NIGERIA/CHILE, Jaime Varas and Benja Fernández. A few years ago, the Boys’ Youth close to the Shrine of Campanario, Chile began Mission Nigeria. Just like the Sisters of Mary went out to other countries and continents decades ago to sow the Schoenstatt seeds, now the Schoenstatt Youth have the privilege of living in vibrant communities, growing in number and commitment, going on mission to help the growth of Schoenstatt in other countries, and forming vital youth communities. Missions of this kind are carried out in Spain, Portugal, Italy (with missionaries from Spain, Argentina and Paraguay), Cuba, United States…and now Nigeria. Jaime Varas and Benja Fernandez belong to Team 7 of Mission Nigeria.
In a missionary diary format, they share their experiences in Nigeria with their companions from the Boys’ Youth from Campanario, and with the friends and Schoenstatters who keep them in their prayers. They relate how they work with the newly formed Boys’ Youth (“Schoenstatt Boys”) and also with the Girls’ Youth (“Schoenstatt Girls”) in Nigeria, in parishes, schools, and in activities around the Shrine of Ibadan. It is transcribed here with all the originality of youthful freshness.
Schoenstatt Boys Ijokodo
The Schoenstatt Boys group of the Shrine is very motivated. When we arrived, we became aware that they already knew the important part of Schoenstatt history, of the mystic of the youth and about Father Kentenich. Therefore during the last meetings, we worked on topics such as leadership and teamwork thinking about a future “School for Leaders” and on the upcoming change of group leaders.
Moreover, every Wednesday (just as in Campanario) we pray the rosary. After each rosary we play soccer on the field that they built themselves during the last semester.
The group is progressing well. We have “good participation” in praying the rosary and at the meetings. During the last meetings, we let them organize the topics. They chose to speak and work on subjects such as “the importance of work” or “life as an example to others”. We also had meetings about the history of Schoenstatt during the Second World War, the importance of contributions to the capital of grace, and respect for diversity.
We began a new capital of grace with the group related to the attachment to the Shrine and the importance of praying the rosary within the group. If the rosary is prayed on Wednesdays, it is marked with a red dot. If they arrive on time, a white dot is added. Moreover, each member of the group is in charge of the flag and the picture of the Blessed Mother for one week.
We also decided to have an “operation rake” at our meeting place, since it had been not been cleaned in quite a while and mice were constantly intruding on us.
We have another new member, Anthony. We met him at the soccer finals, where the seminarians played against the communities of priests from Ibadan.
Next Wednesday we will have a group Mass with Father Reginald. Finally, we set the change of leader for the month of January.
Parish of Oke Ado
The work in this parish is divided into two.
Jaime works with university students: men and women along with two seminarians, Joseph and John Paul. Up to now, the meetings are going very well, and it has been easy to bond with them. The group is studying the history of the Movement and the Shrine in broad strokes at this time. Doubts are cleared up to level the knowledge between the newer members, and those who have belonged for some time.
They had four meetings exclusively to prepare for the Covenant of Love. They spoke about the graces of the Shrine and the three Schoenstatt loves. They also spoke about the different degrees of giving of self in the Covenant that exist in Schoenstatt like the blank check. Presently, they are deciding whether to seal the Covenant next Sunday or in sometime in January.
Benja works with the Schoenstatt boys: They are boys who have been in the Movement for some time. Dansuma, another seminarian, helps us. They have not belonged as long as those from Ijokodo, but they are very motivated. Last week they went to the Shrine. Lately, we are reviewing the symbolism of the Schoenstatt Boys’ flag and the pre-founding document.
On October 24th, we assembled the two groups of Schoenstatt Boys; it was a very good experience. They quickly became friends and they conversed for a few hours. We will try to get them together again. We believe it is very important that these two groups develop their potential.
With Dansuma, we have studied subjects such as the pre-founding and the founding documents. We have discussed the importance of October 18th as an icon of the Schoenstatt celebrations. We touch on subjects that are related to the Nigerian identity, such as the problem of corruption or the different cultures that co-exist in the country. New members have joined, although not all of them attend the meetings regularly.
We are trying to unite the two groups of “Schoenstatt Boys” again. We want to begin to work with the two groups together to create, little by little, an identity of Schoenstatt Boys in Nigeria. We believe that the attachments that are formed among them will help the growth of the two “Branches”. Presently we are trying to obtain one of the Ijokodo cars to transport those from Oke Ado to the Shrine. The idea is to do it on a Saturday morning.
Saint Isabel School
The principal of the school, Principal Gladys, proposed that the meetings be held for three weeks. Last week we presented her with our proposals in writing, and we are waiting for her response. Our idea is to work on subjects such as honesty, respect for others, friendships, and ideas about the future. We want to focus on the students between the ages of 15 to 17, and to try to have as much participation in the meetings as possible.
We began the meetings. It is special, because they gave us a class of Catholic students between the ages of approximately 14 to 17. At the beginning, the students treated us like professors, but with time, they are beginning to trust us. Here, the best part is the participation of the students. They have many opinions and questions about the subjects. They show a lot of interest.
We have spoken about solidarity, respect within the classroom, the Second World War as an example of intolerance, teamwork, and the subject of authority.
In the future, we want to discuss each student’s future vision relating to what and how they would like to be as adults.
Santa Rita Parish
It went well for us at this parish. At first it was difficult because the activities were disorganized and no on was in charge. However, a short while ago, we received permission to discuss the subjects of our choice before the catechesis that they carry out. This is very good because many children attend this parish. Our idea is to get to know them well and to invite to go to the Shrine, if possible. In the future we want to gradually discuss topics related to Schoenstatt. We believe this is a great opportunity for growth of the branch of the Schoenstatt Boys in Ijokodo during the next semester.
We have had good meetings here. Approximately 15 children attend every Sunday. At the parish they allow us to speak for 15 to 25 minutes before the meetings start. The children have participated well, mainly because we conduct the meetings like a group conversation.
The catechists have helped a lot. They make it easy to have the meetings. The subjects presented are: stories about the saints: Saint Augustine and Saint Monica, Saint Francis and Saint Clare, the importance of truth, and the family as the nucleus of society.
Little by little we want to speak about subjects related to the movement, but we have to be prudent, because the pastor does not allow us to form Schoenstatt groups.
We continue to attend the meetings of the Legion of Mary. These meetings are different from the catechism classes because we do not have the opportunity to speak or participate, because the system is very structured. Our aim is to get to know the members and to slowly introduce them to the movement.
University of Ibadan
Chochos, another seminarian, helps us with this group of university students. This semester the meetings are not held at the University of Ibadan. The reason is that there was a big fight on the campus among the Muslims and the Christians. As a result of the fight the administrators of the university cancelled all religious meetings at the univiersity facilities. We began to meet in Ijokodo, which has helped greatly for the group to become more attached to the Shrine. The group consists of approximately eight people, but there are five regular members. We are trying to increase the number of participants.
Schoenstatt girls
In November we were finally able to renew the meetings with this group. We began speaking about Schoenstatt history and the importance of the Shrine. They showed special interest in knowing more about the Covenant of Love, which is the subject we are presenting now.
This group has been the most difficult. They do not attend regularly, so we have been stood up several times. We hope to have regular attendance in the future.
Retreat for the youth
Through the initiative of Adelina, this Saturday the Schoenstatt Boys and the Schoenstatt Girls will have a retreat at the Shrine. Father Reginald will help us. It will be from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. We hope it will a very fruitful encounter for the Nigerian youth.
MADRID 2011
We spoke with the university students from Viña de Mar, who have been working in Madrid for World Youth Day in August 2011. They told there was a possibility of sponsoring a trip to the encounter for some members of Schoenstatt in Nigeria. We explained about the trips that the deacons make to Schoenstatt before ordination, and that it was impossible for the Nigerian youth to pay for the trip. This subject is just beginning and it will probably be discussed by the teams from Madrid and Nigeria that come later.
We continue to struggle day by day against the mice, lizards and mosquitoes. The battle with the latter is uneven and we are suffering a heavy defeat…
Translation: Celina Garza, San Antonio, Melissa Janknegt, Elgin, USA
