By Fr. Efren de Guzman, SVD
Is a Filipinos Priest in Angola

Josefa
One month after my arrival in Angola, I met a young catechist named Josefa. She was a good animator- active and joyful in the formation of the catechists.

Illness Strikes
One day she got very sick, a kind of ulcer with complications in the stomach caused by hunger. She brought to the hospital. We visited her, brought communion and prayed together.

Fear First
The doctor said she was dying. Her first reaction was fear. We tried to comport her by reading the Gospel. Gradually her courage returned and she said: “I’m lucky, I know I’ll die and I’ll meet the Lord face to face.”

Song for the Suffering
With this kind of inspiration, I was able to make a song dedicated to those who are suffering. For as we, know Angola is a war-torn country where thousand of people are dying of hunger and diseases, exploitation and injustices. The war started in 1961 against the Portuguese colonizers. But from 1975 up to now, they are fighting one another. Dialogue for peace has begun but the war continues.

Farewell Song
We visited her next time ready to sing the new song but, as we went to the hospital, we heard the news that she had just died. We went to her room where she lay on her deathbed and in the presence of her aunt, friends and other sick people, I sung this song:

Farewell Song
Junto ao teu leito de dor
Minha irma quero cantarte um
Linda poema de amor e baixinho
Segredor te “tem confianc no Senhor.”
Refrao:

E um amigo ao teu lado
Quer de noite quer de dia
Presente em tua agonia
Te mantem sempre velado
esse amigo e Jesus
Que te oferece seu amor
E porti ti sofren e por ti sofren na cruz
Oh...oh...
(Refrao)
Esse amigo e Jesus

(Together with you near your
 bedside of pain, I like to sing to
 my sister a beautiful poem of
love and to whisper to you “Have
confidence in the Lord.”

Refrain:

There’s a friend at your side
Whether in the night
Whether in the day
He is present in your agony
But always concealed.
This friend is Jesus
Who offers you his love
And who for you suffered on the cross.
(Refrain)
This Friend is Jesus.)

Fr. Efren de Guzman, SVD, is the only Filipino priest in Angola. He is in his 8th year of service to the lepers, the refugees, the orphans. He belongs to the diocese of Bengo and works in the parish of Kifangondo. He is known to many as the singing priest. He accompanies his catechesis with his guitar and his own composition.

In spite of wars, life goes on in Africa. African mothers make little money by preparing and selling meals.

The war started in 1961: dialogue for peace has begun but the war continues.