Br. Joe (Bsp)

        It is true that when we are young we don’t pay much attention to youthfulness and when we see young people it doesn’t seem to matter. That was true for me until I met Bishop Joe in 2008. He was then the provincial of Malta. What was striking is his youthfulness. At first I asked Fr. Joe how come they have such a young provincial and Joe shouted facing the Bishop, “Hii ni Mzee hata ni mzee yangu, ako na nywele muzuri”. 

As usual, the bishop kept his smile lingering as he watched fr. Joe make fun of his youthful appearance. Well, I could hardly understand how it was possible for him to take so much chaffing until I stayed with him and realized how easy going he is. With so much ease, every evening he walked to my room before retiring to his and said, “usiku mwema”. Isn’t it that I am the youthful one here who should have walked to his room instead?  

Br. Ndoria

This long holiday has been an awesome return to my first experience of religious life. The very first day I joined, I found Br. Ndoria doing the very things he is doing right now as am typing this. Hurling maize to the chickens, observing jioni (our special bull) as he grows massively big and it is almost like the bull’s growth depends on his eyes, collecting mangoes and other things. Unlike the past when I was a postulant, and seldom asked questions, I had a chance to ask him why he does these things. At first I thought he is wasting time because in my shallow understanding I wondered, why keep chickens, goats, cows among others, that we never slaughter yet we buy meat. It was a very simple question to him because he didn’t even think much about the answer, he already had it. He smilingly explained “hii ni shule na hapa tunawafundisha nyinyi vijana kuhusu miradi ili ukiwa parokiani kama parish priest msiwasumbue wakristu na mahitaji yenu kila wakati. Hii miradi ya kuku, ng’ombe, na mbuzi na hata shamba ni ya kujiangaliliwa na kujifunzia.” Well I understood that very well and went to my room to bring my camera in order to take photos of these animals. Aren’t they there to be seen?

Br. Samuel

I am watching a bespectacled fellow wipe the tables, set the cutlery at the table, refill the water jars and so forth. I also remember that yesterday I saw him put on the gumboots as the hoe lay there waiting to be placed on the shoulder ready to break, turn and twist the soil. I am excited and at the same time perplexed. Excited because we still have genuine vocations sprouting. Perplexed that such a young and promising man could still find a reason to humble himself much as to dust his spectacles as he tilled the sand. I am inspired by this man who has been with us barely a week. Luckily he is inspired by “himself” because he tells me that he delayed to get here, 

“nimechelewa kujiunga, hii ndio maisha niliyotamani sana.” he said as he displayed his entire dental formula. I hope and pray he understands what he is saying because I too at one point deceived myself I understood, now I don’t think I understand anymore.