The Visit to Mityana Diocese Uganda Continues

Asher Kaufman, age 18, set out on June 28 for a yearlong trip to help spread the Children's Rosary in Europe and Africa. He spent the months of July, August and the first two weeks in September in France. He arrived in Uganda on September 15. He grew up helping the Children's Rosary and participating in it. He now is helping to spread the Children's Rosary to more parishes and schools. He is also discerning a vocation to the priesthood and has applied to the seminary through the Archdiocese of Hartford. Please keep both his trip and his vocation in your prayers. He has been sharing dispatches from the trip. 

"On Saturday Morning, September 20, after visiting Our Lady of Fatima Parish Mwera, Br. Bukenya, our driver, and I set out to visit Fr. Jude Ssali at Denis Centre Primary School some distance away. Fr. Jude (shown above) has, of course, been a longtime friend of the Children’s Rosary, and the first group in Uganda was formed at his parish (at that time Our Lady of Fatima). We arrived at Denis Centre Primary School where we were welcomed by the students with a very energetic welcome dance. After this, we entered the school campus and knelt in prayer of the Rosary. This was followed by Holy Mass celebrated by Fr. Jude. Subsequently, some teachers, parents, and a student came forward to give some filmed testimony about their experiences with the Children’s Rosary. What they shared was quite illuminating: the prayer lives of the children had been deepened; their affects were improved, and more. Everyone was very open and happy to see us. In the evening, we went with Fr. Jude to his parish of Lwangiri. There we spent the night, and the next morning, Sunday, we had Mass at 7:00 am with the secondary and primary school students from the schools nearby. 

I gave a short talk on the Children’s Rosary and my visit, and then this was followed by another Mass at 9:00 for the parishioners where I gave a similar short talk at the end. Following Mass, some secondary school children who had been pioneers of the Children’s Rosary when they were in primary school and who had been dedicated members came to give more testimony about how their experience in the movement had impacted their lives. Fr. Jude also recorded similar statements about what he had witnessed. In the afternoon, we went to visit St. Michael’s Primary School, a private school founded by Catholics that has a regularly meeting Children’s Rosary group. We prayed the Rosary together, and Fr. Jude celebrated another Mass, following which the children (who were all quite musically accomplished) put on a very high quality show with dances and instrumental music that I quite liked.

The performance was interrupted for quite a long while, however, by some particularly heavy rain which moved in suddenly. The water came down in buckets, and very soon the area around the school began to wash out. The gusts of wind blew the water in through the windows, forcing us to move away from the walls. By the end, the paths to the school were so thoroughly soaked that the mud clung to my shoes in copious amounts. Nevertheless, I think we were all glad for the rain because it is currently the rainy season, and thus it is good for the crops to receive such precipitation.

 Afterwards, the students presented us with some avocadoes and sugarcanes as gifts, some of which we prepared and ate that very night. Nearly everyone was quite tired after this day, which had begun at 7:00 and had not ended until well into the evening. However, the next morning, we set off bright and early for the parish of Bukalagi where Fr. Pius has been overseeing the implementation of the Children’s Rosary in some outposts of the parish. We visited the subparish of St. Mary’s Kanoni, whether the children have named their group, “Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Children’s Rosary group.” They were so kind as to take time off from their classes to receive me. I was able to meet those responsible for the group and spend some time, though we soon had to move on to the next stop. This was St. Charles Primary School, which falls within the parish limits. The reception was a bit more intimate as there were fewer students present on that day, but nevertheless I found that I took well to that format as it gave more time to meet and acknowledge each student. We made one more stop at Kifampa Modo Primary School where we greeted a group of the learners who participated in the Children’s Rosary at their parish before we returned to the main parish church with Fr. Pius. There, we had to wait to visit the children at the boarding school nearby because of the rains, which were quite heavy like the day before though not quite as intense. When we finally were able to go to the school, I was very impressed with how respectful and attentive the students were. They were genuinely happy to see us, and they gave very interesting testimonies about how the Rosary and the intercession of Mary had impacted their lives. Finally, just before leaving, I paid a visit to a small community of nuns who live near the parish. Their order works in hospitals and schools and was founded in Masaka, where we went afterward. We will spend nearly a week in Masaka, visiting groups and attempting to start new ones. A family that Br. Henry knows is kindly hosting us for a part of that time, and we are very grateful. I continue to be grateful as well for the opportunity to see such devoted Children’s Rosary groups and to witness the powerful testimony that we have heard."

To see all of Asher's dispatches from his journey click HERE