanzania). This is one of the numerous lay movements and associations in the Catholic Church in Tanzania. Today, though it is not the last Sunday of September, we have just celebrated as the feast of WAWATA in our parish. My ladies in Kiabakari asked me to bring forward the celebration so i don't miss it as just in a few days I will start my holidays and won't be around on last Sunday of this month. I have to admit that I was moved by their wish to have me as a guest of honor in today's feast...

Ground Zero

9/11 is remembered worldwide today, for different reasons, depending where one stays in war on terror trenches. For me today was all about work, work, work. Just a few days remaining before i set off for long holidays, which means hectic preparations of the mission to leave it safe and secure and take care of everything I can think of that may happen in the meantime. I dislike these last days, always stressful and frustrating...

Friends of Kiabakari

We have been working the whole day with my friends in Poland, who help me with PR stuff, websites, graphics, volunteers program etc. So, I am deeply in this mood. That is why I would like to ask all of you, who follow this blog: if you happen to be on Facebook, I would be honored if you kindly join our family of Friends of Kiabakari there and Foundation 'Kiabakari' cause. Your becoming a Friend of Kiabakari and a supporter of the cause of the Foundation 'Kiabakari' will not only be a great honor to me and my friends who support Kiabakari vision and development, but also will immensely help in spreading a word about this place, its people, its past, present and future. I would be grateful for your kind support of our work by joining us on Facebook - Friends of Kiabakari, Foundation 'Kiabakari' and clicking 'Like' button here on Facebook Kiabakari Snippets box. Thank you for your kind support - on behalf of all whom I serve here in Kiabakari. God bless you all!

Vuli

Looks like Vuli is finally knocking on the door...Vuli is the Swahili name for a small rainy season, the equivalent of European spring time. Clouds have been building up for several days, murky weather, humidity, hard to breathe air, barometric pressure changing constantly...First shy drizzles, be it at night or during the day, for a few minutes, and us running around with plastic buckets and containers, trying to catch every drop possible from roofs, gutters, anywhere...

Fast Lane

It's been one of those days when I feel I live in a fast lane. Especially today, the tempo of life has been set to a turbo mode. Time flew so fast and there were so many things happening at once that even now, though sitting and writing these few lines, and getting ready to switch to a more subtle mode of peaceful evening, I doubt it will be easy to do so and relax, as the hard drive in my head is still spinning fast and does not show any sign of slowing down...

Patience

Three years and two months it took Tanesco (Tanzania Electricity Supply Company) to react to my warning letter that the last pole in the power line supplying electricity to my house was about to collapse any time as it was rotten completely and swaying in high winds...

Two Victories

This day today brought a genuine mental rollercoaster. Feeling a bit drained and burned out, but calmly happy as two miracles happened today, two small victories, two prayers heard and answered, and all this on this special day, the Feast of the Birth of Our Lady...

Father Or ATM?

We had a lovely evening, concluding the celebrations of the Birthday of Our Lady. Two sisters, altar servers and myself drove to downtown Kiabakari for a special Mass, on request of four Small Christian Communities located in the 'city center' constituting so called 'street' or 'mtaa' in swahili. There are six Catholic 'streets' in Kiabakari itself, and Madaraka is one of them. That is the one we went for to celebrate the Mass in a special intention...

Personal Ur

On the day of the Feast of the Birth of Our Lady, my thoughts always set on a pilgrimage to the little shrine of Our Lady of Graces in a small town of Janów Lubelski in eastern Poland, the area where most of my family from the maternal side, hails from...This unassuming place holds the same importance to me as the Wawel Cathedral where I received my diaconate and priestly ordination in 1988. That little shrine in Janów Lubelski is my personal Ur of Chaldeans...

Limits Of Decency

Staring at the piece of paper with columns of numbers and total below... Just finished measuring a truckload of timber that came from Musoma, which I ordered yesterday and left my worker there at the timber depot to supervise measuring the timber and loading on a truck. Then the vehicle arrived in the evening and my people offloaded the cargo. I asked the man I entrusted with the responsibility of making sure we get what we ordered if he was absolutely sure that this was the timber we ordered and if he was certain that the running meters of timber ordered match the running meters of timber we had just offloaded? He vehemently acknowledged that this was the case...Sorry, but I am too old to be a naive optimist...

Emerald Thoughts

I don't know why it is like it is today...But I have been overwhelmed by emerald thoughts...Why today? I don't know, but I miss the Emerald Island with particular force today...It is such powerful longing for that magical place on the globe, for people I admire, love and respect...to the extent of being physical experience...feeling almost sick! Maybe someone needs a special prayer, maybe one of my friends over there is in a danger or in distress, maybe there is someone who thinks about me today...I don't know...All I know is that I miss them so much and long so much to see them, to reconnect with them and to enjoy their presence...

Operation 'Maji'

Having gone through a hurdle run - preparations, logistics, confessions on Friday, Confirmation feast with the Bishop on Saturday, then regular Sunday services with the wedding Mass in Nyamikoma outstation yesterday, time has come inevitably to go back to reality. This day I can proclaim as Operation 'Maji' day...

Panacea

The cure for every condition, the wonder-medicine to lift me up, to calm me down, to console and cheer up, to stay with me when everyone is gone, to make me happy or reflective, to help me refocus and recharge, to cure my moods, to enhance clarity of mind and boost my imagination, to ease off pain and stand up firm, to be with me wherever I need it...true panacea...

In God's Textile Store

Two Holy Masses 'under my belt' and off I went to Nyamikoma oustation, some 6 kilometers from Kiabakari on the main highway from Musoma to Mwanza. I braced myself for a long Mass in extreme heat in my favorite chapel in the parish, dedicated to the Patron Saint of my ordination class, St. Francis of Assisi... I was about to officiate at the sacrament of marriage of three couples and - before that - to baptize one of the brides, confirm one couple and to baptize four children from three couples. I said to myself with wicked grin - 'no country for old men!' Another day in tough conditions...

No Country For Old Men

When the echo of a final word of the Prayer after Mass of altar servers faded away in the sacristy of our church, I grinned to myself and groaned incomprehensibly - 'no country for old men...' Three and a half hours in sauna temperatures of in fully packed church with zero air circulation. Give me a break! I felt even my teeth sweating in this condition...

'F' Word

An organized chaos. I think this is a proper and accurate description of what was going on today here. I'm too tired by hearing confessions since morning till late evening, to pay any attention to my sense of organization and logic in making things happen - screaming in me in protest to what was happening around me today...

Scouting An Enemy Territory

The day before the Confirmation Mass, my confreres and myself will have an opportunity to scout an enemy territory, looking into an abyss and facing the Evil One in the bottle ground of souls of our confirmants who will come this morning for the confessions...

The Rural Death Row

We have just put two convicts on the rural death row. It always happens whenever we are about to celebrate a parochial feast, as we are getting ready to do just that the day after tomorrow, when Bishop Michael Msonganzila will come to celebrate a Holy Mass with the sacrament of Confirmation for some 300 young and old members of the parochial community. There  always is a death sentence accompanying these joyful events. They aren't that joyful to some convicts though. And although we have a prison in Kiabakari, those convicts we put to death on the occasion of our feasts are not from that prison...They are from the green mile a.k.a. the rural death row...

The Holy Hour

Thursday before the First Friday of each month is a day for a very special liturgical service - A Holy Hour. As the name of this devotion says itself, this is a hour long adoration of the Most Holy Sacrament, of Jesus Himself in the mystery of the Eucharist... The more I grow in years and become more and more absorbed with spiritual, pastoral, administration, development and other activities, the more I long for this special hour spent on knees in front of Jesus in Eucharist among the liturgical assembly of my fellow Christians in Kiabakari...

The Death Of A Spinach

This is what happened last night. After a wedding Mass which went well, with simple and elegant liturgical setting, pretty good attendance and visible happiness of the bride and groom, we waited for a call from a wedding organizing committee. They were supposed to call us when to come to the wedding hall so we do not have to wait for too long for supper. I always (whenever I decide to attend wedding reception, which happens quite rarely, to be honest, as I see it as a massive waste of time for me, I don't care saying this) insist on telling me exactly when is the best time for me to come so I don't have to sit for hours, idle and bored as the protocol of these events is always much the same, stiff, official and boring to death!

Disappointment

I can only imagine how God must feel when any of his children chooses to go his/her own way till the end of life and refuse to be saved and go to heaven. There must be an inexplicable disappointment of Our Father. To choose darkness and hell, rejecting patient love, tenderness and open arms of God... This we may never understand. How and why this happens. But it does happen...