OUR PARISH YOUNG PEOPLE WAKE UP TO THE NEW YEAR



Immaculate Giwa
BINJU-NKAMBE PARISH VOCATION GROUP BEGINS NEW YEAR WITH DETERMINATION TO SUCCEED
Last Saturday, 06 January 2007, the Vocations Group of the Parish met. Some 30 young people came together from 4 mission stations of Binju-Nkambe Parish, and two from Nkambe Town Quasi Parish. During the Eucharistic Celebration to begin their meeting, Father Robert Tanto called their attention to the difficulties to be expected in answering one’s call. He warned against dangers to one’s vocation which can come from carelessness and the presumption that one is strong to stand against temptations of all sorts. He told them the story of Father Pavol Kubicar, Parish Priest of Notfels in Voralberg, Western Austria, who had resigned as parish priest because he discovered he was going to be a biological father. He elaborated on the demands of chaste celibacy which candidates for the priesthood and the religious life must consider seriously.After Holy Mass, the group was taken for discussions by Brother Elijah of the Marist Brothers’ Formation House, Tatum, who had been invited to talk to the group about the Marish Brotherhood. After Brother Elijah’s delivery, the young people had many questions which made the discussion very lively. Questions covered the whole range of vocations, including Christian Marriage and Family Life and the different forms of consecrated life. Brother Elijah gave each of the participants a copy of A Short Life of Marcellin Champagnat, by Noel Dennis.
The discussion session ended at about 1.00 p.m. The young people of Binju had prepared a sumptuous lunch which they shared with the whole group. But before they could sit down to eat, the delegation of Germans who had been present for Makelia’s wedding arrived and shared a little time with them. The young people were glad to see Makelia, now Mrs Bam. They listened to her words of encouragement with keen interest. They took photographs.The group later met the German visitors at the presbytery and animated the sitting with their songs and dance. Before the adults could arrive to welcome the German visitors, the young people had been keeping visitors well entertained.
The next vocations group meeting was billed for Bakinchini on Saturday 03 February 2007. Interestingly, for the first time, Bakinchini had representatives at this last meeting. They were surprised to be asked to host the next meeting, but left with determination to make good preparations for it.
Robert Tanto.
Well, we had difficulty pasting the photos to our blog "Since our Parish Day Celebration 2", and so we sent the photos to Juan who has nicely pasted them. The two photos of the Weddings of Makelia and Ephriam, and Livinus and Raphaela have come up here as a new blog. It does not matter, really. This is only a reminder that it was a hectic celebration.
After the festivities, the couples are back to their daily routines. We were blessed in Binju with a visit from four of the delegation from Germany, accompanied by Makelia. Bernard, Regina, Peter and Christina had lunch with us on Saturday 6 January. Christina stayed behind to visit with the people she had met and loved when she worked on the Diocesan Youth Team.
We were very happy to have more time with her and to chat with her about her university studies, her family and all. She is at home in Binju. Our family just gets warmer and warmer.
We are very grateful to Juan for always being there to help us with the tecnicalities when we do not succeed to complete our story with the photos. The photos in this blog show the couples on their wedding day posing first with the concelebrating priests and then with the German delegation.
Since celebrating Mass 24 years ago for the mainly Presbyterian and traditional religion worshippers of Mbibu in Tabenken, the quarter of my birth, I went back there on 29 November to celebrate Mass at the graves of my grandparents. It was a faith inspiring celebration. I felt very highly honoured by the presence for the Mass of the Choir of Kungi Zone. A delegation of choir members also went from Binju. At the end of Holy Mass, the Quarter head who performs traditional priestly duties for his subjects submitted himself to receive my blessing. I felt very humbled and happy that my people recognise, even if only vaguely the priesthood of Jesus Christ which surpasses all other forms of priesthoods.
Of course, before Christmas the people of Kuta zone deserve a pastoral visit to prepare them for Christmas Celebration. Kuta is the most difficult to reach part of our parish. In the dry season one drives with a Suzuki Jeep as far as Mbande. Do not try to imagine the road. You have to go through the experience to know it. I cannot adequately describe it.
Any way, I got to Ande my first stop on 13 December. The little house we had been using for our Church has been taken back by its owner. Someone offered us an old little hut from which he had just removed a grinding mill to a better building. We set up a makeshift altar in this "new church" and celebrated Mass. Two people received communion at the Mass. No one went to Confession. Our dear Catechist, David has in the meantime taken a second wife! His first and properly married wife deserted him about a year ago. David tried in vain to take back his wife from someone in the same village. Now he thinks it is not possible for him to get rid of his new wife, since she is already pregnant.
I went on from Ande to Mbande where I stayed the night. As there were no people for the Mission Pastoral Council Meeting planned for that evening, I spent the remaining daylight hour searching for a spot where I could make a telephone call. Sure enough, I found one. I was able to find out about my mother who had been taken into hospital at Kumbo for surgery to remove cataract. The following morning I met a little community of some five Christians and some Catechumens and children.It is at Mbande we tried with the people to build a modest little house for the priests who visit the area. Pat's donation last April was put into aluminium sheets for the house. The back wall of the house collapsed in the rain before we could get the aluminium sheets on the rafters. The people assured me they would build back the collapsed wall before my next pastoral visit. Once we are able to us our "Fathers' House" at Mbande, we can afford to stay there for a week or two and visit the neighbouring villages from Mbande. From there one must trek to the other villages.
This last time, like in my previous visits, it took 2 hours of trekking time to Jevi from Mbande. I spent the night at Jevi in a dilapidated "catechists' House" Father Meulemans built after building the cement block Church dedicated to Lady, Mother of the Church. But I still had only one person for Confession the next morning, and two people for communion.We did not get crowds at our Christmas Masses as one would have expected. The night Masses are losing popularity because thieves generally break into homes when people leave them to go to night mass.
The year ended with some of our parish participating in the Wedding Mass at Kumbo for Makelia and Ephriam. I wish we had been able to bring the entire parish to witness the wedding. We have not had any Christian Marriage in the parish during the last year. In past years there have been very few marriages, and even those few were mostly by people who come to the parish because of their job and stay for a short time only. The local people just have not yet caught up with Christian Marriage.Kungi Community are still far from realising their new Church project as our application was turned down in Cologne. We continue to worship in the old Church which is giving way by the day. In spite of the poor state of the Church building, Kungi Church, which is the people, is a truly celebrating Church.
We have been rather quiet since our Parish Day Celebration. We just got our hands really full. It's time we got someone to keep up the blog. But we still must get someone willing to collect and publish news.Well, we were all shocked by the death of Mr Wacho Christian Nkoh, Head Teacher of Moh in Nkambe Town quasi Parish. It was a sad ending to our celebration in the diocese of Catholic Education Week from 30th October to 05 November. After the celebration of High Mass at the Nkambe "Grand Stand" to conclude the week, Mr Wacho mounted a taxi motorbike at the very grounds where Mass had ended. The bike had not gone ten metres when an oncoming car knocked it down. Wacho went unconscious and died in Shisong Hospital after a week of hospitalisation. His funeral drew crowds to Catholic School Moh premises where a concelebrated Requiem Mass was presided at by the Schools Manager, Father Christopher Seka. Father Joseph Clifford Ndi, the Catholic Education Secretary expressed condolence to the bereaved family.
On 24 November the Swiss Consul General was treated to a cultural jamboree at Tabenken. The occasion brought together most of the elite of Tabenken village. The Fon of Tabenken, HRH Fon Polycarp Ngwayi Ndiboti decorated many of his industrious sons with traditional titles. The cultural celebration was occasioned by the giving of the "Nformi" title to a young Swiss, René Egloff. René had come to Tabenken some months ago with James Mombeh, an indigene who lives in Bamenda and does professional photography. Renè worked on a research programme to discover the use of photograhs for the people. In the course of his research in Tabenken, René sponsored a minor water project in Tuku Primary School. Tuku primary school now has pipe-borne water. In a village where majority of the people do not have any access to pipeborne water, this was a very important gift to the school and to the village. Mr Egloff will be remembered in the village for a long time!
We celebrated FEAST OF CHRIST THE KING on 26 November. The celebrations at Kungi and Binju ended with Procession with the Blessed Sacrament through the streets. The procession in Binju last four hours. The people defied the midday sun and the dust. It was a very public expression of their faith. As we passed in front of shops and bars with the Blessed Sacrament, onlookers showed they respected the Catholic Programme even if they did not believe in it. They bowed or genuflected to the Blessed Sacrament.
Robert Tanto