By Fr. Efren de Guzman, SVD
Eventhough it’s Christmas, the tragedies of Angola continue. But it’s because of a Mother and her Baby, that Fr. Efren sees hopes and struggles on. Please red his diary and asked yourself how you can help him and his companions.
Peace to you his Christmas! I don’t have anything to give you in the material sense; what I’m offering you in my own self. Allow me to start my sharing by telling you some recent events and experiences here in Angola.
Oct 4 (Wednesday) Tres Caras: 35 kilometers from the capital Luanda. Some drunk soldiers fired on four farmers, while that latter were sleeping in their houses. I attended their funeral. My Pastor –friend said during the funeral: “Today is a new day. With God’s help we can begin again. For we are in the land of a new beginning: ANGOLA. A new dawn of God’s light will shine on our path.”
Oct 7 (Saturday) Casas Novas: 30 kilometers from Luanda. An accident occurred in which 47 men and women were injured, but no deaths reported. We brought the injured to the hospital. It happened where the truck, running at great speed and bearing some 60 passengers, flipped over three times on the on the rugged highway. None of the babies got hurt! It’s miracle! One mother-catechist said, “Through this miracle our lives are enriched by the experience of God’s love to the little ones.”
Oct 10 (Tuesday) Evening: An encounter took place between the police and government soldiers in Kitangondo. After the fight, they immediately buried the fatalities – and some say, even the wounded – so that nobody would get to know about it. One of our caretakers named Silva, an orphan, was wounded, but not seriously. He said, “I can live with this wound for this blood is preparing me to meet my Maker.”
Oct 18: We, the catechist and teachers, celebrated the birthday of a Filipino Holy Spirit Sister, Sr. Evelyn Jose. We remembered her words: “For everything we should be grateful to God.”
Nov 5: While driving by car at the 5th Avenue, near the Convent of the Holy Spirit Sister, my mind suddenly went blank, losing track of time and not knowing where I was. I think this sudden experience of a black out of the mind is one of the debilitating effects of malaria. Good thing I knew, I still managed to stop the car and park it on the far side of the road. Next thing I know I was, weeping and many people were gathering around me, asking me what’s wrong, what happened. And then suddenly a thought just came over me: “Remember those people who love you.” You are one of those I thought of during that moment and inspired me to get hold of myself again.
Nov. 1 – 14: Our team continued to hold formation programs for the new and old catechists in Cacuaco, there were sixty-four participants who attended this activity.
Nov. 10 (Friday) we heard the sad news that Sr. Paula, one of ours sisters in Huila in the Southern part of Angola, was killed by the bandits in their retreat house. Three times I gave a retreat in their house. She was one of the most supportive and kind people around. We remember her in our prayers and reflections.
Nov. 15 (Wednesday): The representatives of the seven communities of farmers held a meeting in Kanangga (around 67 kilometers from Luanda). We discussed two main points: (1) The rampant attacks of the soldiers on the village, taking away with them the hard – gained harvest of the farmers. (2) The challenge of continuing to work after harvest. “A quitter never wins, a winner never quits.”
Nov. 16 (Thursday). Around eight o’clock in the evening, drunk soldiers entered our Leper Colony, disarmed the guard and terrorized the lepers and orphans. Because of this incident, I thought it was necessary that I myself, with the help of the volunteers, would guard the place at night. I then filed my complaint with the commander of the soldiers who were stationed in the area of Bengo. As usual, what I got from him was a promise that this thing would never happen again. It’s not the first time that the leper colony was terrorized by the soldiers, who are always drunk.
Dec. 3 On our way back to the Parish of Santo Antonio in Kifanggondo (25 kms. from Luanda), after taking a Holy Spirit aspirant sister to their convent in Funda (40 kms away from Luanda). We were already halfway between Kifanggondo and Funda, passing our Leprosaria, when we encountered two soldiers on the road (one of then was in the middle of the road, the other on thee far right side facing us), with their machine guns (AKA) aimed at us, they were already so close to us when we saw them that we didn’t have time anymore to avoid them or back off.
Attempting to elude them, I wheeled the Toyota Land Cruiser to the far left side of the road. That exposed the right side of the car to fire. At that moment, one of the soldiers (the one in the middle) took one step forward, lowered his AKA, and started shooting at us. Instinctively we ducked. For five seconds or so bullets were all over us. Shattering the side-window, bullets whizzed past just inches above our heads; two or three bullets slightly touched my head; one gazed the upper bask of Raymun. Since the firing was done indiscriminately, the bullets ricocheted in all directions. One bullet coming from behind on the right pierced the underside of the chassis of the car and hit Raymun in the foot. With the car now further on, from his AKA one of the soldiers launched a grenade, fragments of which hit the right and underside of the vehicle. A splinter slightly grazed my thigh, and broken pieces of glass landed on my head.
Allow me to close by saying that no matter how difficult and challenging our work and service for God’s people, let us always look for reasons to give thanks to the Lord. Let us look forward and move ahead, knowing that God’s grace will always be with us. Let me thank you for your continual support in our mission work. You are always in my prayers.
Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year.