Gianni Nicolì by Maison de Paix – 26 aprile 2022
Day at Maison de Paix (Ndunga – Congo)
It’s nice to tell our Italian friends about life here on the mission.
Nino, Dario, Bobo, and I are staying at Maison de Paix in two brick rooms with a bathroom and shower, although unfortunately, for technical reasons, we’ve been without water or electricity for a week.
It is clear how these two aspects of energy, linked to each other, are the most immediate and urgent objective of the expedition.
There’s a lot of work to do, and every day brings surprises, sometimes hard to accept.
The community of the Angeline Franciscan Sisters is made up of 12 members, including nuns, novices, and Congolese postulants, and they do everything they can to support us, despite the ongoing difficulties they face.
We get up early, around 6:00 a.m., and the sisters pray in French in the chapel, and we join them. The morning weather is always leaden, with heavy skies and very high humidity.
After breakfast, each of us devotes ourselves to our many tasks.
The fear of not being able to complete everything planned before returning to Italy is great.
Non stiamo un attimo fermi, le cose da fare incalzano e lo stress psicofisico è alto, ma siamo uniti, sereni e motivati. Ieri abbiamo incontrato 11 giovani del luogo, aderenti e selezionati dal Movimento dei focolari, con i quali stiamo attivando una collaborazione per la gestione delle due scuole professionali di falegnameria e sartoria e della casa alloggio dei volontari.
All the young people showed interest in the two-week internship we proposed to them.
They are distributed among the three sectors: construction, electrical, and pedagogical, according to their competencies. The day brings us powerful sunshine around noon, followed by the usual, equally powerful, afternoon and evening downpour.
Anche stasera pregheremo per tutte le nostre famiglie e gli amici lasciati a casa sapendo che tutti loro sono qui con noi con il pensiero e la partecipazione.
Meanwhile, we hear in the background the singing of many birds, but especially of our 140 students from the nursery and elementary school, who are the great joy and hope of this common commitment of ours.
More news to come soon.
Thank you all, or rather, Matondo Minghi!
