THE 25-member uganda delegation that attended the Families on Mission Conference in Kenya starting on the 11th of november 2016 arrived in Karen after the opening ceremonies, which included Holy Mass celebrated by His Lordship Bishop Kamau of Kenya, had begun.
The theme of the events was TOGETHER WITH JESUS, and this was echoed all throughout the eight-day conference. The conference featured family presentations on what creates a strong family, with the individual families present given time to sit together and review what was said in the talks. These included making family resolutions, a family household prayer and a family dream board.
The delegates participated in worship at St. Francis Church in Park Lands, nairobi, and then set out for the Build My Church activities at Muringa St.Joseph Catholic Church.
The delegates cleaned the church premises and the surrounding area.
What did we learn from this Build My Church activity?
In the mission, we all have a role to play .We complement each other more especially through the family.
The Lord will provide the resources needed for mission as long as we have the will to serve. This was evident when we started moving the soil with almost no tools. eventually the residents saw the good work being done so they came in to join us and even brought the tools we needed like wheelbarrows, spades, etc.
When we do our part and put Christ at the center of the mission, we will always inspire others to join. This was evident to the residents of Muringa. When we left the place, they were continuing the work themselves.
Afterwards, the first batch from uganda had to return while those who were left continued with day two at the Huruma home of the elderly.
While at the home we cleaned the quarters of the sick and elderly men and women, cleaned the compound and cleaned their individual rooms. We shared food with them, chatted with them and entertained them with music and dance performed by the different delegates from the different countries.
Many of the elderly were sick, lonely, and desperate, with no family members to give them care. They were genuinely glad to spend time with us. We offered them some gifts like soap, toiletries and some food.
Day 3 - Park Lands (St. Francis Church).
All of us—parents and children—cleaned the church, mopped the floor, wiped the windows and benches. The church compound was cleaned, as well as the nursery school at the church. At the end of the task, we shared lunch with the community members who joined in the work with us.
We also visited the Sisters of Charity Home in nairobi. There, we found disabled children but we could see God’s love in them. This is the legacy of St. Teresa of Calcutta. The caretakers at the home were committed to serving these helpless children without reservation despite the imaginable discomfort. Some of the children were very young babies, others were pregnant mothers who were either helpless, abandoned or raped.
When one listens to the stories of many of these people, it is hard to hold back one’s tears. This visit became very significant for us as a family, as we were able to reach out to others as much as possible without counting the cost. It is not easy but with the grace of God, we believe we can do something similar together with other families.
Our Lesson
Considering our five healthy children and how we had been always there forthem as parents, I realized that the Lord is calling us to “pay it forward” (pass on the love, care and mercy to others who need it). In a way, AnCOP (Answering the Cry of the Poor) is the venue to do this. As CFC, we can begin by taking a closer look at our immediate community following the guidelines of AnCOP.
The Families on Mission Conference has taught us a great deal. We learned that the CFC community in Kenya is doing all these programs on a regular basis and so this is AnCOP in one form.
The next two days were free days, devoted to cultural experiences which included visits to the museum, snake park and the Bomas of Kenya (traditional homesteads). We also had a safari tour/ game drive, visited the Giraffe center, Kazuri workshop and visited the elephant orphanage.
Global Day Of Service
The Global Day of Service was the final day of the families on mission, where we all visited the Remand Home for Children found in Lower Kabete, Kenya.
The children in this home are there for various reasons: theft, drug abuse, lack of discipline, being out of school, some are abandoned, some forced into marriage and a few with murder cases.
At the Remand home, we started with a teaching session aimed at informing people about the importance of caring for those in need. Then we set off to clean the compound, the rooms and field together with the children. Later we interacted with the children. The delegates realized that there is really a need to build strong families in order to prevent the situations that the children of Remand home were in.
Before Going Home
All the delegates attended the Holy Mass celebrated by His eminence Cardinal John Njue at the Minor Basilica of Holy Family in nairobi. In his homily, he urged all families to have Christ at their center and commended CFC for the good work of evangelizing families.
At the end of the conference, International Kids for Christ (KFC) coordinator Adrian Enaje urged the families to go home with three important Swahili words namely: HURUMA= MERCY, FURAHA= JOY, and PENDO =LOVE.
The call is for each individual (me and you), for the family and definitely for the community, to live out and share God’s love, mercy and joy to others. (James Ssemwangu)