Kiribati [rozklad stron tylko na podglad] LQ

WORLD YOUTH DAY 2016
REPUBLIC OF KIRIBATI
by GOD’S GRACE
iracles

February 5, 2016 -
Itinerant Convivence in
the Dominican Republic
My name is Przemysław Kasprzak and for
six years I have been a seminarian at the
Redemptoris Mater Archdiocesan Missionary
Seminary of Boston. At the moment I am doing
my first year of itinerancy (time of mission).
I was sent to the middle of the Pacific Ocean, to
the island of Tarawa, in the Republic of <strong>Kiribati</strong>.
Sometimes I think God has a great sense of
humor. Last summer we did an experience
of being sent two-by-two without money to
announce the Good News to priests all over the
United States and I was sent to Alaska. And
here I am now: God sent me straight from one
of the coldest places to one of the hottest and
most humid places on earth! Both times my
destinations were assigned by lottery and each
time I saw with my own eyes how my name was
picked out of a basket. I could not believe it.
God really has a lot of imagination!
In milestones, I will tell you about the miracle
that God did for the youth of <strong>Kiribati</strong> …
On Friday night our itinerant team of <strong>Kiribati</strong>
was presenting the situation of Evangelization in
<strong>Kiribati</strong>. The team consists of Patricia Cottman
(lay woman from New Jersey), Lucas de Sales
(seminarian from RMS of Dallas, originally
from Brazil) and me. As we were going through
many aspects of the evangelization, at a certain
moment, Giuseppe Gennarini (responsible of
the Neocatechumenal Way in the USA) said:
“What about the World Youth Day in Poland?
How many youth from <strong>Kiribati</strong> are going?”
<strong>Kiribati</strong> Team: “None”
Giuseppe: “What do you mean ‘none’? How is
that possible?”
<strong>Kiribati</strong> Team: “Precisely … it is impossible for
anyone to go to Poland to see the Pope.”
Giuseppe: “Why?”
<strong>Kiribati</strong> Team: “This country is very poor and
the resources are very limited. It is already
February. You cannot prepare a pilgrimage like
this in 5 months. Normally the preparation
takes about 2 years. It is crazy to try to do
something like this.”
Giuseppe: “You have no faith. Go back in
March to <strong>Kiribati</strong> and launch it.”
[Przemek, thinking to myself: “Wow, that’s
really crazy. I like to do crazy things but this one
is really a good one!”]
Tokantetake
Tabuariki
Tokaraoi
Teitati
Koli
Fr. Buutonga

March 03, 2016 -
Landing
Here we are! We are in <strong>Kiribati</strong>! The crew has
changed a little bit. Patricia needed to stay
in the US with her sick son; instead a priest,
Fr. Marco Pacciana, was able to accompany
us for three weeks. The day after our arrival,
we had a meeting with the communities to
launch preparations for the pilgrimage to the
World Youth Day. We asked those who wanted
to go to sign up and we got a list of 80 youth
and 30 adults! The youth were full of hope and
enthusiasm. We told them that the cost for one
person was $5,600.00AUD (about $4,000.00
USD), but this did not discourage any of them.
They believed that if God wanted them to
go, they will go. Seeing this type of faith and
trust forced me to jump into this madness of
God and to be open to His will. That is why we
started trying to knock on as many doors as we
could so that these brothers and sisters could
experience a true encounter with Jesus Christ
who is waiting for them in Poland.
March 24, 2016 -
Support
Fr. Marco Pacciana was going back to New
Jersey. Until this time we were going crazy
preparing some letters, requesting grants for
the youth of <strong>Kiribati</strong>. Marlene Rasmussen
was of great help. She was a volunteer from
Australia working for the Diocese in <strong>Kiribati</strong>.
She had a great spirit and zeal for the youth
desiring to go to Poland. Also Bishop Paul
Mea who is the bishop of <strong>Kiribati</strong> wrote letters
that we attached to those grant requests, fully
supporting this initiative. We had very little
time. Most of the letters had to be sent to the
USA. We could not use the regular postal
services because it does not work “well” around
these parts. (For example, my mother sent me
a package to <strong>Kiribati</strong> in December 2015 and it
has not yet arrived: and it’s the end of August
2016!!!). Therefore, we needed to give all the
finalized projects to Fr. Marco Pacciana who
left for the U.S. on Holy Thursday (March 24,
2016). In this moment we were waiting for
some response from different organizations...
Taabo
Tekanoua
Sr. Agnetha
Anterea
Abwerumate
Ririere

Some facts about the Republic of <strong>Kiribati</strong>:
• The Republic of <strong>Kiribati</strong> consists
of 21 inhabited coral tolls (33 atolls
in all), stretching across 5,000,000
square kms of ocean in the Central
Pacific. The atolls lie north and
south of the Equator and east and
west of International Date Line.
• Formerly the Gilbert, Phoenix
and Line Islands, <strong>Kiribati</strong> was
a British Protectorate until 1979,
when Independence from Britain
was gained.
• People are Micronesian. Most people live
a subsistence style of life. Tarawa, the main island is
the seat of Government and the centre for education
and medical help. Approximately, 10% of the
people have paid employment. Slowly a pyramid
social structure is evolving with Government
officials dominating the cash economy, with a very
broad bank of unemployed persons at the bottom.
Fishing is the most prominent industry. A small
export fish factory was opened in 2012. There is
a small biscuit factory. Wages are
extremely low. Most labourers
receive $2 per hour.
• I-<strong>Kiribati</strong> live in family (extended
family) groups in villages providing
for their needs from the sea (e.g.,
fish, shell fish, worms, octopus,
tortoise etc). Coconut trees
contribute to the livelihood of
many I-<strong>Kiribati</strong>. Other locally
grown trees which provide food
are: pandanus breadfruit and some
vegetables and fruit, such as pumpkins, bananas,
local cabbages, non-fruit, papaws and taro. Rice
is the main ingredient of their stable diet. People
in <strong>Kiribati</strong> usually have enough food. Very few
families have a refrigerator. Life Expectancy is set
in the mid-fifties.
• <strong>Kiribati</strong> is one of five countries that suffer most
with climate change, because the low-lying island
is most exposed to costal hazards in the text of
climate change.
April 12, 2016 -
Schengen Visa
Email from Mateusz Ratajczak (RMS of
Denver, originally from Poland): “Przemek,
please contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
in <strong>Kiribati</strong> as soon as possible. Please ask them
if they know anything about regulation (EU)
No 509/2014 of 15 May 2014. It is amending
Council Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 listing
the third world countries whose nationals must
be in possession of visas when crossing the
external borders, and those whose nationals are
exempt from that requirement. It seems that the
Republic of <strong>Kiribati</strong> should be exempt from the
requirement of Schengen visa. The exemption
can be implemented after a bilateral agreement
on visa waiver between EU and <strong>Kiribati</strong>. Please
check the status. This could be extremely helpful
for the youth to go to Poland!”
Przemek to Mateusz (April 14, 2016): “This is
great news! God helped us through. Marlene
Rasmussen arranged an appointment with
Deputy Secretary (Kaates Tooto) in one day.
He did not know about this regulation. He
found out later on, that it was archived and
that’s it! The regulation was sitting there but
no one took the necessary steps in order to
finalize the regulation with bilateral agreement.
We spoke to him today explaining that this
agreement will be of great help for the youth of
<strong>Kiribati</strong>. Then we found out that in 3 days the
European Ambassador is coming to <strong>Kiribati</strong>
to congratulate Mr. Taneti Mamau on the
occasion of winning the presidential elections.
In this moment we really pushed him as we saw
this event as God’s providence. The president
can mention it to the Ambassador and figure
out how to finalize it. Mateusz, thank you again
for giving us this important news. This meeting
was a miracle because tomorrow we are leaving
to Guam to attend classes with Cardinal Cordes
and it was the last moment that we could meet
Mr. Kaates. God is good!”
Eigen
Uearerei
Ioram
Uatioa

April 13, 2016 -
Deposit
Tomorrow is the deadline for the youth to
pay a $1500AUD deposit in order to book the
ticket to Poland. The previous deadline (March
28, 2016) to bring the passports to us resulted
of reducing the number of people going to
Poland to forty (from 110 people). Still forty
people are a lot. However, up to today we
have 22 people who brought “some” money.
Some of them brought 50 or 60 dollars and
4 people actually brought $1500. This deposit
was only an attempt because a total cost of the
pilgrimage is $5600AUD. Regardless, we were
truly encouraging them not to lose faith. We
were inviting them to do fundraising and to
ask for help from people around them. It was
amazing how boldly they were going to different
businesses asking for money. It is important
to note that the <strong>Kiribati</strong> youth are extremely
shy. In spite of the difficulties, their desire was
strong. Truly $5600 looks like a mountain
which is impossible to overcome.
April 14, 2016 -
Good News!
Phone call from Fr. Antonio Medeiros (my
rector in Boston):
Fr. Tony: “Przemek, I have something very
important to tell you.”
Przemek: (in my head) “Oh, I must have done
something wrong. Probably I forgot to leave
some important information for the upcoming
Gala Dinner, for the guys who are now working
with the graphic design for the Ad Journal.”
Przemek: “Yes, I am listening.”
Fr. Tony: “How many people are going to
Poland?”
Przemek: Four! But, listen, this is a miracle
already, a big miracle because it’s very difficult
here and people are very poor…
Fr. Tony: Ok. Do you remember the letter you
wrote to Cardinal O’Malley and the letter you
sent to Fr. Rodney J. Copp (the Director of the
Pontifical Missions Society), asking for help
regarding WYD 2016 to Poland?”
Przemek: “Yes …”
Fr. Tony: “The Archdiocese of Boston will
sponsor 10 youth from <strong>Kiribati</strong> going to
Poland!”
Przemek: [I went ballistic! I was jumping and
shouting in front of the people. I did not care.
I was so happy!]
Important note: It is amazing how God likes to
wait till the last moment! (I will have a serious
conversation with God regarding this if I get
to Heaven). Tomorrow we need to fly to Guam
and that is why it is so crucial to finalize the list
today. With this support we can try to purchase
some more tickets. So far we have been able to
get them for only the four youth who paid the
full deposit. Today, in the late evening, two more
girls came with full deposit for their ticket. This
made the total number of youth who brought a
deposit, or at least “some” money, to 24.
Teretia
Tabuaka
Ianana Jaume

“
This is my first travel.
I feel afraid of the
long distances. There is
a possibility for me to
discover many strange
new things like escalators
(as I don’t have them in
my homeland). I could
get lost in an enormous
country! I am terrified of
passing through Russia.
I heard that Russia is
a Communist country
with supreme powers and
authorities. If I happen
to stand my two feet on
this land, I am pretty
sure, beyond a doubt, that
I will be killed on the
spot. Russia disturbs me
when I hear its name.
“
Bwenariki Tabuaka
April 15-May 15, 2016 -
Other donations
In this time many other contributions started
coming in and each of them was a miracle.
From: Archbishop Wenski of the Archdiocese
of Miami, John Zofchak from Boston, Robert
Siedliński from Brockton, Archbishop Mark
Coleridge from the Archdiocese of Brisbane,
<strong>Kiribati</strong> Ministry of Women and Youth, and
Maria Chrabąszcz from New York (she called
on May 5, 2016, my Birthday!) The miracle
was that with those donations and the deposits
that the youth brought to us, the money was
just enough to pay their airfare. It is important
to see how God works: for example, there was
a person who had money for the full deposit
but, not believing that the rest of the cost could
be collected, she did not bring it. On the other
hand, all those youth who had a little faith
(some of them bringing only $50) are all going
to Poland! The donations were just enough for
those 24 youth, to the cent!
June 24, 2016 -
Red Sea opened!
After many challenges, finally nationals of
<strong>Kiribati</strong> are visa-exempt to enter the European
Union! Therefore, let’s go to Poland!
Akata
Tikau
Teretia
Mataio

Day 01
Our adventure began on the 18 th of August
when we left Tarawa to Nadi, Fiji. For many
of the pilgrims this was the first time they
entered a plane. Some were very excited, others
terrorized! but, after a 3 hour flight from Tarawa
to Fiji everything was ok again. Many had their
first experience on an escalator; and with some
assistance, they all managed it.
In Fiji we were all hosted in one house by
a fantastic and super generous family from
<strong>Kiribati</strong> who now lives in Fiji.
Day 02
We headed to Suva.
Day 03
In Suva, we were blessed to attend a private
Mass for the staff of the Chancery, presided
by Archbishop Peter Wong. At the end of the
Mass we asked for his blessing for our trip
and the pilgrims presented him with some
<strong>Kiribati</strong> handcraft. With our Spirit full of joy,
we returned to Nadi, because on the following
day we were going to start our long journey to
Poland.
Day 04
The wakeup call rang at 4 a.m.; we needed to
get up before the roosters because we had an
early morning flight to Hong Kong. Finally,
the great day arrived. We are going to cross the
Pacific and head to the coastal city of Hong
Kong, our ship is ready to set sail, or better
to say, our plane is ready to take off. After 10
hours and several movies later, we arrived in
Hong Kong. For some of our pilgrims to spend
a few days in Fiji, which has only 880 thousand
people, imagine the shock it was to arrive in
Hong Kong, a city of 7 million people! Since we
had a layover of 20 hours, we decided to go to
the market downtown to buy some small things
for the trip. That was really something else. We
spent the night on the “comfortable” benches of
Hong Kong International Airport.
Day 05
Time to leave again. As good pilgrims, we
now set off to Moscow, capital of Russia. God
is really good with us and protected us all.
Another 10 hours on the plane, and we arrived
in Moscow. For all of us this was the first time
we stepped on Russian soil. The Russians at
the Immigration counter also had their first
experience seeing a <strong>Kiribati</strong> passport! A few
minutes of tension when the first I-<strong>Kiribati</strong>
handed over his passport and waited for the
answer, the Immigration officer looked with
incredulity, tension… and finally, “you can go”
said the Ivan Drago looking officer. In the end,
they had to believe that those 24 people were
really from a country that exists on the map!
Next stop, Berlin.
Day 06
We were received in Berlin by families of the
Neo-Catechumenal communities of Berlin.
These brothers treated us with great love and
did not want us to leave. They were very excited
to have hosted the I-<strong>Kiribati</strong> delegation in
their first trip to Europe. Now, for the joy of
our I-<strong>Kiribati</strong> we left the planes behind and
continued our journey by bus. We were blessed to
join the Pacific delegation, all the young people
from the Islands of Guam, Saipan, Hawaii
and <strong>Kiribati</strong>. In total 280 people in 6 buses.
We combined our forces with the brothers and
sisters from the communities of the parish of
Tamuning, Guam, and we formed the famous
Bus 2. We were famous for always singing, even
while asleep. First stop in Poland, Piła. We were
received in Piła by the whole parish community.
After a beautiful Eucharist, they hosted us in
the Gym and in some homes and prepared a big
party, with DJ and music, lights, and fantastic
Polish catering, (featuring the best of the Polish
cuisine). Even the Archbishop came over to
greet everyone and enjoy the feast.

Day 07
We left Piła with a lot of sadness, carrying all the
leftovers of the party, (enough to feed a whole
village for 3 days!), and continued our journey.
On to Toruń. There, we began something that
became for all of us more important than food.
We began our Evangelization in the squares.
From that day on, throughout our pilgrimage,
in every city we visited we went to the main
square and we announced the love of God,
the Kerygma of Jesus Christ. With songs,
dance, preaching, and personal testimonies,
we announced to every person in that place
that God loved them and He has sent his Son
Jesus Christ to give us a new life, to free us from
our sins and allow us to love and know God
and the others. It was a fantastic experience;
we entered the town like an army ready for the
battle, with guitars, tambourines, drums, flutes
and a lot of joy. We fought against the spirit of
emptiness and sadness, against the Secularism
that has taken over the Western societies, and
we defeated the lie of the devil that God does
not exist! We showed that we are la juventud del
papa (“the youth of the pope”), that the Church
is still very alive and she is young, full of sap and
still green. We filled the heart of every person
with the certainty that at that very moment, if
they were in sin, suffering, without hope, etc.,
God was visiting them through us, poor and
crazy instruments. The Evangelization on the
streets became for all of us our true water, the
thing that motivated us to keep on going, and
desiring even more to meet Peter and the whole
Church. We finished the day in Giżycko.
Day 08
We celebrated Morning Prayer at a Byzantine
Catholic Church, where we received a beautiful
catechesis on the Iconography of the Eastern
Church that prepared us for the new day. We
did the Evangelization in Giżycko, then we
visit Święta Lipka, a fantastic Marian Shrine
and we finished the day with the celebration of
the Eucharist in different parishes of Giżycko.
At our parish, we had a great banquet with
roasted pig, typical dance, and even the local
TV came over to interview our <strong>Kiribati</strong> group.
At the end, all our I-<strong>Kiribati</strong> youth performed
their local dance and music for the whole parish
community. The applause and pictures were
endless. The Parish Priest and the Vicar each
received a typical <strong>Kiribati</strong> crown and necklace
made of seashells. The Parish Priest was
speechless.
Day 09
This day God prepared a surprise for all of
us. After Morning Prayer, we all went to visit
the Carmelite Monastery near Ełk. It was
a moment of great joy and commotion. We
were all filled with joy by the testimony of the
Carmelite Sisters who live in that Monastery.
Each one of them gave their experience about
life in a cloister and they sang to us. Their voices
penetrated all our hearts, even the most serious
of us could not contain the tears brought forth
after listening to those angelic voices. For the
young girls contemplating a religious vocation,
that was an immense opportunity to see that
solo Dios basta (“only God is enough”, famous
saying of St. Theresa). The sisters filled us with
gifts they made and we left with our hearts
filled, desiring to stay longer. As a matter of
fact, Mother Superior said that they are only
9 in the house, therefore, there is still plenty of
space for new vocations. We continued to the
town of Ełk, where we did our Evangelization.
We finished the day with the celebration of the
Eucharist.

Day 10-11
We left Piastów and headed to Warszawa.
We celebrated Morning Prayer and all the
group followed to the church where Blessed
Popiełuszko is buried. This young Priest was
a follower of the words of Cardinal Woityła,
and then St. Pope John Paul II. He fought
against the horror of Communism and for that,
he was persecuted and killed. He is considered
a Martyr for the Polish people, we were very
touched by that moment, each one of us prayed
in front of his tomb and asked him for a personal
grace. The tour through the museum under the
parish where he celebrated Mass was a unique
experience. We left full of zeal to announce the
Gospel as he did and we headed to the Old Town
Warszawa, a monumental place full of history
and beauty. There we announced the Kerygma,
danced and sang in a huge square, where we
were joined by some brothers from Australia,
Papua New Guinea, Dominican Republic and
Panama. A great moment of communion and
joy. During the announcement of the Kerygma,
a Polish man who lives homeless in that area,
approached one of the Priests in our group and
asked for Confession. For those of us who saw
that event, it was a confirmation that Christ
is Risen and He manifests himself every time
that the Good News is proclaimed. Happily
we closed the day with the celebration of the
Eucharist.
Day 12
One of the most stunning points of our
pilgrimage, the visit to the Concentration
Camp of Auschwitz. There was silence
followed by prayers. An astonishing moment to
contemplate what St. Pope John Paul II called
the modern Golgotha. Afterwards we headed
to Zakopane, in the mountains. We finished the
day with the celebration of the Eucharist with
the Polish brothers from the Zakopane region.
Day 13
In preparation for the meeting with the
Holy Father, we went up the mountains to
contemplate the beauty of creation and to
prepare our bodies for the long walking journey.
God blessed us with a great morning without
rain. After much physical effort, we were being
fed with the best Polish food and chocolate. We
reached the peak of the mountain and never
before had the <strong>Kiribati</strong> brothers seen such
high point view. They all thanked God for that
moment and for the other brothers constantly
encouraging them to keep moving, moving,
moving. Once again we closed the day with the
Eucharist, which we were fortunate to have
Fr. Buutonga preside.
FOR
THE
FIRST
TIME...
... enjoying the escalator.
... sleeping in the airport.
... in the metro.
... using a sleeping bag.
... dancing with a Polish girl.

Day 14
Before joining 2 million plus young people from
all over the world in the Vigil with Pope Francis,
we took advantage to go from the high peaks on
one day, to the deeper points on another. We
visited the Wieliczka Salt Mines. This is one of
the oldest salt mines in operation in Europe. It
offers a phenomenal structure, with a gorgeous
chapel inside it. We contemplated what man
can do when puts in practice all the gifts that
God gives him. Then, we headed to Campus
Misericordiae for the moment we all awaited.
We had a long walk to the field. We were
surrounded by hundreds of flags of all types
and colors, although the most beautiful one was
the <strong>Kiribati</strong> flag! Joy and excitement filled us,
and we waited anxiously for the arrival of Pope
Francis. We were allocated space very far from
the stage and had to follow everything through
the radio. When Pope Francis arrived his words
consoled and motivated us immensely. We had
no problem to sleep outdoors and remain in
vigil for the coming Mass with Pope Francis.
Day 15
A very sunny day was reserved for us. God
contained the water and sent the clouds to
protect us as we celebrated with Pope Francis
the Mystery of the Eucharist. He delivered
a fantastic homily, full of energy and very
Francis’ like. He called us to not be afraid.
He spoke about Zacchaeus, entrusted us the
mission to look for the Lord, to search for him,
and to never look down, to not be ashamed
of ourselves, on the contrary, risk, trust in the
Lord and follow him wherever he takes you.
We were delighted to be with the Holy Father
and listen to his words. With our hearts filled
by his words we joined the crowd screaming
and jumping when the place of the next World
Youth Day was announced, Panama in 2019.
We will be there too.
© Special thanks to the Printing House „KAdruk” (from Poland) for printing this project entirely pro bono.
Day 16
In order to close up our pilgrimage, we attended
a Vocational Meeting with the Initiator of
the Neo-Catechumenal Way, Kiko Argüello.
We were 150 thousand young people from
over 80 different nations. It was fantastic, we
received the Kerygma and after that the call for
vocations: 12 of our 13 boys answered the call
to the Priesthood and 3 of our 10 girls stood up
with the desire to give their lives to the Lord. We
were very blessed to sit right in front of the stage
and we were visited by Cardinal Seán O’Malley
from Boston, who greeted us and took a picture
with our group. Thank you Cardinal for your
immense contribution to these 24 miracles and
your kindness to us. May God bless you!
Day 15
Our Last day in Poland, we closed it as we
started it, Evangelizing!!! We headed to the
town of Wrocław and we announced the
Kerygma in the old town in front of thousands
who were walking around enjoying the day. It
was the best way to finish our pilgrimage. God
blessed us with a Eucharist where we exploded
with happiness and gratefulness for everything
He has done for us. We finished singing and
dancing at the song of Dayenu, how many good
things has the Lord showered on us!
Thank you all! And we hope to see you in
Panama!