After more than two years of pastoral activities in Mabolio, I got a new assignment. This meant that I had to leave Mabolio for a new mission. This village was my first experience as a newly or- dained priest. It was not so easy to minister to people in a region with so many problems such as insecurity for more than twenty years, the massacre of people which started in October 2014 (with the so-called Adf-Nalu), in August 2018 the arising of Ebola virus. Despite these challenges in the region, the local Church of Butembo-Beni is playing her rule of being a light and sign of hope to people who are traumatized by various sorts of atrocities.
It was a pleasure for me to celebrate a thanksgiving and farewell Mass with the parishioners. In an emotional way, I said three words to the parishioners: Thanks-Forgiveness-Prayer. I gave thanks to God and the parishioners for the time we have spent together. They saw me being ordained in Beni- Cité in 2017 and being one the three pioneers of our second mission in the Diocese of Butembo-Beni. I had to thank them for the good testimony in the mission and encourage them in keeping alive their Christian faith, love and hope. Then I asked them to forgive me for the time I didn’t behave in a right way as a priest. At the end, I asked them to pray for me as I also promised to pray for them in order that God may help each one to be faithful to our own vocation.
I really enjoyed my priesthood in Mabolio where I have found some pastoral and spiritual needs in the Christian community. I can mention the support I got as new priest in the mission from: the African CRM Delegation, the Superior Fr. Faustin Kambale and his Council, Fr. Donatus (the first Pastor of Mabolio), Fr. Aimable, Fr. Jonas (the current Pastor) and many others for their orientations in regard to pastoral and religious life.
From Mabolio I came to Spartanburg. This is a new pastoral experience for me. This was a long trip begun on January 13, 2020. After two days, I reached Goma and immediately the following day, together with Fr. Faustin Kambale, we journeyed to Kigali. The presence of my confrere was for me a sign of encouragement. From Kigali we separated from each other. Fr. Faustine Kambale went to Tanzania and I proceeded for Spartanburg. This was my first experience for such a long journey. It was on January 17 that we landed at JFK international airport in New York after fifteen and a half hours of flight. I was excited to meet for the first time Fr. Jason CAGANAP, USA-Philippines Dele- gation Superior and Deacon Ronie Lorcha at the airport!
Besides these stories, for me the mission remains the same, even though in different contexts: to witness a humble, loving and merciful Jesus who calls us wherever he wishes. Only availability from our part is needed. On January 24 I reached my new assignment in Spartanburg, the parish of Jesus our Risen Savior in South Carolina, after having visited our Communities in Lodi, Ramsey, Sumter and Goose Creek. As my new experience, I find the new mission challenging: the language, the weather, the culture. In Matthew 28:20, Jesus says: “And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
From left: Fr. Rafael Padron, CRM, my Pastor Fr. Ed Enverga, CRM and me.
Today I am in Spartanburg, two of our Congolese brothers are in the Philippines for Theology as also two other brothers from the Philippines are in Nairobi: This marks a new era in our history. This exchange is a bridge between the African CRM Delegation and USA-Philippines CRM Delega- tion. It is a sign that the Holy Spirit is making everything new in the Order and in each of us as religious. In fact, the Holy Spirit aims at unifying us as one family. Even though the mission is chal- lenging, we are not worried because this mission is part of God’s plan for humanity. We are only workers and cooperators in this plan.
Fr. Godefroid Paluku, CRM