Herzlich Willkommen!

I guess Kiabakari is becoming an attractive tourist destination for German citizens. Since yesterday we welcomed parents of Thomas Back, our volunteer who together with his fiancee - Denise Carl, are getting ready to go back to Germany, after one year of voluntary work as teachers in our pre-school. When Denise's parents and relatives came, I was away in Poland. This time I enjoy the presence and visit of Thomas' parents, and am grateful for their coming, kindness and warm characters. So, before they live on Thursday morning for good, I say to them - Herzlich willkommen!

Altar Servers Happy Day

Indeed, a very happy day for my altar servers who received a wonderful gift from parents of our German volunteers who visited Kiabakari recently and brought a lot of things for the school, health center and also for the parish. We are very grateful to them and their friends in Germany who magnanimously donated all these valuable gifts. Thank you, Denise and Thomas, our volunteers in Kiabakari, for spreading the word and involving your families and friends in caring for Kiabakari.

Full Circle

Today is the seventh anniversary of the death of my classmate, Father Piotr Wrona. I will have honor to visit his parents in Krowodrza district of Kraków and present to them a special photo album of the pictures taken during the very first Mass celebrated in St. Gemma Galgani convent in Kiabakari on April 11 last year, the day after the official blessing of the convent, in which we used for the first time the chalice and patena which once belonged to Father Piotr and were offered to me by his parents. I wrote extensively on this topic in my previous posts (see here, here and here), so I won't repeat myself. It will certainly be an emotional moment later today and I am looking forward to it. The whole story will make the full circle, since the day I was presented the chalice, then the Holy Mass and now reconnecting with his parents to present this special album. I think Father Piotr in heaven and his parents in Krowodrza will be happy to see the way we honored him and commemorated that very special day. May his soul rest in peace!

Happy Day

I can only imagine how happy a day this is going to be for many families and individual parents who joined our educational adoption program of Foundation Kiabakari. This is a day when we start to dispatch educational adoption info cards on each individual child under the program to their respective parents worldwide. A very happy and exciting day for me, for our Foundation and for the new parents!

Happy Anniversary

October 25 - a very special day in the history of my family. The day my Mum and Dad got married in 1958 in Krakow-Nowa Huta. Today 52 years passed since that day. Two years ago we celebrated the Golden Jubilee of my parents' wedding. I remember vividly that day, when I celebrated the Holy Mass in our apartment in Krakow, as my Mum did not feel well and Grandma could not walk by her own power to the parochial church...

My Briefest and Most Memorable Catechism Lesson

I always knew my Dad is an early riser. Heard him so often in the morning when he was getting himself ready to go to work. He used to wake up around 4-4.30am and still does...

Being a little kid, I didn’t know what my Dad was doing exactly at that early hours of the day...

One morning, when I was around 3 years old I ventured out of our room which I shared with my grandma and my younger brother, and braved to go and see for myself what my Dad was doing there in my parents’ room...

He did not notice me entering the room quietly...what I saw stopped me in my tracks and froze me as I was startled and astonished seeing my Dad on his knees at the parents’ bed...praying silently...

He spread various holy cards in front of him with his prayer books and was so focused in prayer that he did not notice my presence...

I rushed out of the room with my heart beating fast with the picture of my Dad on his knees praying imprinted in my mind and heart forever...

I never needed anymore anyone to explain to me the importance of prayer in my life. I knew already...for the rest of my life!

My Dad – without a single uttered word and without even knowing this – gave me the best ever, briefest ever and most memorable ever catechesis on the importance of prayer in our lives.

Thank you, Dad!

 

 No wonder, Jesus did not need any teachers of prayer in His childhood. His Mum and Custodian taught Him everything...and it is always the best and most memorable catechesis for us, kids. Kids do not need catechists and catechesis at school if their parents understand that they are the best ever catechists and get involved totally in the religious formation of their children...

Parents, remember this, please!

My Parents on their wedding day