Musoma From Above

Departing and landing in Musoma in a small airplane like Cessna Caravan 208, gives an excellent opportunity to take pictures not only from side windows, but also through the windscreen in front. Have a look and agree that our Musoma is beautifully located...

Two Small Coins

“Jesus sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, "Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood."” (Mk 12:41-44)

A couple of weeks ago a letter came for the youth of Musoma Cathedral who asked me for a retreat here in Kiabakari, in the diocesan shrine of Divine Mercy. Some of those youth I worked with back in 2002-2006 when I was a pastor there. The letter brought back memories of that period and one particular moment of it, when the youth group of Musoma Cathedral asked me for a retreat day for them. I complied and we had a recollection day in the cathedral...

Naaman's Skin

"But his (Naaman's) servants came up and reasoned with him.
"My father," they said,
"if the prophet had told you to do something extraordinary,
would you not have done it?
All the more now, since he said to you,
'Wash and be clean,' should you do as he said."
So Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times
at the word of the man of God.
His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean". (2 Kgs 5:13-14)...

Lake Victoria

The last set of pictures shot during the visit of my Austrian friends. This is time from the day trip to Lukuba Island on Lake Victoria, offshore Musoma. Click here. There are more pictures from Lukuba on my Facebook profile, in photo albums here (if you can't see, add me as friend).

Ancient Times

I am trying to figure out when was the last time I had my tooth extracted? Can't remember really...

Crisis

In London and elsewhere riots unfold. Here, in Tanzania, standoff between the government and the fuel suppliers continue, causing havoc to people's lives. Google the topic (example: click here)and you will have plenty articles to browse through dealing with the  chaos...

Raised Eyebrows

It's been second instance I have been confronted by Immigration officers in the past two weeks. The first time two young fellows in their late twenties or early thirties, holding some kind of a register, came up to my car when I was parked in the street in Musoma, asking who I was, where I was living, what I was doing, for how long I've been working in Tanzania. Gave them correct answers and they seemed genuinely surprised as they never saw me before. Strange, they did not demand any means of identification, like my passport with residence permit stamp in it...

Kiswahili

Walking down the memory lane today again...how money times these days... Anniversaries, reminiscing past events which influenced the present... Today, if I remember correctly, but I am pretty sure I am spot on on this one - twenty years have passed since I crossed the threshold of Maryknoll Language School in Makoko area of Musoma town (then, now it is Musoma Municipality). My relationship with kiswahili language has begun officially. Now you may call it love affair...

Rider On The Storm

What an awesome pleasure it was to ride into the storm yesterday afternoon, heading to Musoma Post Office to get a long awaited parcel (sent as a gift on my 20th anniversary of work as a missionary in Tanzania) by my fantastic friends in Poznań, Poland, along with the packet containing my high blood pressure drugs that I am about to start taking to combat this brand-new condition to me, which arrived conveniently at the same time...

Ping-Pong

The very first trip to Musoma today. Scorching hot day. Three months have passed since I was in Musoma and already I noticed many changes here and there. Task force put in charge to lay tarmac in the new bus stand area (I wrote about this phenomenon in one of my first posts since the inception of this blog into the virtual world) started to pour first layer of asphalt when I was leaving for holidays in September. I came back and there i no trace of asphalt there (sic!). A mystery of faith...

In Memoriam

Eight years have passed today since my first and only parish priest in the missions - Rev. Father Karol Szlachta, passed away suddenly, hit by a stroke on  a sunny Sunday afternoon, on the day the Holy Mother Church celebrated the Solemnity of Christ the King...

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...

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....

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...

Gas

We ran out of gas home, so I decided to jump into the car and drive to Musoma to get a refill (which means bringing back an empty cylinder to a dealer and getting a full one, paying 45,000 Tanzanian shillings). To my taste and to my parochial budget, the retail price of the gas is way too expensive for any average customer in Tanzania. This gas cylinder will last for a month, sometimes bit longer, sometimes bit shorter. At the same time one sack of charcoal in our area is still around 8-10 thousand Tanzanian shillings. I will use maybe two sacks per month. You do the counting.

The Presence

Every day in the retreat we celebrate Divine Mercy Hour – Eucharistic adoration at 3pm, at the hour of Christ’s death on the Cross. We follow the request of Jesus He gave us through St. Sister Faustina Kowalska of the Most Holy Eucharist to meditate on His passion at the hour He called Himself – a Divine Mercy Hour to the whole world. He promised us to grant us anything we ask in faith and trust in His Mercy if only our petitions comply with His Father’s Holy Will.

Carmel

Getting ready for my regular biweekly penitential service for Cloistered Carmelite Nuns in the only Carmel monastery in the whole Tanzania located in Bunda town, 35 kilometers from Kiabakari on the way to Mwanza City.

 To the left: on my way to Bunda (Nyamikoma village ahead and Muganza Hill)

 

 
 To the right: the border between Kiabakari and Bunda Parishes - bridge over Suguti seasonal river






Late bishop Justin Tetemu Samba had for long dreamed about inviting Cloistered Carmelite Nuns to found the very first monastery in Bunda, in the old premises of Bunda Parish, which since 2000 moved to newly constructed rectory, closer to town, as the old parish was located on the outskirts of the town, back then in the fifties of the last century, when pastors presumed wrongly (we know it now though) that the town would expand in that direction along the old Mwanza - Musoma highway. Since then the new highway was laid in different direction, in a more shortcut manner, thus leaving out Bunda parish and making its location obsolete and awkward for the faithful to go outside of the town to attend services and seeking pastoral assistance.

Bishop Samba intended to turn the old premises of Bunda parish into a place for a future Carmel monastery. He told me once, that he wanted them in Musoma Diocese as he saw them as spiritual lungs for the People of God in Musoma and beyond. Praying, fasting and offering spiritual and corporal sacrifices for us...

The Sisters from India responded to the invitation and on November 21, 2001, bishop Samba and myself (back then I was his vicar for religious) went to receive them officially in Bunda. Seven brave women from India arrived that day and upon the entering the house they stand and sang Te Deum chant, as they were asked by the Superior General. I still recall vividly the beauty of that day...after the long journey, on the very first moment of they presence...they simply stood in the middle of small living room / dining hall and sung with smiles on their tired faces...

This chant strikes me to the bottom of the abyss of my soul as it one of my favorite if not the absolute number one among Gregorian chants... We used to sing this hymn every Sunday in our Metropolitan Major Seminary in Kraków, right after lunch, going to our chapel, standing and singing in unison, two hundred plus strong congregation...It always sent shivers down my spine... The last two verses I took long long ago as a motto of my life: 'In Te, Domine, speravi, non confundar in aeternum!' (O Lord, in thee have I trusted : let me never be confounded).

Nuns settled temporarily in the old rectory, seven sisters in the house destined for two priests. Massacre! They spent there three long years till they managed to build a sizable monastery and move in to live a cloistered life as they should.

I was with them all the way, as they asked bishop to appoint me as their confessor. I was back then in Kiabakari, so every two weeks I was driving to Bunda to hear their confessions...

sometimes saying a Holy Mass with a homily for them...






 

 sometimes giving them spiritual talks in their chapel  as they asked me to do so...







 

 or spending time in privacy to pray for my personal intentions...(read about Brown Scapular you can see in the picture here)

meeting them in the parlour, sharing joys and concerns, trying to lift up their spirits and encourage them in times of distress...and tasting their kind hospitality as they never allow me to go back home without some kind of meal (depending on the time of my presence there, as times differ according to my or their schedules)...




When I was transferred to Musoma Cathedral, it became quite difficult to drive every two weeks to Bunda, as it now became more than 70 kilometers one way. Then, when I was left alone in the cathedral (as my assistant was moved to another parish) it became impossible. I asked bishop to appoint someone else to serve as confessor to the nuns. So, for a couple of years I stopped to go to Bunda. Then nuns came back to me and I came back to them as I simply missed this service. I was given more than I was able to give (leaving out the value of sacrament of course). Sisters missed regular service as their new confessor had no much time and service became very erratic. So I came back and felt relief. Then, back in Kiabakari, it became even easier, as I cut the distance in half...And it is so till now...

I am deeply grateful to Our Lady of Carmel to give me this privilege and honor to be of service to those great women, courageous, dedicated, full of Holy Spirit, concerned about the Church, Diocese, us all... And I know how much I owe them back there in Musoma and here in Kiabakari now...their prayers and sacrifices paved the way for multitude of God's graces and blessings...Thank you, Mama! I will never be able to repay this debt of gratitude...

It's time for me to go...

A Farewell To A Good Old Friend

Two days ago I mentioned in my post that I returned the old Landrover to the bishop and borrowed another car for my Sisters till we get a brand new one, if our vehicle request project succeeds.

I did not took this event lightly. The brevity of my note the other day can be misleading. To the contrary. I wanted to dedicate a separate post to my good old friend - a vehicle that served so many for so many years since its creation in 1986 in a factory somewhere in Europe.

Bishop Justin Samba, when in 2003 I requested a bigger car for my work in Musoma Cathedral (since we had only one Suzuki Samurai vehicle there, and she was too small for construction purposes and other longer safaris), instead of giving me a pickup truck as I asked, he gave me this old beat-up Landrover 110, which was parked in bishop's residence yard for some time, with smashed right mudguard (after an accident), peeling off paint and poor maintenance record. I took the car, drove her with trouble to the garage, repaired her completely - bodywork, paint, new carburetor, tires, seat fabric etc...

She served me quite well in Musoma and then in Kiabakari, when I came back here in November 2006.

This vehicle has a soul. And a very stubborn character. She was able to serve perfectly for periods of time, then all of a sudden stopped in the middle of the road for no apparent reason and drove me crazy trying to convince her to start the engine again! And the fuel consumption was just outrageous. She was so expensive to maintain (well, this is what I hear many times talking my my friends about their relationships with modern ladies)... Made in times when fuel prices were very sympathetic to customers' wallet, she guzzled one liter of petrol (not diesel) in 5-7 kilometers. When I played with nozzles, she choked going uphill and stopped. So I was forced to use her in short safaris, though I managed to drive her to Dar es Salaam and back, to Mwanza, and here in Mara Region to various places.

In 2008 I handed over the vehicle to Polish volunteers custody, who were administering our health center. They needed her more than me as I had Toyota Hilux I left in Kiabakari going to Musoma and found her on my way back still here in Kiabakari, though in very poor condition (huge effort of parishioners and myself to restore her to her beauty).

The vehicle continued to give them all sorts of trouble too. She showed her independence and character on many occassions. But still, they managed to use her for outreach program in Nyakiswa village, and sometimes this poor old chap of a vehicle was able to rush sick people to referral hospitals and saved their lives - like in the case of complicated deliveries, when mother needed to be transferred immediately to Butiama health center or Bunda hospital.

My good old friend served us well, yet with a stamp of her authority - she did what she wanted to do most of the time. And sometimes she showed us her donkey attitude - stubbornness and freedom to refuse to serve.

And yet, when the time came to bring her back to bishop's yard in Nyamiongo in Musoma (as the volunteers from Poland left and my sisters need more reliable car for the health center and their communal use as well, so we asked the bishop to lend us a used car, but better than this one), I felt immensely sad...It was like saying a farewell to a good old friend with whom we shared so many good and bad experiences, and that made our bond of friendship so close and lasting...

I want to share with you these last moments of being together with her. And her last voyage from Kiabakari to Musoma. And, of course, she couldn't fail to show us her attitude for the last time. So she stopped all of a sudden just 3 kilometers from bishop's place and refused to start the engine again. We needed to call for help of mechanics, and after begging her to agree to start the engine, she graciously came to life again and we were able to bring her finally to bishop's residence, from where I took her for the first date with me seven years ago. Our rocky relationship came to an official end. It was inevitable, yet still - so sad and heartbreaking...

A few pictures from our last journey together the day before yesterday to share with you this moment...

Farewell, my good old friend! Happy retirement!

Blessed Among Women

That's how I felt all day long today.

Started the day, as usual, with prayers and Holy Mass in the shrine. With my sisters - of the Congregation of Little Servants of Mary Immaculate. Then breakfast together.

Right after that I drove 35 kilometers to Bunda to the only monastery in Tanzania of Cloistered Discalded Carmelite Sisters. I went there to hear sisters' confessions, as I've been doing since 2001 (with a short break of two years maybe when I was in Musoma Cathedral alone and couldn't cope with all things I had on my head that time). I feel I receive more than I am able to give...Of course, the Sacrament of Reconciliation is priceless, but what I mean is that spiritually I feel extremely enriched whenever I go there, to the Carmel. I thank God for this unique opportunity I was given, when Sisters asked Bishop Samba to appoint me as their regular confessor. I received so much through this service I cannot even explain. I feel blessed...

Rushed back to Kiabakari to pick up my Sisters and escort the old Landrover I was given by Bishop Samba back when I was in Musoma, then gave it to volunteers administering our health center. Since they are gone now, I decided to return the car to the bishop and borrow another one, used Toyota Hilux, but in much better shape than poor old Landrover.

In Musoma I met several sisters from different congregations - Ivrea Sisters, Franciscan Sisters, Immaculate Heart Sisters of Africa, even one Maryknoll Sisters from USA passed me by in her car.

Returned back to Kiabakari in time to get myself ready to go to Buturu, to Chief Wanzagi Secondary School. Sisters of the Resurrection invited me to celebrate the very first Mass in their house chapel. In the house I supervised its construction just recently. This celebration had a deep meaning to me...To be able to celebrate Holy Mass in the place that was just a dusty field a few months before was so rewarding and fantastic feeling!

Sisters were very hospitable and generous in their warm welcome. We had a beautiful Mass with reflection, spontaneous prayers and sense of belonging to each other as came from very far together and shared same experience as misionaries, in our struggles, failures and victories. To pray together in that place had a taste of achievement and victory.

Then lovely chat at the table, deepening that sense of togetherness and community. Great dinner accompanied the conversation. It felt so good to spend this memorable evening together with sisters in Buturu. I am very grateful that this way they wanted to celebrate my ordination anniversary as well. The lovely statue of Good Shepherd I was presented as a gift will remain with me as a visible reminder of this evening...

This day truly was day when I felt in a special way - blessed among women...