Summer 2012 - The Mill Hill Missionaries

Summer 2012 Advocate:Layout 1 19/07/2012 12:14 Page 30AFTER Easter, weread the Acts of theApostles duringMass. I love to hear thestories of how theGospel spread amongthe first believers afterthe Resurrection ofJesus. It is as if you can’t containthe Good News; it spreads soquickly. As soon as the Gospelreaches a place it transforms thepeople, energises them and makesthem to want to share it with otherswho themselves go on to shareit. We see this movement repeatedagain and again in the history ofthe church; as soon as people hearthe Gospel they want to share it. Isuppose that’s why we called itGood News.Fr. Richard Njoroge mhmIt was because of this desire to share thatover a hundred years ago Mill Hill Missionariesfrom Ireland, Britain, Tirol and Holland,and from other countries, arrived inthe western part of Kenya, in Isebania,where I am from. They came because theyhad been sent and because like the firstChristians communities in the Acts of theApostles they thought the Gospel was preciousand worth sharing.A young strong vibrant churchThe faith that these Missionaries plantedhas grown into a young, vibrant Church thatis now beginning to send out its own missionariesand continue the work of spreadingthe Gospel. In many ways I see myselfboth as part of this movement and a fruit ofthe great work of these first Missionaries.When I was young, therewere Mill Hill Missionaries workingin the parish where I grew up. Iwas inspired by the fact they hadcome from so far away to share theGospel, as well as by the way theylived and worked with my people.I thought I too would like to be aMissionary.My first appointment, after ordination asa Mill Hill Missionary, was to the rainforests of Mamfe diocese, in Cameroon. Iwas given responsibility for twenty villagesin the remote areas of Kembong and Afap.This was my opportunity to make a positivecontribution of sharing the precious gift ofthe Gospel and to give back what I had receivedfrom the Missionaries in Kenya. Mywork as a Missionary involved many differentactivities but at the heart of them allwas the desire to not only spread theGospel, but also to help build Christiancommunities that themselves reached outand shared the Gospel.Kembong and Afap are remote areas, and Ihad to do lots of trekking, which meant spendingmany weeks at a time travelling on footbetween villages. I was always touched by thewelcome people gave me when I arrived:“Wonderful! Fadda done come oh!” (‘wonderful!Father has come’) they would say in PidginEnglish when they saw me. Many of thethings I did in the villages are the same as allpriests would do all over the world; celebratingthe Eucharist, baptising, teaching catechism,visiting the sick and the elderly and buryingthe dead. I tried to pay particular attention toworking with young people, organising activitiesfor them such as sports competitions andsocial activities, and trying to engage them inthe faith.29