As God’s Providence brought us to Tanzania, the stillness at the convents of the Carmelite Sisters of St Thérèse of Lisieux was resoundingly peaceful. We were welcomed by a flourishing local Catholic Church as we embarked on another missionary experience. Family visits in both Boko, Dar es Salaam and at the Ikumbilo parish in the Mbeya region allowed us to witness the daily struggles and to listen to the hopes of each household, to offer both material and spiritual support. We also visited the parish community in Mloka, attending Sunday service and meeting with parishioners to discuss the pressing needs of their community. This visit served as a valuable follow-up to last year’s initiative to fund a water project for the parish. This gave us the opportunity to assess progress and to reaffirm our commitment to serving the community by funding a chaplain’s house, a kinder garden school and a fence to protect the parish from wild animals.
A central part of the mission involved delivering catechesis programmes to children, teenagers and teachers at the Dogodogo orphanage and at the Mapinga and Consolata secondary schools across Tanzania. We explored the life of St Carlo Acutis together with the relationship between science, nature and faith. Hands-on activities and crafts were also carried out, while each session was complemented by the singing of worship songs and a dedicated time of prayer, which helped make the message both memorable and deeply prayerful. Our meeting with the youth group at Ikumbilo parish was also a very fruitful one as many were interested in our foundation and charism. We also had the opportunity to the deliver talks to local catechists at Ikumbilo and a youth group in Boko, about the life of the Maltese saint St George Preca, his spirituality and how he empowered the lay person to learn and teach catechism.
During each of our missions we were attentive for the needs of each community and provided financial support, including aid to parishioners, supporting the catechist’s community at Ikumbilo, the Boko youth group and the Carmelite sisters’ communities that we visited. While we had previously funded a mini van to transport children to the Dogodogo orphanage, we have now committed to supporting the building of a new church which will provide space to fit the needs of the growing community. We praise the Lord for pouring out His grace through our benefactors and it is a true joy to witness the tangible fruits of their generosity.
Besides our service, throughout the mission, our days were structured around communal prayer involving daily Mass, the Rosary and, at times, the Liturgy of the Hours together with the Carmelite community. This continued to encourage our spiritual growth and strengthened the bonds among us as members of the Kenosis Foundation. We returned with hearts full of joy in the Lord as we witnessed His love in every person and every encounter, reminding us that “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor 9:7).
