Happiness, happiness and pain
September is a very busy month
(and we're only halfway through!).
Last
week I was in Bouar, where our young Carmelites had very intense moments. After
a week of silence and prayer on Friday evening six of our young people began
the Novitiate (which marked the entry into the Order of Carmel). They were 2
Central Africans (Michel et Jephté) and 4 Cameroonian (Laurent, Armel, Evrard,
Péguy).
The
following morning, during the Lauds prayer, at 6:30 am, 9 young students
renewed their commitment to live the vows of chastity, poverty and
obedience.
Shortly
afterwards, at 9.00, we began Mass, during which 3 young people (Maixent,
Gérard and Michaël Marie) concluded the Novitiate year and promised to live the
3 vows.
They were beautiful moments
that were full of grace. The journey was very long, but seeing the young people
embarking on this path fills me with joy and hope. They are the future of the
Church and of Carmel in Central Africa.
In
the early afternoon I resumed regular activities together with Marta Gallione,
a girl from Turin, who will live in Central Africa for a month. In the evening
I was in Bozoum and on Sunday morning we celebrated the beginning of pastoral
activities.
Between
Monday and Tuesday we reopened schools: between kindergarten, elementary,
middle and high school, we have more than 1,500 children come to school every
day at the Mission. It is a celebration to see their smiles and their joy at
returning to school.
Unfortunately,
I received some bad news on Wednesday: the river Ouham overflowed, and has
flooded parts of the rice fields. In the afternoon I went to see, and what I
saw was bleak: at least 6-8 hectares (one third of the land) was covered
with water, and production and harvest are now compromised. Months of work,
hard work, which goes like this, destroyed by the force of nature and human
stupidity.
This
is the first time in 25 years that this has happened. It has not been a
very heavy rainy season so most likely the flood is caused largely by the gold
mining works of the Chinese companies.
It
is sad to see that the greed of large corporations causes such destruction for
dozens of families. Unfortunately, despite the complaints, investigations,
presence of mercury in the water by these companies and by the Government there
has still been no charge to try to limit the damage.
Happiness,
happiness and pain
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| I 6 nuovi novizi con igli altri giovani in cammino les 6 nouveaux novces |
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| Prima Professione di Mexant, Gerard e Michael |
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| Riso Riz |
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| Marat Gallione |
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