Missionaries of Africa
Initial Formation

Stagiaires' Meeting : March 23rd-28th, 2006

Nairobi, Kenya
Savelberg Retreat House

Participants:

From Tanzania/Kenya/Sudan Gaetan Tiendrebeogo- B/F- (2nd yr. ) Victor Shehu - Nig (2nd yr.) Lito Doguiles- Ph (2nd yr. ) Maximillian Bwalya - Zm (1st yr.) James Wani Moses- Sud (1st yr. ) Antonio Koffi- Togo (1st yr.)

From Ethiopia Sylvester Isuja- Tnz (1st yr.) ) From Uganda Sebastien Kalengwe - DR. C(2nd yr. ) Michael Elicor - Ph (2nd yr.) Roland Kamuntu- DR.C (1st yr.) From Ethiopia Sylvester Isuja- Tnz (1st yr.)

ANIMATOR/COORDINATOR
Fr. Adelard Munishi- Animator
Fr. Venerato Babaine- Animator
Br. Tony Baaladong- Coordinator

Those who couldn't make it to the meeting
Moses Ngulube- Zm (2nd yr -Ethiopia.)
Emmanuel Uko- Nig (1st yr- Uganda) could not come due to visa problem.
We missed them greatly.

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Introduction:
The annual Stagiaires meeting held in Savelberg Retreat centre in Nairobi, Kenya last March 23rd-28th 2006 were 10 stagiaires in attendance. Five of whom are in their second year and five in their first year. Two couldn't attend.

We started with supper after which, the Animators and Coordinator facilitated the orientation of the meeting, which aimed at putting on the schedule of the meeting which includes the liturgy, sessions, outing together and to get to know each other.

The aim of the meeting was to allow the stagiaires to share and listen to each one's experiences, to encourage one another, to make a deep reflection whether one's pastoral experience helps in one's missionary journey, and to relax.

The following day we had a recollection when we reflected on different experiences encountered during the pastoral work. Prior to our reflections we were asked to reflect on some areas of concerns such as learning a new language, insertion into the community ; our contribution to our communities, shocks experienced in the communities, pastoral work, which includes people's perception of us as leaders and our perceptions of leadership as service.

We the stagiaires exchanged our expectations and what we expected to hear from each other. Out of the expectations shared, it came out that we like to share and to listen to other people's experiences in order to gain insights into other people's concrete life situation. We like to relax and to enjoy the company of each other. This helped us to get new energies to revitalize our missionary life.

We also shared area of concerns, which we wanted to impart on each other. The common ideas which came out were: The appointment of stage, the insertion into the culture and environment, learning the new language, community life, pastoral work, prayer life, integration to the Christian community and encounter with the Christian denominations and other religions, the witnessing of the evangelical counsels and its challenges and the impact of the stage in our missionary journey.

Appointment of Stage, the Insertion into the Culture and Environment, and Learning a New Language
Upon receiving the news of our appointments during the spiritual year, the common reactions felt were frustration, indifference, fear and anxiety because of the bad publicity of the country where some of us were appointed to and for the others, they were happy because they got what they expected. Most of us shared that we didn't know the particular community of our pastoral experience. We got to know it after the language course.

In the area of insertion into the communities, most of us felt that we were not welcomed by the different persons in charge of the various guests' houses in the different provinces and for some of us the communities were not prepared before hand to receive the stagiaire. Others felt that they were well received by their communities. But it was felt that all were happy with the first initiation and introduction into the community and the people around.

Through our sharing, we found out that the overlapping of a stagiaire is a very good idea because it helped a lot in introducing and inserting the new stagiaire by the old stagiaire into the community and various places of apostolate. We only felt the reality of comparing the two stagiaires by the community members and the people around. However, we felt that it is a common thing that cannot be avoided and it is a matter of attitude in our part as we responded to the situation

Most of us underwent a language course which varied from three months to six or more months due to the intensity of the language. However, most of us felt that the three months duration of the courses were not enough. Environment was not conducive and methodology of the language learning was not sufficient. As a result, most of us had difficulties in expressing ourselves to the various places of apostolate.

Community Life
Most of us went straight to our communities after the language course, few stayed for some few months in other communities while waiting for either visas or appointments. This gave them the opportunity to experience life in different communities. Most felt welcome by their communities on arriving to the said communities of apostolate while others felt the opposite. While most of us are residing in parishes and few are staying in project communities run by M.Afr.

In our different communities there are programs such as common liturgy, meetings, sharing, recreations and recollections as a community or sector. In the relational area, others experience open communication in relation to the personal level and work related activities while others felt the opposite. We recognized the different personalities among the members of the community this helped us to adjust to these different persons in the community. This had helped us to adjust to the different members in the community.

Most of us were given responsibilities in the community like bursary, reception masters and in charge of personnel. Through this, most of us felt the trust by our communities, thus it boasted our self-confidence. Most of us felt that we were happy in our communities.

Apostolate
Most of us shared that the community made an orientation of the possible apostolate we liked to work into. For some, they were encouraged to use their initiative to find out other possibilities of apostolate. Youth ministry, which includes altar boys and vocation club, is the work which most of us were doing. The activities in this ministry include the formation of youth leaders, youth sports, seminars and recollection and youth apostolate. Some of us had led liturgical services in outstations while others participated in meetings of Small Christian Communities (SCC). We recognized our strengths and weaknesses as most of us found fulfillment in these apostolates. Some of us facilitated seminars, teaching Catechism, English and Computer.

On the other hand, all of us had found out the challenge to work with the youth because of their attitude and behavior. Limited material resources especially money made the youth's activities paralyzed. Some of us managed to try a participatory approach in which youth or the Small Christian Communities shared their material resources. Some managed to use their initiative to ask help from generous people from within the country where we did our apostolate or from other countries who gave some amount of money for the youth's activities.

Prayer Life
All of us had expressed that prayer is a very important element in our community life and in our apostolate. It is shown in our participation of the vespers together with our community and with the people through the Eucharistic Celebration. We recognized also the importance of personal prayer, meditation and Spiritual reading. Some of us managed to do these every day. Others had tried to do the same amidst the difficult condition in their apostolate and the type of community they were living with. We sensed the continuity and the dynamism of our prayer life as we had experienced in the Spiritual Year.

We recognized the importance of Spiritual Companionship as a way of helping us in our missionary journey. Most of us had chosen our Spiritual Companion and others are still looking for one (especially the first year). Some of us had experienced an annual retreat as organized by our various provinces. We had also recollection or hours of reflection, personally or at the level of the sector.

Impact of Stage to My Faith and My Missionary Journey
We realized that the faith of the people and the way they expressed it had a great impact in our own faith and in our missionary journey. We were also impressed and touched by their effort to attend the Eucharistic Celebration, hearing confession, participation in the Small Christian Communities and their involvement in the pastoral activities like visiting the sick. Their generosity of time and presence encouraged us to respond to their own concrete realities like lack of education, poverty etc. and become aware of our role as agent and partner of transformation. We recognized that to respond to their needs is not only to understand their condition but also to challenge them in their way of thinking that we are not Father Christmas who dishes out everything to them.

We realized our dependency on God that everything we do is nothing without recognizing His presence but at the same time we recognized our humanity at times when we put ourselves into the occasion of seeking popularity and recognition.

Challenges in living the Evangelical Counsels:

Poverty
Many of us had expressed that the allowance we received was not enough especially those of us who were living in an urban set up. Some of us had received some help from generous people which helped us to cope with our finances. Few expressed on the right attitude of handling the things which entrusted to us and our personal things. All of us shared that our difficulties in learning a new language and stressful moments as we inserted ourselves to a new culture and environment, and our powerlessness in terms of our inability to help those who were seeking our assistance especially money matters made us felt poor. On the other hand, we realized that our personal resources like listening and spending time with them were our consolation that we could still do services for them.

Chastity
All of us had shared that to live a life of celibacy and chastity is challenging aspect of our present lives. We realized that the knowledge of sexuality is not enough but we tried to integrate this knowledge into our present realities through our efforts to be opened to any of our relationships especially relationships with the opposite sex before our community and Spiritual Companion. Most of us had been asked pertaining our way of life, and people jokingly said that a life without a wife is bad for ones health. We found out that our clearness to our identity made us feel free to express ourselves with prudence and self responsibility.

Obedience
For us, obedience entails dialogue. We found out that open communication in tasks related or personal related issues helped us to put our position clear especially in living with community. Some of us had experienced stressful moments when some members of the community had not solved their own conflict, consequently, other members of the community were very much affected. We experienced that consultative and round table type of communication has helped us to exercise our freedom, thus, our creativity, initiative and assertiveness were enhanced.

Suggestions and Recommendations
The language courses that are offered in the different areas where stagiaires will be appointed have to be improved. The allocated time has to be increased and they should do it full time at the centre.

The accepting community must be a stable community. We ask the stagiaire's coordinator to help us on this matter. The stagiaires must be provided with all the possibilities for their apostolic work. A coordinator of stagiaires in the community must explicitly be known by the members of the community and the stagiaires themselves.

The issue about the Renewal of the Declaration of Intent must be given attention to. We found out the essence of it to our formation but it seems that there was a lack of information for those who are involved with stagiaires. We also asked to consider the mode of renewal which Rome had directed us to do it before the congregation. We suggested the people concerned to give the stagiaire his personal preference whether he will do it before the big congregation or before the community where the he stays, the provincial council, the other sister congregations or the parish council.
Allowance for stagiaires must be taken into consideration depending on the context.
A proposal was made for the next stagiaires meeting to be in Uganda.

Points for further Reflection:
Our animators posed to us a take-home question for further reflection. The question was; "How my pastoral experience helps me to live the priorities of the Missionaries of Africa like: Dialogue, Ecumenism, Justice and Peace and Witnessing Community?"

Conclusion
The last part of the meeting was the evaluation of the meeting itself. We found out that the meeting was well facilitated by our animators. There was a relax atmosphere though the sharing was heavy. Though flexibility was present, the animators and the stagiaires tried to be on time for the different activities. The place was very conducive for our meeting and food was good. We did not only work but as part of our reunion, togetherness and relaxation, on the 26th of April we went to Nairobi National Park to see the different animals and some endangered species. Afterwards we went to Maasai Ostrich Farm where we had our picnic there. Most of us had our first taste of Ostrich meat…Yummy!!! . The last of the nights of our meeting was crowned with a dinner out.
Generally, we found out that expectations for the meeting were met. We left the retreat house happy and ready to face again the challenges which are ahead of us.

Secretaries: Lito Doguiles and Victor Shehu

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