MISSION TALK | KAIROS GLOBAL | 2022

Author: Treesa Shaji

Intro: It was an adventure with my bestie – Jesus Christ, says Treesa Shaji of her one-month mission to Uganda.

Isaiah 6:8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Then I said, ‘Here I am! Send me’.  All that I had to do was to say ‘Yes’ and the rest was taken care of by Him. I was blessed with a month full of joy, love and plenty of new experiences. 

Just like in the past two years, this year too, a mission month was observed in the UAE. We got to hear about missions, missionaries and their experiences. As a member of the English youth group, I attended the session by full-time missionary Daimy Francis. His answer to one of the questions left a deep impression on my heart. ‘Not everyone will have the desire to go for mission. If you have a desire, a wish in your heart to go for mission, that itself is the indication that God desires it.

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Every year, for the past few years I had been asking my parents but their answer had always been no. So I prayed and told Jesus that if he wished for me to go on mission, he would convince my parents. And when I asked my parents this time if I could go for mission instead of coming home for my vacation, they finally permitted me. 

I was allocated Katoosa parish in Uganda as my mission place. And was placed with a beautiful family who welcomed me to their home and their life with abundant love – the home of Ugandan JY seminarian, Brother Robert. To his mother, I was yet another daughter, whom she would scold for eating very little food. As promised, Jesus sent me a friend, Goretti to help me move around, be with me and communicate with others. The local language, Rutooro, was very different and difficult to understand, so Goretti would help as my interpreter

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The village was very beautiful, blessed abundantly by nature and pleasant weather. I wondered if the African authors and artists who wrote our childhood story books were inspired by the beauty of this place. 

Fr Venancio, the parish priest, was so kind that he would take me along for his pastoral services. I was surprised to see the enthusiasm and love the people there had for Christ. For them, being able to celebrate Holy Mass in their church was one of the greatest gifts and they would celebrate it with tremendous joy, love, and faith, and with singing and dancing. Each Holy Mass was a celebration for them. 

Being a person who loves to travel, meet new people, learn new languages and enjoy new tastes, this whole month was indeed a blessing for me. The new way of greeting, a new culture, lifestyle, and of course, the food – so different yet mouthwatering and healthy, straight from their own farms. That part of Uganda has a culture of addressing each other with a nickname, and as an ‘adopted’ member of their family, they gave me a nickname too.

Prior to going on this mission, I could never imagine spending an entire day in prayer. But miraculously, Jesus took me through a month of prayer. Normally when I plan my day, it would be imperfect, but here Jesus planned it and he planned so beautifully that each day had plenty of surprises. 

We would go visiting houses and once we visited a family where the mother, though married to a Catholic, was never interested in Catholic prayer. Preaching was not my cup of tea, so I simply told her about my family, friends, Jesus Youth and thus my mission. After listening to me, she began to ask a lot of questions with great interest. When our conversation ended, she requested us to pray for her little son, who was unable to talk and walk normally. Together we prayed for her and her son. As we prepared to leave, I gave her a rosary and scapular. To my surprise, she asked me to teach her the Rosary right there. It probably was the first time in my life that I prayed the Rosary with such devotion and faith. Within the next 45 minutes, she learnt to pray the Rosary. Just before leaving, I asked what her name was. She said, Monica. And there, God gave me another opportunity to speak of him. 

Since the schools were closed, all the kids and youth were at their homes. And we were able to meet more youth, gather them together and pray together. 

Yes, when we get close to Jesus, it’s obvious that evil will begin playing new tricks. For me, it came in the form of sickness, fear and uncertainty of the pandemic. Every Wednesday, we had Eucharistic Adoration in the parish for the whole day, and that was what kept me moving forward. 

The month-long preparation for the mission with the help of all the preparatory material helped me prepare for different aspects of the mission.

When we usually talk of a solo trip, we have different ideas of how it is always awesome. But for me, it was never a solo trip for I always had my ‘bestie’ – Jesus Christ on this adventure. And going for adventures with our best friend is the most memorable and precious treasure of our life.

Author info: Treesa Shaji works as a logistics executive in Dubai, UAE.