If I forget SAP, let my right hand wither!!!

Just to thanks you for your great job. Here in Jerusalem, life is fine. I am still trying to enjoy as much as possible my stay in the Holy Land. As you already know, this week with God’s grace, my two classmates and I received the ministry of Acolytat and also renewed our Declaration of Intent to continue our formation within the Society of the Missionaries of Africa in view of the Oath and the priesthood at the service of our brothers and sisters in the African world. We had the chance to be with Fr Peter Welsh who came for a visit from Rome.

If I forget SAP, let my right hand wither!!! After spending three years in that province, I am still in touch with all the messages and news sent to all including me. Thanks indeed for your great job as Secretary with the creation of the SAP blog. My regards to all the confreres in Woodlands with a special greeting to our zealous and dedicated Provincial Fr Christopher Chileshe.

Find attached a picture of the memorable day!!!

Yours ever,

Hervé Tougma, Second Year student in Jerusalem

 

Read this article in French at :

« Acolytat à Jérusalem » par Hervé Tougma, candidat M.Afr burkinabè théologique. (lire la suite ) 

It is a great abundance from God to have a Priest in the Farm of Hope.

A Missionary of Africa in the Philippines

By Phelim Malumo, M.Afr

“My name is Fr. Phelim Malumo, 42 years old and I am from Zambia. I have 8 siblings at home. I finished my secondary education in 1992 at the Christian school in Mongu. I joined the society of Missionaries of Africa as a postulant in 1994. Thereafter, I was selected to start my Philosophy in Tanzania for 3 years (1994-1997). I went for novitiate in Kasama, Zambia. Thereafter, I went for my 2-years pastoral experience in South Africa. I did theology in Nairobi, Kenya from 2002-2004. I made my Missionary oath in 2003, I was ordained Priest in 2004 in the Diocese of Mongu, Zambia. My first Missionary appointment was to South Africa, Siyabuswa Parish. After 3 years, I come back to Zambia and worked in different Parishes in Zambia.

I had issues related to alcohol addiction, and then I tried therapy in Zambia, Tanzania and Canada. In 2012, I fully recovered. So, I was to appointed to Lumimba Parish for 2 years from 2012-2014.

After a positive and fruitful experience there, the province of Southern Africa thought that I could use my experience to help other people facing various kinds of addiction. And due to the experience of the other priests at Fazenda in Mozambique and Brazil, it was thought that I should go to one Fazenda community to live, discover and learn the Fazenda way of helping people with their addiction. Fortunately, being connected before with Bishop Ian de Groef spoke positively about Fazenda activities and I was very much inspired to start something like that in Bethlehem Diocese in South Africa. And in collaboration with Father Hans, Nelson, Roland and Richardson together with SAP Provincial Council and our General Council in Rome, I was welcomed to make my experience in their community here in Fazenda Masbate.

Now, from November 2014, I am part of Fazenda in Masbate, Philippines. For 1 year, I will live here to understand better the charism, spirituality and mission of Fazenda to the world. We feel that there are rule of Prayer, community life and their mission can make us easy in collaborate and profit from each other’s spirituality. Currently, the Chairman of Fazenda Masbate is Richardson da Silva from Brazil. So far, I have been very much touched by the spirit in Fazenda with lay people, sister’s, priests, and even married people working together to help the boys and girls. I admire the spirituality of Chiara, the Word of Life which guides our community living based on the gospel. Our sharing of goods helps us to form a united family. I help at this community through Mass and spiritual guidance together with the Sisters and the Missionaries. I hope that after this experience, the society of Missionaries of Africa could establish something like this in South Africa where we have issues in addiction and other related problems.

Our community in Cebu is also connected to Fazenda through Group of Living Hope, regularly meets in their house, and slowly, they seem to have more collaboration. And I’m happy to be connected to Focolare Movement. Recently, I learned a lot from Mariapolis which was held here in Fazenda. Fazenda opened me to expose in different kinds of people with different skills.

We strongly believe that the Spirituality of Hope. Fazenda is a place where people were facing with various addiction and issues gets new hope and meaning in Life through prayer, community life and work.

It is my conviction that this experience will be of help to me, the church, society and all people facing with various kinds of addiction and related issues thereby fulfilling Christ’s words in John 10:10 “I came that they may have life, life in its fullness and abundance”

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Hervé Tougma renouvelle sa Déclaration d’intention à Jérusalem

By Dominique Arnauld, M.Afr, Jérusalem

Thank you and “Bonne fête” à vous aussi!

Ce soir, 26 novembre 2014, Cletus Atindaana, David Elweu et Hervé Tougma renouvellent leur Déclaration d’intention et reçoivent le ministère de l’acolytat.

Réjouissez-vous avec nous!

Note:

Hervé a fait son stage apostolique à Chezi au Malawi. Il poursuit sa deuxième année d’étude en théologie à Jérusalem.

Nous nous réjouissons avec Cletus, David et Hervé.

Missionary Congress, Johannesburg, South Africa

By Michel Meunier, M.Afr

25^th – 26^th October 2014

On Saturday and Sunday, from 9am to 4pm, around 250 people came from fifty (50) different parishes (out of 120 parishes in the whole archdiocese). Not bad, for a first time! But we got the quality, if not the expected quantity: we had aimed at five delegates from each parish, which would have amounted to 600! The M.Afr who took part were Jan DeGroef (Bishop), Didier Michon, Christophe Boyer, Martin Somda (stagiaire), Seán O’Leary and Michel Meunier.

The AIMS of the Congress were:

• to explore ways for us, the Church, to fulfil our vocation of proclaiming the Gospel / Mission
• to move from maintenance to being on mission (enlarge our tent)
• to celebrate our baptismal call together
• to take back to our parishes the motivation to move forward on mission

FULL TEXT PDF FILE

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Link: Missionary Congress in October 2014 in South Africa

Newsletter South Africa no 45 – November 2014

 

Missionary Congress in Johannesburg, South Africa

By Martin Somda, Stagiaire in Henley Parish, South Africa

Should it still be said today “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few”, while thousands of thousands are getting baptised and confirmed every year? Yes, the sad reality is that the workers are still few. And here we see a contrast: While many receive Baptism and Confirmation, few are ready to be sent as workers in the harvest of the Lord. Why is it so? This is a question to everybody. Through the zeal of some missionaries, among whom our M.Afr. confrères, the Archdiocese of Johannesburg thinks one of the reasons might be lack of awareness; to work in the harvest of the Lord, we are called to be sent and to take up our crosses and follow Jesus, the first missionary per excellence. To help its different parishes to come to a greater awareness of their missionary call as per their baptism, the Missionary Group of the archdiocese of Johannesburg organised a MISSIONARY CONGRESS with the theme: “ENLARGE THE SPACE OF YOUR TENT” from the prophet Isaiah (54:2).

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