On a Mission from God:
“Abaraka, Bara, Anumbara, yo, dieuredjieuf, merci, grazie, thank you!”
to God and the Sisters
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Salam Maleikum, hi everyone!
After spending three years in Senegal, I realize that only time will help me understand all the richness and depth of this experience. It was great being able to see first hand the “african” face of Mother Frances’ charism.
I have been living in Keur Mbaye Fall, about ten miles from Dakar, Agape St Damiano (our formation house) and Casa Alleluia in Parcelles Assainies. All these are in the suburbs of Dakar, which is the beautiful, rich, and chaotic capital of this country.
I also had the opportunity and joy to spend some time at our community in Samine, which is in Casamance and in Koungheul, in the middle of the brousse (the brush)! This allowed me to know more from within about the three following realities. They are completely different; at the same time, they are deeply connected.
The City
Dakar, with its three million inhabitants, (1/4 of the whole Senegalese population), is like one of our European cities... one can find everything!
The Banlieue (residential areas on the outskirts of a city), such as Parcelles and Keur Mbaye Fall, look like the typical suburbs of a large city -- with all the same problems and issues.
The Rural Areas, which, little by little, attempt to develop and offer to their people more dignified living conditions.
My experiences were many and varied. I decided to use as symbols some objects that, during these past years, have become quite familiar to me:
Calebasse (a gourd). This empty pumpkin is dried and used to collect water and prepare food. It is the symbol of life par excellence. The calebasse is empty inside. This emptiness taught me that “being in a mission” is not being in a physical place, but an attitude. Mission is going back to experiencing God, allowing other brothers and sisters to find that they are beloved children whom God seeks, in order to build justice and peace among peoples. In Senegal, Christian communities are still a minority within a land that is mostly Islamic. Yet, Christians have an attitude of openness and the ability to create dialogue, relationships and opportunities for sharing.
Pagne (traditional fabric). Nobody can live without pagne: each ethnic group has a different style and colors to weave the pagne. It can be traditional or modern, woven or printed. The pagne clothes women, covers babies carried on the women’s back, is used by men in traditional celebrations, is laid on the ground when important people arrive... a pagne given as a gift, especially in particular occasions, means a wish that the person receiving it continue struggling with and for life.
The Ocean As in all of Senegal, the ocean too is like a dance, with its rhythms and movements. Listening to its music I was invited to “enter and participate in the dance” of life, of God.
The immensity, power, and beauty of the ocean made me think many times of the power and beauty of this country, the strength of the Sisters who, amidst many difficulties, spend their lives daily and the beauty of so many of our ministries which are at the service of life.
At the end of this experience, I find myself with only one word: “Abaraka, Bara, Anumbara, yo, dieuredjieuf, merci, grazie, thank you!” to God and the Sisters who gave me this time, and the wish to each one of you to live an enriching experience in another Area of our beautiful family.
- Sister Raffaella Maresca, SFP