From Fr. Louis Nakpane (Mexico)

Thanks for sending me a copy of “Jambo”. I was so happy to read once again about the province of KENYA-TANZANIA. I do take this opportunity to send my best wishes of the year to all confreres over there.

Fr. Louis NAKPANE, SVD

(Fr. Louis is a Togolese confrere who was with us in CFC-Langata some years back)

From Fr. Noel Dacquel (PHC)

Thanks for updating me still, especially about what is happening in the province. I just came down from Baguio city (north of the country), where I attended a reunion with my batch mates, the Vox Dei Class. It was so nice to be together, and it gave us reason to be happy. The sharing of experiences that we had was indeed very enriching.

 

I am already assigned to Palawan (an island). For the meantime though, I am staying with Fr. Tony Pegon (a senior confrere), but the parish of Quinlogan Quezon, Palawan, where I am appointed as the parish priest, is waiting for me already. I’m having some apprehensions, for this will be my first time to be in charge of a parish. I know God will be my guide.

 

Please continue praying for me! I wish you all the best! God bless you! Greetings to all!

 

Noel

Latest message from Bro. Karl

I am still in St. Wendels. Bro. Rudi and the rector of the house Fr. Alda Roberto are sending their greetings.

I am going home this afternoon because my mother has broken her hip and is in the hospital. She will reach her 89th birthday on February 15. Hope she will recover soon and I am asking confreres to remember her in prayers.

Greetings, Karl  

From Fr. Moses Mwaniki (Angola)

Salamu from Angola! Am well and glad to read over some news in the blog site for KEN-TAN province. Congratulations for this noble idea.

Well, am well here in Angola. It is a place with many challenges and difficulties but I’m carrying on  well and enjoying. In October of last year I had a “toast” for having completed two years here in Angola. My mission is located along the Congo DRC border. It is known as Kacolo/Kaungula Mission. We are three priests and one brother who is a nurse by profession. 

 
Well, the war destroyed all our missions here and we are now in the phase of reconstruction. The Christians are also far from the mission and therefore a good part of the year is spent in the villages attending to our Christians. This explains  why some of them are also from DR Congo, talking about those who live along the Congo-Angolan border. This situation has forced to learn French alongside the Portuguese and the local language Cokwe. We have three vehicles that serve us well. Two Land Cruisers and a Land Rover. The villages are divided by many rivers that have no proper bridges for crossing. The villagers have improvised the bridges to enable us cross. Where we cannot cross we use the bamboo canoes. I hope to send you some images. I also use the motorbike a lot because the cars cannot reach everywhere.

In all, life has been okay, and am looking forward to some early holidays this year. Hope to share more in the days to come, but in brief, all is moving in the right direction. God bless you and watch over you.

Fr. Moses, svd (9 Jan. ‘09)

Funeral Mass for Fr. Thaddeus’ brother, Damiano

On Jan 3, 2009, Damiano Ondiek, the brother of Fr. Thaddeus Obuya, was buried in his family’s homestead. Fr. Thaddeus who is assigned to Brazil was not able to come. The Society was however represented by Fr. Justus Rottuk, Fr. Shaji Michael, Bro. Mike Wachira, and Fr. Narciso, who traveled from Nairobi to attend the requiem mass for Damiano. The event was attended by a good number of villagers, relatives, friends, and loved ones of the Obuya family.

 

We pray for the soul of Damiano as we extend to Fr. Thaddeus our deepest condolences. Pole sana, Fr. Thaddeus!

Fr. Justus, Bro. Mike, and Fr. Shaji viewing the body of Damiano

 

 

Letter from Bro. Karl

As we all know , Bro. Karl left for Germany over some health concerns. He subsequently underwent medical operation and is now recovering. He happened to visit this blogsite, and responded. Below is an excerpt of the letter he sent to my email address, in which he tried to brief us of what took place and his present condition. – Narciso 

Greetings from Germany!

Thank you for sending the blogsite. In this way I can follow the ongoings in Kenya…

Unfortunately I had to travel to Germany for an operation. A test from my doctor in Kenya showed a tumor in my colon, which needed urgent operation. I left Kenya on 25th November, and arrived 26th in Kolone, Germany. The Sup. Del. Fr. Lesch in the German Province had advised me to come to Germany in case I need an operation.

Right the next day of my arrival, I got an arranged appointment at the hospital in Troisdorf near St. Augustin. The findings from my doctor in Kenya proved to be very accurate. So I was scheduled to report to the hospital on the 2nd of Dec., and was operated on 5th of Dec. The computer tomography and also the laboratory  tests did not show
any other metastasis. I only have to heal the operation wounds. My return ticket was booked for the 28th of February. Fr. Sup. Deleg. Lesch and his secretary advised me to take time to recuperate. I would have very much liked to be there for the blessing of our new High School, but unfortunately, it is not possible. Hope to be back to prepare the second phase of the High School – with the dininghall, kitchen and the boarding facilities. – Karl

Thanks for the update, Bro. Karl. We are remembering you and praying for you. We hope to see you soon. 

Brother of Father Thaddeus passed away

Just received news from Fr. Justus that the brother of Fr. Thaddeus Obuya passed away last Dec. 29, 2008. His name is Damiano Ondiek, 42 years old, married, and with 3 children.

The burial will be held in Kisii this Saturday, Jan. 3, 2009. Fr. Justus and Bro. Mike are travelling to Kisii early Saturday morning to attend the funeral.

Please pray for the soul of Damiano.

Christmas season means break for some of us, particularly those in formation and administrative positions. But it can also mean visits and helping out. Thus, Fr. Augustine and Fr. Shaji are in Tanzania right now, not only to celebrate the festivity with our confreres there, but also to lend a hand to our confreres who could otherwise be overburdened with so many pastoral responsibilities. Joining the two, are some formandi from CFC- Langata seminary who must be enthusiastic about their stay there.

Fr. Provincial Eusebio was in Dol Dol for Christmas, but has now gone to Simanjiro for the New Year. Other confreres have been — in the word of Fr. Mervin — grounded. He is referring to himself, of course, and to Fr. Narciso. Ugh!

Fr. Stan is up in Eldoret, and has been a big help to our confreres there.

No news from any of our parishes as of the moment, but we can only assume that nothing is out of the ordinary.

Meanwhile, Fr. Jose is getting his stuff packed up in preparation for his much-anticipated trip and transfer to Simanjiro. He just finished his English course, and has been very helpful to Ruai, Soweto, and Kayole parishes for the past weekends and this Christmas. He has also shared his brilliance in cooking while staying in CFC. We wish him well in his first assignment.

In sum, one is down (Christmas), one is still to go (New Year). May our hearts be filled with nothing but hope and prayer for each one. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

DIVINE WORD HIGH SCHOOL:

Many of us have not yet seen our soon-to- be-opened school in Katani. Here’s a photo of the school taken sometime last October. (That’s Fr. Tom there, alright.) The location is some 9 km from Mombasa road, on the eastern side of the international airport.

Divine Word High School, Katani

 

Blast from the Past:

Some (not very serious) people went to Mombasa last August without informing those they did not want to inform. So Fr. Narciso secretly followed and spied on them, and took this photo:

Whooot? No more food?

 

Some days back, the Provincial Fr. Eusebio, Fr. Peddy, Fr. Mervin, and Fr. Narciso were in Eldoret for provincial council meeting. Fr. Martin, our gracious host, saw to it that everything would be provided for. It was a treat; our stay there was very pleasant, thanks to Fr. Martin, Fr. Teo, Fr. Josef, and Fr. Stan, who was also there.

Fr. Narciso took some photos of the Eldoret church, and it’s posted here just in case some of us have already forgotten what it looks like — Eldoret being far and a place many of us seldom visit. Here’s the church:

Langas Parish church

The Nakuru-Eldoret road is in very bad shape nowadays. Upon our return to Nairobi, we decided to use Iten road. Here’s a photo to confirm that – Fr. Mervin jumping so high that he lost his… hair? Hehehe. Merry Christmas, Fr. Mervin. PEACE!

Leaping?

New Deacons

 

From left to right: Revs. Gideon, Damien, and John

Three SVDs were ordained deacons on 11 October 2008. Rev. Gideon Nana Apreku (Ghana), Rev. Bakoma Damien Dadjomgou (Togo), and Rev. John Kudjo Dorborkor (Ghana) courageously presented themselves and took up the task of the Ministry of Service with a vow of life-long dedication and commitment. Held at Divine Word Parish, Nairobi, the event was graced by several priests (most of whom were SVDs), religious sisters from different congregations, the parishioners of Kayole, guests and seminarians.

 In his homily, Nairobi’s auxiliary Bishop David Kamau highlights the joy one should feel and share when serving the Lord.

As Divine Word missionaries, Rev. Gideon Nana is assigned to Kenya-Tanzania, Rev. Bakoma Damien to Paraguay, and Rev. John Kudjo back to his home province Ghana.

The ordination ceremony was followed by lunch in the parish for all the attendees and well-wishers, and, later on, dinner at CFC-Langata.