Towards The Liberation

The last day of March. A month that brought a lot of mixed emotions and turned out to be a hectic time for me... The dominating agenda was, obviously, the final stages of the construction and finishing works on St. Gemma Galgani convent in my mission...

LIfe From Above

Days of fetching water in plastic 100 liters capacity containers from Musoma two-three times a week are over for now, thanks be to God! The water arrives itself, propelled by favorable winds and seasonal conditions as rainy season arrived in full. Now what we do is to put the same plastic 100 liters containers in strategic places and catch rain gushing through gutters and spitting down in fury. Life in plentitude from above. Happy days, indeed!

Antibiotic Lizards

The area I live in is full of gekko lizards in various sizes and shapes. One particular kind gets me smiling and chuckling to myself, as they remind me something I want to share with you...

Lenten Exercise

These days drive from Kiabakari to Mwanza has become a genuine lenten corporal exercise. Well, not only corporal, but mental as well, as most of drivers have no clue about driving and traffic rules. It's sheer madness, especially bicycle riders and motorbike stuntmen...

Sadness, Gratitude, Hope

So sad to see someone you get used to live with and share daily struggles - go back to Poland. Today in a hour time we will have a short ceremony combined with lunch at health center, bidding farewell to Zosia, a volunteer nurse from Humanitarian Aid Foundation 'Redemptoris Missio', who lived with us and worked in Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati Health Center for six months since October last year till now...

What You Have Said Is True

Still under deep impression of today's Gospel reading. Samaritan woman meeting Jesus. She presented herself in truth in the eyes of Jesus and earned His praise. He did not condemned her for inappropriate behavior, for having many husbands and for living in a relationship without valid marriage. He focused one her opening to Him in truth. The truth of a woman met the Truth Incarnate...

Mistake

Yes, I have to admit, I made a mistake in preparing the inscription on the entrance wall at the main gate of the new sisters' convent in Kiabakari. I feel bad about it, to be honest. Just one word in wrong place, but to repair the mistake we have to take off the whole plastered piece on which we put the complete text as any attempts to change the sequence of words will destroy the balance and centrality of the inscription... aaaahhh!

At The Break Of The New Day

At the break of the new day. Sipping freshly brewed morning coffee. Reading bits and pieces of news on internet, yet focusing rather on things in my mind and heart. I wish the whole day stayed that calm and quiet... Unfortunately, in a moment the Saturday buzz will break out - the church, the office, Musoma unplanned trip, preparations for Sunday liturgy, finalizing construction work and payments, plus myriads of other tiny agendas here and there... Thank God for this morning hour of calmness, serenity and mood of prayer and mediation which gives me spiritual and mental strength to cope with onslaught of incoming responsibilities of the day...

Happy Birthday, Mum!

It is today, on the Solemnity of the Annunciation of Our Lady, that my Mum was born, just one year before the outbreak of the Second World War, in Włodzimierz Wołyński, the then Polish eastern lovely town, now in Ukraine. It was written in her national ID card that she was born in USSR. Imagine that? It was legitimate Polish territory back then! She was given a name of the Patroness of the day - Maria. And the second baptismal name - Halina. Today is the third birthday which we celebrate without her. She passed away after long fight with numerous illnesses on January 3, 2009. The more time passes by the more I miss her. I won't go into details. She knows what I mean. But anyway, I am sure she is happy in God's embrace and reaping rewards for her life of lifelong suffering and fight for health. Rest in peace, Mum! Love you much...

Hit Again

Thought I was careful enough to sleep under the mosquito net and keep the house off limits to mosquitos. Nevertheless, for the last two days I've been feeling strange and the condition got worse and worse as hours passed. This morning I went for checkup in our health center and found out that I got hit again by malaria...

See. Judge. Act

This is a modus operandi of TYCS (Tanzania Young Catholic Students) organization, if I am not mistaken. The procedure known to many and applied by many, as this is an obvious sequence of steps undertaken by a prudent person...

The Cage

Last late afternoon, wandering around the old house of the late Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere, the first president of the United Republic of Tanzania, I got sunshine in my stomach...

Serious Matters

Every Wednesday is a special day. A day to go for a customary counseling session with the best specialist in the world in serious matters of my spiritual, corporal and psychological worlds. It does not take much time, just a few minutes, but the overwhelming feeling of relief, peace and renewed resolve and strength is a lasting experience...

Inexplicable Mystery

Yesterday our local community lost one of its prominent figures, in the field of education in our area. He was my parishioner. But I never ever administered any of Church's sacraments to this man. He simply refused to bless his marriage. He had no apparent reasons to do so. He had no impediments that anyone was aware of. He was just promising that one day, someday... Too late.

Now You Know

After watching the video I posted below, why I am like to live and work here (apart from spiritual, vocational dimension and my call to be a missionary)... Truly, God created Tanzania with an extra care, love and generosity!

The People Of The Three Mountains

Christ's path of life and salvation restored for us led through three mountaintops - Tabor, Mount of Olives and Golgotha. The time of Lent puts us on the same route, reminding us that we, followers of Christ, must follow the same path - through the same three mountaintops...

Talking To Darkness

Pitch black night with no electricity, lazy drizzle outside, murky, gloomy, heavy morning. Hours of talking to the empty eyes of darkness with no answers. Went to the dark church early in the morning, sat in the corner of sacristy and prayed Divine Mercy chaplet, continuing my talking to the darkness, hoping that God, Silent Listener of my monologue, is present in there...

Silent Man

A Man of action. A silent Man. A Man of instant decisions. A Man of firm resolve. A right Man in right time for right People. A Man of unshakable faith. A Man fearless of darkness of the unknown. His name is Saint Joseph...

Below The Belt

This feeling is like being hit below the belt. Hard to absorb and accept. It will take time for me to recover. It just dawned to all of us here in the mission that the dire situation with the water supply in Kiabakari is incurable without undertaking serious steps into rectifying the situation. And the situation is tragic. I have a health center, pr-school and primary school, plus sisters' new convent and my rectory and now solid water supply. The water line we have been using so far has been congested with ever new customers being connected and located below our Divine Mercy Hill, thus making it impossible for water to reach our tanks...

Stations

Fridays of Lent. Happy are those who understand that Lent without participation in the Stations of the Way of the Cross loses a lot of its meaning and power. Happy are those who in the hectic schedules of their daily lives cut out a sufficient chunk of time for active participation and meditation of the Stations and the Passion of Christ. Nothing helps us grow faster and mature in the spiritual life and union with Living God than meditation on the Passion of Our Lord which has its summit in the Sacrifice of Eucharist. Every Saint throughout the ages will attest to this...

Deep Sigh

Tough afternoon upon my return from Mwanza trip. Felt down, felt worn emotionally and physically, felt I needed to detach myself from sisters and work for a few, at least, hours. Locked myself in the room, deep in my thoughts. Things coming at me, making me feel cornered and overwhelmed. More and more every day... Then time came to celebrate the Eucharist with my sisters. Got myself tidied up and went to the house chapel for the Mass. The time for Consecration came, then Doxology, then Holy Communion and Thanksgiving song. Thoughts, deep sigh, opening up to Him. I prayed to Merciful Jesus, surrendering myself and the whole situation, the past, the present and the future, helplessly and unconditionally to his power and might and wisdom. The prayer of Thomas Merton was appropriate and timely at that moment, yet I preferred to stay silent opening myself to the Lord who knows everything and knows the remedies and ways out of everything that worries me and all those questions that have no answers... He knows. And I believe though deeply troubled and worried, that He will deliver. In due time.

Drizzle

Sitting in the couch in the sitting room of the rectory in Kahangala, waiting for my host, Fr. Andrzej Mądry, CR to come back from his pastoral duties in the parish. Drying after the whole day spent in Mwanza City in the drizzle. The rain which accompanied me all the way almost from Kiabakari to Mwanza, turned into drizzle in Mwanza itself and refused to go away...

Mixed Feelings

As much as I like the idea of creating the Facebook page (here) and YouTube channel (here) for the soon-to-be-beatified Holy Father John Paul II, applauding the concept of making this remarkable holy man and the genuine teaching of the Magisterium of the Church closer to the world, especially the world of non-believers or followers of other than Catholicism creeds, yet the disappointment at the contents of both sites make me bit worried that people browsing the internet and coming across or just visiting the pages for the first time, may be a bit disenchanted with what's little on offer in them... Hopefully, the responsible for both pages will make sure soon they are attractive, full of good stuff, attracting interest and audience. This is what I wish, checking both pages as I write these words...

Intention

It gives me immense pleasure and warms my heart to be asked by my relatives, loved ones and friends - from all over the world - to offer a Holy Mass for the intentions dear to their hearts. This noble and holy task entrusted to me - raising to the Lord their worries and hopes, their persons and families, the matters of their lives - is a holy duty I gladly accept. It is a pure honor to do so and I feel privileged, through the power vested on me by the sacred order of priesthood, to be able to elevate them and their intentions in my hands and in my heart up to the Lord in the Holy Eucharist, in this most sublime and the most powerful prayer the world of faith knows...

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.

Lenten Lesson

I saw this video clip some time ago, saw it shared just recently by a friend of mine on Facebook too, but thought it would be appropriate to share it with you in the Lent timeframe. Dog helping courageously the wounded dog in the middle of busy highway in Chile. A lesson to all of us, Christian sometimes only by name or by Baptism, who pass by others in need indifferently, turning our heads away and running away from being involved in others tragedies. Today's Gospel from Matthew 25 (the Judgement Day) prompted me to publish this video as an example what it means to be truly merciful and compassionate as demanded by God. So, if we want to be saved and go to heaven, we must be merciful and practice mercy as laid out in the criteria of Matthew 25. This video clip surely gives us a food for thought reflecting upon this topic and readjusting our lives in Lent...

The Curse

Cosmas, one of those burned alive parishioners (and it looks like he was falsely accused of stealing children and selling them to Gambush in Sukuma land, as the child the mob accused him to steal, was found with the father's child in Musoma), when they were stoning him and setting him alight, he allegedly (as I was told by people later on) cursed them and Kiabakari, saying that because they kill innocent man, there will be no rain in Kiabakari ever...

Echoes of Eden

It struck me, meditating on the First Reading of today's Gospel of the First Sunday of Lent, Year A, that the original sin, committed by our first parents, no matter if you believe in the story literally or metaphorically, echoes throughout the ages in the Fourth Commandment of God: "Honor your father and your mother, that you may have a long life in the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you." (Ex 20:12)

My Bro's Art

Restorer Of Ruined Homesteads

Looking at pictures taken at the beginning of the re-construction of sisters' covent and these taken today as we close in on the day of the completion of this project, I officially declare myself 'A Restorer of Ruined Homesteads' as today's first reading of the Saturday after Ash Wednesday puts it: < they shall call you, “Restorer of ruined homesteads.” > (Is 58)

Genetic Engineering

I was simply not engineered by God (with cooperation with my parents) to withstand meetings longer than one hour. Today, the day after the hectic and tense day of the official opening of the main water tank (check my previous post), when I usually suffer from 'the day after syndrome', feeling blue and down and exhausted, I had to participate in the diocesan meeting of headmasters and managers of all diocesan schools (pre-schools, primary schools and secondary schools) at Conference Center of Diocese of Musoma in Musoma Municipality...

The Holy Grail

Continuing reflection on the miracle cup of herbal concoction allegedly curing serious illnesses, administered by a retired Lutheran pastor in Loliondo area in Tanzania. Traffic jam of vehicle heading to that remote village has become so long and congestion so obnoxious that authorities consider taking serious action to ease the situation. For me this phenomenon is a sign of people's desperation and desire to get instant solution to their problems. It means also a failure of their faith in God and somehow, I believe, in their spiritual welfare, taking care only of their bodily maladies.... People send me text messages suggesting - in good faith and concern - to go there and drink that miracle cup in order to get cured of my illnesses...

West Of Here

I've been reading a novel under the same title as the title of this post. And it fits perfectly to the description of the meaning of this day today. The official opening of the main water tank done by the representative of the embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Tanzania this morning was a milestone in our quest to expand the development of the parish and its social institutions located west of the Divine Mercy Hill, while the tank itself was constructed on top of the hill to collect rain water from the Divine Mercy Shrine and from the main Mugango-Kiabakari-Butiama pipeline...

The Guided Tour in Your Personal Desert

Setting off to the personal desert, guided by the same Holy Spirit who led Jesus Himself and strengthened Him in His personal battle against the temptations of the Evil One and His own bodily weaknesses. This year I am particularly relieved that the Holy time of Lent came at last. It took so long. Been waiting for it with hunger and longing of spirit, mind and body. The first day of Lent, the Ash Wednesday, opens officially the forty days long lenten exercises. This is a special time charged with so powerful gifts of the Holy Spirit we have no slightest idea!

Miracle Cup

If you are a citizen or a resident in Tanzania, I am sure you will have known this story since long! A story of a miracle man, Ambilikile Mwasapile, a retired pastor of Lutheran Church in Tanzania, who claims to have visions or dreams of God who told him to heal people using a local herb called 'mugariga'. Living in a remote village off the road from Mto wa Mbu to Loliondo, he has become famous all over the country through this miracle concoction which - administered by him and him only - after drinking only one small cup of some 100 ml of this herbal mixture a person is cured immediately of any serious diseases like HIV/AIDS, cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure etc. The cup costs only 500 Tanzanian shillings which is about 35 US cents...

Woman. Mystery. Inspiration

This is the title of the exhibition of art by my younger and only brother, Christopher. He shared with me just a couple of days ago his joy of being able to go public with his passion for the mystery of a woman in his life, a mystery which has become an inspiration for him and for us, close to him. I know his passion for long and admired always his sensitivity to the beauty of a woman, a beauty of a female form and the mystery of a woman genius which inspires him and us all. I would like to share with you my joy of his first step towards public awareness of his artistic life and wish him all the best in pushing forward with his passion, fulfilling his artistic dreams and visions! Well done, Bro! The link to the info on his exhibition is here.

Burning Alive

Sick in my stomach, I was barely able to finish the Holy Mass just a moment ago. Praying to God for mercy on souls of those who lost their lives just a few hours ago in my neighborhood. One of them someone I knew very well for many many years. So far four members of our local community in Kiabakari lost their lives - two shot dead by the police force, two burned alive by angry mob taking justice in their hands...

Flowing With The Rhythm

Oh yes, flowing with rhythm so well known to me... Oh, how I've been missing this flow of rhythm of my life... Giving my all on Saturday, giving my all on Sunday morning and early afternoon... and then on my return home, having it all for me and me only... these few precious hours of seclusion, detachment, separation from the routine and hectic schedule of the whole week... The Sunday afternoons, home alone and happy, recharging my inner batteries, putting myself together, rekindling the power of spirit, psyche, getting my body in shape for the next week's battles...

Picking Up Pieces

The picture you see below was taken this morning before the Holy Mass in Nyakiswa village. Their chapel or - rather - sizable church has been under construction for some time. Whenever I go there, I sit for the confessions before the Mass. The catechist or one of the lay leaders would put a chair in the future sacristy of the church and I would sit and listen to confessions of those who wish to reconcile themselves with the Lord. Today there was no exception to this custom...

It Is Done

I'm back, fresh from the emergency meeting with the staff of our health center. Sister Grace, the administrator of the facility, sets off tomorrow morning to Zambia to join her family grieving after the loss of her older brother. There was no other option, but I had to volunteer to step into her shoes and take over administrative duties for the time being till she comes back. My heart is filled with mixed feelings as I am not sure what to expect and what will happen in her absence. Will be posting news as story unfolds. In the meantime I ask humbly for your prayers - first of all for her late brother, for the safe journey of Sister Grace and for us who stay behind that we may run the health center smoothly and efficiently. And may God help us all!!!

The Encounter

Every Saturday, if only I am in Kiabakari and there is no school break time, gives me unique opportunity to  meet with our catechumens and children preparing for their First Communion. We begin with morning prayers and Holy Rosary, proceeding with the Holy Mass and - most of times - the Eucharistic adoration. This liturgical encounter allows me to share with them my faith and to pray together the best way there is - through the Eucharist...

Sad Reality

We have got sad news last night, in the middle of the night, that older brother of Sister Grace, the administrator of our health center, has passed away after long illness... I celebrated a Holy Mass for the repose of the soul of late Godfrey, we consoled Sister Grace and feel for her and her immediate family back at home. Now we've got a serious problem. How to get Sister Grace back home for the funeral, and if not possible, at least to be present during the wake?

Back To Base

The flight on board of Boeing 737 of Precision Air was abnormally normal and on time. Landed in Mwanza at around 11.30am, Father Andrzej Duda, CR, was magnanimous enough to pick me up at the airport and drive to Kahangala to his confrere and my friend - Fr. Andrzej Mądry, CR, where we had a nice chat and a tasty lunch. Then drove to Kiabakari where Andrzej dropped me and after having a quick cup of tea and a piece of freshly baked cake by my sisters, he drove back to Butiama, and myself started to unpack...

Learning To Fly

Same airport, same city. So many times, so many times deja vu, so many times. And always at the starting point, and always learning to fly, literally and metaphorically... Learning to fly, conquering again and again and again fear of the well known unknown... I feel sad this morning, I feel tense and apprehensive, knowing where I am heading, heading back to where I belong (really?) to continue what is elevating me and killing at the same time... I have no words to explain, I don't even try... just listening to the long forgotten music I once was so fond of which came back suddenly at this particular point of time.... yes, learning to fly. Will I ever succeed? Or is it simply a momentary lapse of reason?

And Then...

 The darkness embraced Tanzania day in day out... and then a man created solar charged portable lamps...

Behind The Closed Doors

It has been my custom for many years now to pay visit to His Eminence Polycarp Cardinal Pengo, the Archbishop of Dar es Salaam, whenever I happen to be in Dar. This time there was no exception. I had the opportunity to see the Cardinal today and spend some time while conversing with him...

Kαιρός

At the threshold of a new month. Staring at the known and unknown that is about to be thrown at me in March 2011. I can see lights that I can tell and identify... I see vast pools of darkness of the unknown that is to be revealed in front of my eyes and soul in due time... A very intense time this month is going to be. No doubt about it... A lot of social activities on my personal life level - with birthdays of my beloved ones (my late Mum's birthday for instance) and friends... A time to begin annual lenten campaign of fast and prayer and detachment... A time to complete preparations for the move of my sisters to their new house and regaining my freedom again... A time to open officially a main water tank in the presence of the representative of German embassy in Tanzania... A time to work intensely on my new book to get it ready by the end of April and send to my publisher in Poland... A time to work on preparations for the annual pilgrimage to Diocesan Shrine of Divine Mercy in Kiabakari on Divine Mercy Sunday (this year connected with the beatification of the Servant of God John Paul II)... A time to deal with hundreds tiny challenges day in day out... A very intense time...