N like Nature
What language do missionaries “speak”? Theirs is an alphabet of mercy, with letters that breathe life back into words and generate works
When I go to a new place, the first things that strike me are the environment and nature around it.
Then if you go to Africa, for the first time, you realize that everything is different from the small country where you were born.
Then you start being an explorer, marveling at everything you see.
Then, if you are destined for a mission, your place of service, you realize there is so much to learn about.
Having been destined for CONGO DRC, in the Kivu Region (the Great Lakes Region), I happened to be in Baraka ( which means blessing and was the place where Arab merchants rounded up slaves and then took them to Tanzania and eventually to Arabia).
We are on the shores of Lake Tanganyika (650 km. long, 40 wide and 1.5 d deep). It is teeming with fish, from the smallest (the ndagala) to the largest (1.5 m.) called “capitaine.”
Of course, I was not there to be a tourist, but the missionary and half of our parish (130 km.) was on the other side of the lake (on the Ubwari peninsula), so one had to use a boat to visit the Christians.
Even though I came from the hills of Mt. Rose and did not know how to swim, I had to put on a good face. Taking my first trip (safari) on the lake, together with two young men (the boat conductors) and skirting the entire peninsula to the regional border (130 km.).
But it was worth it, I assure you.
The first beautiful thing, besides the contact with the people, was the scenery: beautiful and quiet beaches, clean water, lots of vegetation and immense horizons. Seeing the sun rise and set over the lake and the moon taking its place was something special. Of course, there were aquatic troublemakers: crocodiles and hippos.
On a return trip, the sun was setting; it was red (perhaps from the fatigue of having worked all day) and slowly the moon came in. After a little while, its silver rays made the waters of the lake shimmer and as if by magic, all the fish came to the surface and jumped around like it was a party. Something special, something unimaginable, but something that stays with you forever.
Add to that the resting on the sand of the beaches, the waves crashing on the rocks and the silence, broken by the occasional song of the fishermen.
All these things are offered to you for free, almost a thank you for the work you do for them.
And the same view, you contemplate it from afar when you climb the mountains of the parish. Especially in the evening, you fill your eyes with the setting of the sun and when you wake up you see it coming back all cheerful to light up the new day.
Of course, in this nature there are many adventures to remember: crossing the river with the off-road vehicle with the risk of ending up in the lake; the bridges where the girders are often missing and you find yourself only two iron rails; getting bogged down during the rainy season…
And finally, you see that even in those situations that seem complicated and almost impossible to solve, someone always comes along to help you out (maybe all muddy after hours of work).
That takes patience. If you don’t get there today, you can get there tomorrow. The important thing is to walk.
The day is in our hands, and the nature around us puts us in touch with the one who created it, and maybe, seeing all our efforts, he doesn’t forget to send some angels as “first aid…”
Source
- Father Oliviero Ferro
Image
- Image digitally created by spazio + spadoni