P. John Bouma schreibt:

Lusaka, 15 August 2005

Dear Confreres,

Receive herewith ( in haste ) some information on the latest in the province.

“Our week” is already close to three weeks behind us, but hopefully not forgotten.

Wherever we are, alone or with confreres, we should try to keep this most positive and inspiring experience fully alive, bringing it to fruition, not in glorious hollow sounding statements, but in the very actuality of every day life and work that it makes a difference.

Starting afresh from Christ is to be a daily, early morning conscious effort and commitment that carries us joyfully through the next twenty four hours.

Fr. Tobias Mutale is our newly appointed Vice Provincial Superior. We congratulate him for the confidence seen in him by the confreres, and wish him well in his task.

Brs. Charles and Roy reported that their six weeks pastoral experience in UK has been wonderful and enriching, thanks also very much to the understanding and kind approach of their respective parish priests.

The e-mail from Fr. Alphonso Voorn that I forwarded to you, informs us about their ( including Br. Francis Chishimba ) present activities in Spain, going for a Pilgrimage on foot ( 170 km ) to Compostella, praying for our province, whilst Roy is representing our Zambian youthful community in Cologne on the occasion of the World Youth Day.

On 27 August Fr. Macarius Haeusler will leave for Switzerland to receive the necessary medical treatment to overcome his present fatigue. May he have a thorough recovery and return to us rejuvenated.

Instead of getting off the bus in Kasama, taking up the ministry of Master of Postulants at the HOF as decided earlier, Fr. Patrick Chongo will proceed to Nseluka and be in charge of the parish during Fr. Macarius’ absence, lest the parishioners be left orphaned.

This means that Fr. Ivo Burkhardt will also this year lead the group of five postulants to their destination as usually.

The task of Vocation Director though he has handed on to Fr. Tobias.

Fr. Patrick deserves our sincere and hearty thanks for the two and a half year of true dedicated and committed service to the Fr. Engelmar community in Makeni and its many expected and unexpected visitors from all ranks and religious convictions that look for a place to rest their heads, find a bite to eat or need assistance through a busy Lusaka doing some business. Thank you, Fr. Patrick, very well done.

The Engelmar Community has found a new head in Fr. Tobias Mutale who will officially be installed a little later once the “locals” are all back from their pastoral engagement.

Also Bernard Huss community in Woodlands has been given a new skipper in Fr. Dick Nthenga to lead and guide both the three deacons and the two new arrivals, first year Theology, Frts. Gabriel Banda and Abidon Kabwe through their next stages, succeeding Fr. Gaspard Parent who left for Canada on 29 July that he deepen his faith and spirituality during a nine months course entitled: “ Formation generale et pedagogie spirituelle ignatienne “.

Also Fr. Gaspard deserves the province’s respect and thanks for his six years of having been in charge of Bernard Huss House and his lecturing at both St. Dominic’s National Major Seminary and St. Bonaventure College, thus reaching out to and serving the whole of the Zambian Church and even beyond. Through Fr. Gaspard Mariannhill has done well.

The empty place in Ndola, caused by the departure of Fr. Dick Nthnga who within ten months has spread the good name of Mariannhill in the Copperbelt, where we were unknown thus far ( thank you, Dick ), has been filled by Fr. Felix Nsama that he serve the people of Masala parish.

Chunga Parish will, for the time being at least, have to be satisfied with the services of a deacon over the weekend.

Deacon Jean Bosco Ntawugashira, who has completed his studies, will move to Mungwi, assisting in the parish ministry there, because Fr. Paul Mulenga has requested for a break and is no longer in Mungwi. How this break has to be formulated and fruitfully spent is still under discussion.

I wish to thank you, dear confreres, for your readiness to move and accept your respective assignments with spontaneous availability. May you always remember the words of St. John Chrysostom: “He (Christ) urges them (the apostles = you) to a well ordered way of life, teaching them = you to be ready for action, since they = you live with all eyes upon them = you, contestants in the center of a stadium…. “

By the end of July Emmanuel Mubanga completed his two month course on spirituality in Chelston, and has meanwhile returned to Kaoma continuing with his pastoral ministry in the parish.

In Mariannhill under the guidance of Frs. Yves La Fontaine and Thulani Mbuyisa our Frts. Gabriel Banda and Abidon Kabwe participated in the one month course as preparation for Perpetual Vows.

All three are most grateful for the opportunity given them to have these enriching experiences, believing that they have gained much to strengthen them on the way ahead, walking it with confidence, fidelity and joy. May it be like that.

Soon school routine is going to shape again our daily life. For Frts. LazarusMutale, during holiday time a mechanic, Victor Mwansa and Daniel Kangwa, still on pastoral work in Kabwe and Chililabombwe respectively, it means starting their second year Philosophy at St. Bonaventure, whilst Frts. Crispin Mukupa and Shadrick Chembe, who have ever since their First Vows in February last faithfully and happily been going to the University Teaching Hospital to be available for patients, their needs and any other work asked of them, will enter a new stage of life, acquainting themselves with the Wisdom of the old and the young in the first year Pilosophy. I myself have decided no longer to teach the Lingua Latina at St Bonaventure, which though has given me great pleasure in the past six years. Consequently this year no CMM will be member on the staff at the College, regrettable, but unavoidable.

Br. Ernest Mwakinyali has started work on a three months probation period with the Archdiocesan Home Based Care ( AHBC ) at Pope Square. From the three weeks that he has been going there thus far I cannot but gather that he has been entrusted with wide and great responsibilities having all the chances to put into practice what he has learned at Tangaza, Nairobi, during the past two years. We wish Ernest well.

On their way back from Zambia to South Africa our confreres Frs. Aaron Chituta and Stephen Chikwanda had their luggage stolen at Beitbridge while they were attended to by the customs officers. As if this was not enough, also the vehicle of White River Parish was stolen at the time that Fr. Chikwanda had a meeting with a parishioner. Fortunately the vehicle was found almost undamaged soon after, but our confrere had to return to Zambia to acquire a new driver’s license to replace the stolen one.

No better off is our confrere in PNG, Fr. Ernest Kabungo who left his most quiet and peaceful Siassi island for business in the big city of Lae. Somebody there got hold of his small bag that contained his passport. Gone precious document. From this end we will mediate as best as we can that Ernest be given a new passport.

Keep smiling all that encounter(ed) these and similar mishaps.

From 01 to 11 August we had a very friendly visitor in Fr. David Fernandez who gave us a few practical hints in things “material” that are easily overlooked by spiritual leaders. Thank you, Father David.

Today 15th August, the assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we recall with gratitude that exactly ten years ago the then small, original CMM community at Makeni celebrated for the first time the Holy Eucharist, the heart of the Church’s life, of which the late Pope John Paul II reminded us in his Apostolic letter Mane Nobiscum Domine:

“In this Year of grace, sustained by Mary, may the Church discover new enthusiasm for her mission and come to acknowledge ever more fully that the Eucharist is the source and summit of her entire life”.

Also we plead and say, “stay with us , Lord”.

Fraternally yours. fr. john Bouma, provincial superior