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. From Uganda he traveled by car to Rwanda on September 28. After a week in Rwanda there was once more a return for more travel in Uganda. On October 11 he arrived in Tanzania and on October 26 traveled to Kenya. A visit for three weeks to Madagascar followed on November 7. Most recently he arrived in South Africa.
"Upon setting out for Aliwal North, the bus left Johannesburg Park Station in the evening and arrived in Aliwal at about 2:00 a.m. I should say that this visit to Aliwal would not have been possible without Br. Henry Bukenya, the brother who has done so much for the Children's Rosary in Uganda and Rwanda. He knew Bishop Kizito quite well and put us in contact.
We were picked up by Fr. Mlulami New, a priest of the diocese. Bishop Joseph Kizito had invited me to come with Deacon Alpheus, but he was not able to be there himself. Fr. Mlulami took us to stay at a "youth centre" not far from the diocesan offices. This youth center was a place of retreat, it seemed, with dormitories and large open space outdoor activity. There was a Stations of the Cross path that wound its way up the hill nearby; both Deacon and I wanted to do this but never got around to. 
In Aliwal, we were quite busy; the same morning when we arrived, we had a meeting with not just Fr. Mlulami but also Sr. Gladys (a nun of the diocese), Sr. Petronella from Zimbabwe, and Fr. Joseph Bukenya (another priest of the diocese in charge of children and originally from Uganda).
After our meeting, we were given a tour of the youth center and were able to see all of the good work they are engaged in, such as providing training courses free of charge to young people to train them in the trades, such as carpentry, plumbing, and welding. They also had much livestock, such as chickens, pigs, cows, and bees. 
The next day, we visited two parishes in Aliwal North. I spoke and we all prayed together at each stop. These were in townships where the parishioners were very poor, and I was able to see how the lifestyle there differed from just a short distance away in town. The children were wonderful to pray with, and they took well to the rosary.
Everyone we spoke with in Aliwal as so supportive of the Children's Rosary that I am very confident about the future of the movement there.
Soon, however, it was time to leave, and on Thursday evening we took the bus to Port Elizabeth. Port Elizabeth is one of the most important coastal towns in South Africa, and during our stay there we visited the Oratory of St. Philip in town.
The Oratories of St. Philip are communities based on the one St. Philip Neri ran in Rome when he was alive. The priests are secular priests who are bound together in community by no formal vows but simply by charity. In Port Elizabeth, there are eleven priests and brothers, though they have many responsibilities, including at the nearby school. There is a wonderful atmosphere of prayer at the oratory, fueled both by the Oratorians and by a core of devout young parishioners who come together for prayer of the Rosary, adoration, and other devotions quite frequently. The parish was engaged in a Triduo to Our Blessed Mother based on the prayers and meditations of St. John Henry Newman.
I ended up addressing some of the young people at a dinner on Friday night and meeting with leaders of the faith formation and a teacher at the school nearby; they were very interested, and we will work together on getting a group going hopefully at both places.
Then deacon and I finished up by attending the parish braai (a South African version of a barbecue) on Sunday after the Mass.
It was just after this braai that we set off to visit Fr. Collin Bowes, a priest from Nouport, South Africa. He is an exorcist who has dedicated his priestly ministry to fighting the devil; he is an extraordinary man. A number of healings have been reported in the lay press as a result of his work. He is very well known across South Africa.
I was so happy we had been able to meet with Fr. Collin because not only is he going to try to speak to the bishop about beginning Children's Rosary groups in his diocese of De Aar, but also he agreed to record some testimonial videos for us regarding the importance of the Rosary and his experience working with children in his ministry.
Fr. Collin is quite a man, now 91 and still very active, building statues and framing images and renovating his property where he lives, not to mention serving more than one church."
To see all of Asher's dispatches from his journey click HERE
No comments:
Post a Comment