JOY AT MUKOBEKO PARISH

          I came for Bible workshop to Mukobeko Parish just two days before Palm Sunday. The parishioners’ thoughts were quite a lot directed towards Jesus passion and suffering. Also my program there was delayed because of the death of my sister, who suffered a lot for almost 25 years of her sickness. At the end it was a joy during her funeral and we celebrated her life. 

           There were a number of expectations from me. With my broken chibemba and limited knowledge of the Bible we started the workshop. First it was quite small group. Fr. Dony and the chairman were quite disappointed. I consoled them to be happy, accept the reality and look towards better future. This small group was very alive, full of joy and zeal to know the Bible. Probably God’s words spread very quickly, that the group was growing all the time. In the afternoon a huge garage of Fr. Mukwai was filled. There was not space to park even one car. Maybe one bike still could fit there. Less and less parishioners were preoccupied with the coming of Passion Sunday, but so much concerned with God’s words.

         Generally the atmosphere during workshop was great. The parishioners asked lots of interesting and potential questions. Many questions came from various denominations, Small Christian Communities sharing and different liturgical celebrations. My little Bible knowledge was put to the test. With the help of the Holy Spirit all went well. In fact we were learning together. I believe such workshop is an open eye to all our pastoral activities.

          During the second day of our workshop more leaders attended, because it was a Saturday and they were free from their regular work. They contributed a lot towards the building of Parish Bible Team. Also they wanted me to come back soon with the other Bible workshop. Traditionally I gave them a positive answer. Probably my soon will be shorter than “Jesus soon coming back”.

Prepared by Fr. Romek SVD