| |
December 2004, Singapore and the International Catholic Community
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
A few of us have had the good fortune of meeting, here in Singapore, a gentle, dedicated priest from Kenya, Father Patrick Mugambi Kubai, who is trying very hard to spread the Good News in his parish in Tigania, Meru.
Life in Africa is hard, as it is in any overseas mission. Starvation, malnutrition, disease, drought are some of the daily realities for many parts of Africa and other Third World countries. Beyond the extreme hardship, life is still a hard struggle for these disadvantaged communities.
We take for granted many of the simple amenities in our lives, such as good roads and security. Many in the poor communities in Kenya, however, have no choice but to take long, perilous journeys on foot just to worship.
There is much we have to be thankful for: our peace, our comforts and our lives filled with every imaginable convenience. Life is good to us because we have been blessed in so many ways that we are sometimes numbed by the good life.
We have started this internet appeal as a means of reaching out to each and every one of you in the international community, so you can join in to help. We are not proposing any large goals in our appeal: to end hunger or fight injustice; these large goals we leave to God. No, we are proposing something very small here: this appeal may just serve the Tigania community and another community, this one-time or repeated from time to time. What is important that, in the same way Father Patrick was placed into our path, we now place this appeal in your path to help His community in any way.
What is important is that in our small, humble ways, we do something for the here and now, and let God take care of the bigger issues in all our lives.
Please consider Father Patrick's message, as the first of a possible series of appeals. If you wish to offer help in a repeat or permanent context, please send us your contact details. Should you have any query, please feel free to contact any of us. Every effort has been taken to give you some measure of assurance, so that you can appreciate that this is a serious appeal for a serious evangelical cause. I would like to leave you with a passage from Matthew's Gospel that we hope will help you understand how much you can do (Matthew 25: 37-41):
| ' Lord, when did we see you a stranger and make you welcome, lacking clothes and clothe you? When did we find you sick or in prison and go to see you? And the King will answer, "In truth I tell you, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me".' |
Yours truly,
|
|
|
