MISSION TALK WITH JOE MAMPALLI | KAIROS GLOBAL | JULY 2019

Author: Joe Mampalli

Intro: Joe Mampalli, Jeslin and their eight children went for a one month mission trip and share their experience.

For long, Joe Mampalli has been dreaming about going for a mission experience as a family. But the mission journey kept getting delayed. However, the dream of a mission trip was in their prayers.

Meanwhile, they were under tremendous troubles in UAE. By the end of 2013, they decided to move back to Kerala after a long 17-years in UAE. Moving back to Kerala was not easy for them, especially for the kids. It was as if moving to an entirely new place; new school, new friends, and a totally new environment. Meantime, Jeslin conceived and baby Jones, their eighth child arrived in October 2014. 

Amidst all these, they continued to pray for the mission experience.  A wake-up call was given by Gem, their eldest daughter during her 10th exam. Once again, they started to plan for mission; ideally after the exams and before the results were out. Joe decided to consult his good friend, Fr Mathew Puthiyidom MCBS, who was in charge of the Mengio mission, under the Itanagar Diocese of Arunachal Pradesh, India. When shared about the dream, Fr Mathew encouraged them and asked them to start as soon as possible. The JY Mission desk was also happy about their decision as they felt a big family mission trip will encourage other families, as well. 

Our Challenges

Now, going quickly was not that easy. Lot of challenges were ahead us. Arunachal is not easy to reach. The train tickets are booked almost four months in advance. But, if we are for it and God allows, what can stop us? God had another plan. Flight from Chennai to Guwahati was available! A big family with eight children, with three of them below 5-years would have had a difficult train journey since it takes three days to reach Guwahati and another two days to our destination.

We also had another gift from God, Jeslin was pregnant and the growth of our 9th child was in progress. This caused a doubt whether God wants us to hold the trip. However, we decided to go ahead. We were able to purchase roundtrip tickets with an affordable price and we felt it was a confirmation to go ahead.

There was definitely fear within me, going to an unknown tribal place with a wife and children. While praying, we realised our weakness - fear- which means we do not trust in God and in his unfailing love and protection. Lord has his own way; we were accompanied by a young guy -Clint, a plumber and electrician who was assigned with some responsibilities at Mengio. He was to accompany us.

Our Mission begins

We started our journey on April 13, 2016. Fr Mathew himself came to receive us at Guwahati airport and took us to the Itanagar Bishop’s House. We were given a warm welcome by Fr Manu, Secretary of Bishop and the Sisters in charge of the house. Next day, after the morning special mass and breakfast, we started our journey to Mengio which is 160 Kilometres from Itanagar, of which 65 kilometers is completely off-road.

A 30-40 days stay is a short period for any mission. Rather than terming it a mission, I like to term it as a formation trip. What I realized during the mission is about the importance of prayers we need to raise for the missionaries stationed there. The tough life situations, extreme climates, different culture, other dangers, all combined makes the life a tougher one. Only the love of Christ, passion for Kingdom of God can make one continue the mission. 

The people of Mengio

The villagers were very nice, simple people. They work hard from early morning to evening in the fields. They mainly cultivate rice and maze.  Every house we went and stayed served us cooked rice and one curry out of leaves they plucked. They just boil certain leaves and that's the curry for the cooked rice. No salt or chillies to add taste. Since priests were there, they honoured them by making additional curry of chicken. Again, no salt and chillies or spices!

Though baptized as Catholics most of their men are married to two or more women. The family normally has four to eight children from more than one wife. That's the difference we promoted by our presence rather than any preaching. 

We visited a few parishes in different villages. The church buildings were made of bamboo woods. Roof covered with GI corrugated sheets and some has cemented floor.  While we pray in big churches with all the facilities and with architectural elements, there are people at remote places offering masses in halls with unfinished floor, bamboo structure and bamboo braided walls and leaf/tin sheet roofs.

After we were introduced, I was asked to share my God experiences. It was a time for me to remember and share about God's beautiful ways of guidance. The people were happy to hear the experiences,  and was eager to learn more about God's ways. 

More surprises

Meanwhile, Jeslin noticed bleeding and we were deeply disturbed.  No doctor, no help, not even a phone to consult. Since the baby's life was important, we wanted to meet a doctor. But a vehicle was not available. Fr Biju, who was at Itanagar somehow managed to send a vehicle. We ttok Jeslin to a hospital and tests revealed a blighted embryo. (There was no life- only the sack).  Jeslin underwent a D&C and was discharged immediately. If it was known that the womb carried a blighted embryo before the start of the mission trip, the doctors would have advised D&C and subsequent time to rest jeopardizing our trip. 

There was also a youth retreat towards the end organized by Mengio Catholic Mission, and conducted by the Santvana Community. We had a chance to be with Alexy, Shiney and their children. Along with them, our kids conducted skits and flash mobs during the youth retreat which moved the Mengio youth.

Life was not easy for me; I had a tough life in UAE. The projects I did in Iraq during the war period of 2003, construction projects at adverse conditions, business ventures, failures, birth of children at frequent intervals and the daily difficulties, financial struggles – but while undergoing all these troubles how God guided us was the message to deliver. In a way, the mission trip was a time to rewind all the troubles and remember the Lord's ways as how he guided us through it all. Personally, it was the time to thank God for all the blessings. The struggles in our life is now an inspiring story for others. 

In general, a moving out is necessary for any family. It’s a time to re-examine, a time to share our God experiences for the benefit of others, to remind us and the family to continue in his ways, trusting more deeply.