Birkinesh Yosef (CLM who lives at the Child Jesus Center of Life Community) with her adopted daughter, Terefech (who is seven years old).

Throughout the entire road journey, people of all ages carried wares on their heads, in their arms, on their backs, and on donkeys as they walked from home to market and back. Once out of the city, very few vehicles were seen; the mode of transportation was chiefly on foot. Sr. Therese indicated the towns, markets, interesting sites, and different communities of people along the way as Tilawork, our driver, remained mindful of the people and animals that traveled the road with us. More than once, we needed to stop for a cow or donkey in our path.

Our mission is located in a remote place, so traveling during daylight was essential. Electricity is a commodity we take for granted in developed countries; here, at night there is total darkness, the sounds of hyenas and dogs barking, while the rain falls. We have current every other day and must depend on the use of a generator during the “off” days. As a result, Internet connection is not guaranteed and is more missing than present.

For the past ten years we Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus have been in this country, working side by side with the women, men and children from this area. What began as compassionate presence among the sick and dying has evolved into hospital ministry, education of the very young, an orphanage for abandoned children, feeding and water programs for those most in need, women’s promotion and a Formation program for our Candidates, Novices and newly Professed Sisters.

How can I describe the beauty of the people and the mission here? The young women, with whom we live and work at Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novices Elfinesh Zergena, Aster Sugebo and Veronica Philipos, come from three areas of this country. As a result, English is their third or fourth language after Amharic and the native language of their tribes. Communication among us often results in laughter as we try to understand various concepts and translations. We have exchanged expressions from our different cultures, and so now I can say “tolo-tolo” (hurry up, come quickly) as I summon them at the end of a break time. They have learned to say “salamet” (thank you) from the Filipino culture and use such expressions as “our time together has been short and sweet.”

At the parish church of Our Lady of Lourdes, we meet people of all ages who sometimes travel a distance to attend mass which is celebrated daily at 6:45 am. The sunrise is lovely and welcomes us on our way to liturgy. Greetings exchanged among us are reverent and extend a sense of blessing to each other. The singing, drum beat, clapping of hands to the rhythm of the songs, and bowing, all convey their great love for God. It is a joyful way to begin each day.

Sr. Bernadette Anello, MSC with fourteen of the sixteen Candidates and three Novices at the Dubbo Catholic Mission Compound

The family of one of our Candidates, Aynalem Paulos, invited us to have lunch at her family’s tukul (round shaped dwelling). It was an honor to meet her mother, two sisters and niece. We feasted on local dishes that were elegantly prepared in Ethiopian fashion, served on a large basket-like table with injera (thinly prepared bread) that is unrolled and place on the plate before adding the various meats and vegetables that make up the meal. Produce is grown by the individual families as is true at the MSC mission compound, resulting in fresh lettuce, corn, green vegetables of every hue and size, as well as fresh milk from cows and home grown coffee beans.

Volunteers from Spain, Lolita Garcia Aoiz and Celia Perez Gonzales, were also here during my visit. It was wonderful to see these individuals who have returned to this mission for the past three years donating a month of their time to work with the children in providing food for them (often 500 at a time), taking their photos and helping to organize the files of the sponsored children who will begin the new school year soon. Please visit Lolita's website for more information on conditions on the ground in the Dubbo Catholic Mission in Ethiopia. Sr. Celia Cid, from Stella Maris Province was also here, returning as she has done for the past eight years to provide clothing and food for the hundreds of children who come on foot and in need. Sr. Consoli Martin, one of our MSCs from Spain, was present for one month’s experience on this mission; it was a pleasant surprise to be reunited with these two Sisters I already knew and to meet the two women who all gave so lovingly and generous of their time and presence.

The four Missionary Sisters who care for this mission, along with the six newer professed Sisters, have an outreach that bears witness to the love of the Heart of Jesus. Wherever I went, whatever I experienced, gave testimony to this fact. Sr. Maria Regina Canale attends to the administration of this mission compound from morning to night time; Sr. John Giani is responsible for St. Mary’s Small General Hospital, where Sr. Genet Henok is head nurse for the pediatrics unit and Sr. Tadelech Kastro is assistant financial director. Sr. Francisca Coelho Silva is “mother” to all the little ones who were abandoned or orphaned, and now are receiving loving care and preparation for adoption. There were forty-one children at the Child Jesus Center of Life when I visited this home. Birkinesh Yoseph, our first and newly committed CLM in Ethiopia, also lives and works here with the children.

Class in the Spirituality of St. Frances Cabrini with our three MSC Novices, Srs. Veronica, Elfinesh and Aster.

Sr. Therese Merandi is Novice Directress and provides the formation programs for Novices, Candidates and Aspirants. She accompanies them throughout their process which can sometimes mean a preparation of five to six years. Sr. Alemenesh Otoro, the women’s promotion director, assists at the Novitiate and the Candidates’ House. Sr. Hanna Dimma is a full time student of pharmacology in Addis Ababa, and the resident Sister at St. Mary’s Students House where seven of our Candidates are also studying. Sisters Amarech Herego and Addise Agago are coordinators and teachers of our Montessori Kindergartens as well as working with vocation and youth ministries.

There are presently sixteen Candidates; half study in Addis Ababa and Dilla, while the other half work in women’s promotion and teach in Dubbo. They have already completed professional studies and continue to study English, Biblical and Cabrinian content along with the first to third year Aspirants, who number ten at present.

At the invitation of Sr. Therese, I was able to join our Sisters and Candidates in Dubbo for a two week period in which I taught classes in spirituality to the Junior MSCs, Novices and Candidates. Other MSCs have done the same over the course of the past few years, providing a rich and varied experience of our Cabrinian charism. Among these have been Sisters Patricia Spillane, Joan McGlinchey, Eileen Currie, Marina Teixeira de Araujo, Ines Caixeta Silva, Barbara Staley and Diane Olmstead. Such an approach to Formation has been a gift for each of the presenters as well as the recipients.

In true Cabrinian fashion, there were opportunities to celebrate birthdays and feast days, as well as welcome and say farewell to each of us who came and went. The Novices would bake a cake for each occasion, while Junior Sisters and Novices were talented in making different kinds of pizza besides presenting delicious Ethiopian meals.

It is not possible to capture the scope of culture, mission presence and works in such a short period of time. What has happened, however, is that I can appreciate the dedication and love with which each person on the mission gives of herself or himself. At the end of a day, the little ones sleep peacefully, the tasks have been completed with great care, co-workers return home, the Sisters share the events of the day, the young women prepare their lessons, prayers of thanksgiving are offered, and nightfall descends.

Africa continues to walk, to dream, to work, to pray…and God accompanies them.

Bernadette Anello, MSC