The Wedding at Utalingoro Parish

I hope I shared with you about the Upendo Family in Mafinga. It had been invaded by some lazy people who want to enjoy without work. I went and expelled all of them from the Family and now the children enjoy their peace. I took a joint picture for all of them as they came from school. Only seven of them remain as the others have graduated from the Elementary School and have joined their families while Gift has joined the Madeke Orphans Upendo Farm as you saw him in the first post.

It is not always about the orphans. I had to bless a marriage at Utalingoro Parish and that was a funny moment too! There was a traditional dance and I couldn't have missed it. So I joined and danced forgetting I still had the catholic vestments with me. That is East African Catholicism, simplified series!

Children around here have to make sure that as they come from school they collect firewood for cooking the evening meal. So from school they must come back with a bunch of dry wood.

Dear friends this should be enough to give you of the little things that happen to me as days run so fast to Christmas. I wish all of you the best of luck and let us pray for one another. Hope to see you soon.
May the Lord bless you all.

An itinerary of events

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I had a chance to conduct a recollection at the Consolata Fathers Seminary in Morogoro and that was wonderful. Sharing stories about their vocation and the hurdles they have to jump. About the centrality of love in their ministry. The seminary has currently 30 major seminarians from all over Africa. The seminary has a lot of fruits. I stayed with them for a week.

 

After a stay in Morogoro I returned to the Diocese and went for the third time to Madeke to send some two young orphan graduands of Elementary School so they can start cleaning the farm as they wait for their exam results in December this year.

The young pineapple is growing luxuriant and is really sweet!

 

 

               

The visit of the Songea Diocese Archibishop

Dear Friends in Christ,

Yesterday I and the Vicar General of the Diocese of Njombe had gone on an adventure to reconnoiter a site for a mini hydro electric turbine for a new Parish in Utalingoro quite close to the Cathedral. The place was remote and dangerous but we came home safe and sound. None faced the wrath of the green and black mambas, snakes that are so poisonous that it will take only ten minutes to travel to the nether world!

Tomorrow on Sunday we will be visited by the Archibishop Norbert Mtega native of this same diocese who celebrates 25 years as a Bishop. I do not particularly favor jubilees. I remember that Jesus celebrated none of these and although he had come to announce a Jubilee year, it was for the poor not for Himself. But we can always pray for the bishops and priests that they may model on the spirit of Christ who was simple and dedicated to his mission of human liberation from all oppressive social structures.

Which is the greatest commandment in the Torah? Love God and your neighbor as yourself. Makes some sense in a world where hate is the fashionable. It is in dying that we are reborn and in giving that we receive (St Francis). How true!

Love you all and God bless us all and grant us His joy and Peace!

I will try to update the blog soon! Power and internet accessibility are the real challenges so far!

Another visit to my home village

Yesterday, I had to visit my nephews and their families as I wanted to give them corrugated iron sheets for their grass thatched houses. It was a great moment for us all as we experienced the grace of being together and sharing whatever resources we have.

Today we received in our diocese our archibishop, Rt Rev Norbert Mtega from the Archidiocese of Songea.
He will stay here for the night and will proceed to Makete tomorrow after receiving the First Communicants here at the Cathedral

I hope all of you are fine and are doing well till next time.

Dear friends, yesterday I went to Madeke the site of the future Tanzania Orphans Upendo Community (Touco). It was raining cats and dogs and we got stuck on the road but we finally succeeded to be home.

Before we can start building houses for the families we need to expand the Primary School in the Madeke Village and make it more modern to accommodate more pupils. The challenge is to increasing three houses for teachers. This will cost almost almost 24 000 dollars.




I wish you all the best and hope to continue bringing you some more stories as we go

.The Grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

The concrete wall on the making and the hopes of the Corn Mill are raised!

The Corn Mill which I started financing two years ago is taking shape and is well on the go. The costs for cement have stalled the construction of this concrete wall to dam the stream but they will continue later...

This stream will finally be blocked to create a dam to raise the water level so that a fall is made possible to drive a turbine which will run the CORN Mill to help easen women problems of having to move miles for a weeks corn flour to make 'ugali' for their families.

He can be very attentive when you talk to him. As you can see he has a club foot.

To my left is my married nephew. He has five children. He younger brother has four kids! My uncle was cracking  funny jokes and I had to ask him a question on the history of our family! I asked him "Uncle, why are you not dying? You probably took some local medicine to live so long without having to die" He categorically denied that allegation. It is for us traditionally a taboo to ask such a silly question. He can only put up with that because he is old and I seem to be modern to him. Otherwise he would hold me with contempt and refuse to answer any further silly questions from me! Teasing him about death makes him come live again! His name can be lengthened traditionally to " Uhufwa si mwiho, umganga munofu" Translated "dying is not a taboo because the soil (dirt, where people are buried) is good"

To my right is my uncle Kufasimwiko (meaning "dying is not a taboo"). He is almost 93 years. He has a wonderful eyesight, hearing and sharp brains. He can crack funny traditional jokes!

Some of the Kindergarten children in my home village. The Headmaster of this school is a former schoolmate

This is the stream to be blocked

This stream will finally be blocked and a dam will raise the level of the water which will directed to a fall to drive the turbine and run a corn mill for the villagers. The first step is on!

This project of the corn mill I started financing two years ago. It is taking shape but very slowly. Here is the concrete wall which the Makanjaula Villagers have built half way but got stuck due to cement expenses. Rome was not build in a day too!

We need a water driven corn mill in my village. These guys are on the way to a mill eight miles away!

Back in Tanzania

Saturday, October 8, 2011




Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,
I promised to update my blogpost last Wednesday but as I had told you the world over here is a different world. Internet access is not only an issue but a hazard.
I visited my my home village where I was born and saw my only uncle who is circa 93 years old. He cannot walk but is able to see, speak, hear and crack jokes. He has never seen the inside of the a hospital and has never taken a pill. He lives alone 3 miles from the closest village close to one of the densest mountain forests in the district. I would be scared but he is never scared. He has no wife, no child and no friend and yet peaceful and tranquil. He lives exactly on the spot where I was born 59 years ago. My paternal grandma also is buried here. Besides me is my nephew who is now helping this old man have his basic necessities. All is well!


The villagers in my home village have a problem of grinding their corn to get corn flour for the traditional staple meal known as 'ugali'. They travel at times 20 miles back and forth to have to grind their corn for a week's flour supply. Two years ago I started funding a project to have a 'water powered' corn meal in our village and it is slowly taking shape. We will block a stream, raise its level and lead the water to a steep gradient to force it drive a mill that will grind our corn and then we will finally save all women the trouble of going twenty miles! It will take time but Rome was not built in a day!

This project is on the way. The Villagers supply their labor but cement and steel bars are dearly expensive.

My village has a Kindergarten and they enjoyed having a picture as I visited them in Makanjaula.The Headmaster of the school which I first attended in 1962 is a former school mate from a neighboring Village.


I wish all of you all the best and God's blessings!

continued...









Posted by DENYUTALI at 8:33 AM 0 comments
Monday, September 26, 2011

Dear friends in Christ,

The updates have been very late coming. I am trying to see if I can send anything today. Yesterday I wrote all the travel from Boise to Dar es salaam but when I tried to post it, the computer could not send the message.

My flight from Boise was smooth up to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. From Portland Airport we passed through Canada by South Greenland and Iceland, then over Ireland and Britain to Schiphol in Holland. The flight was excellent with a lot of wine and eating!

I stayed in Dar es Salaam before proceeding by bus to my diocese about 700 Kms from Dar es Salaam. The road is paved so there wasn't any bumps. It was a tiring travel because of the distance. I reached Njombe Diocese Friday night.

I have not yet gone to my home Parish because I wanted to see the bishop before I left. Today I met and talked with the Bishop personally and we had a priestly diocesan meeting which ended just now. I have met most priests of the diocese today ( about 105 priests). It was such joyous moment for all of us as we discussed critical issues in the diocese. Priest are now fund raising to build their own school in Lugarawa. Education is the main focus of the bishop in the diocese.

I have not seen any of my relatives in my home Parish. I expect to see them on Wednesday. I will go there around evening, someone will give me a lift to my home village and will take some pictures if possible.

I want to thank all of you for your prayers and well wishing. I hope we continue praying for one another in the hope of seeing each other again.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the communion of the Spirit be with you all.
I hope to update the blog on Thursday if the internet service will be accessible.

Fraternally,

Fr Bruno Denyutali Mgaya


 

Village in Tanzania

Today I concluded a wonderful Retreat at Nazareth Center and all my childhood images flooded my mind. I remembered the wild animals which used to frighten me and the houses I used to live in as I grew up. I remembered my gone parents, brother and sisters. I literary became younger and happier by just being back home in place and time. Memories can transport us very far and we become transcendental, oblivious of our immediate surroundings. I can't imagine I was in Nazareth Center in Boise!!