Embracing the missionary life has not been easy, because it implies renunciation, adherence, fidelity and, above all, much faith in the One who has called you. Today I live my vocation in total availability to Jesus Christ, despite my frailties and weaknesses, letting myself be guided by his voice and by what he wants from me. It is an inner strength that is difficult to explain, but that helps me, every day, to give myself generously with joy and love.
The fulfilment of my vocation as a Comboni Missionary in Mozambique has been marked by several moments, some good and some not so good. I currently work at Mangunde Hospital, in the centre of the country, not far from the coastal city of Beira. I also collaborate in the parish, accompanying the young students of a college. I am a nurse and a trained midwife, which I consider a great gift that Jesus gave me. Through my profession, I can go where I never imagined going and do things, I never thought I could do. Helping other people makes me happy, especially the patients I meet every day. In them, I see the hope and resilience of these people.
Every day, I discover how great and wonderful Mozambicans are. I admire their strength, ability and tenacity in facing life, which in these lands is not easy, and I recognize in them the presence of God.
The work I do focuses, in most cases, on accompanying women during pregnancy and, above all, during childbirth, so that their babies can be born in the best possible conditions. Sometimes we witness real miracles! In our hospital, we do not have the medical conditions to be able to help the children and their mothers and sometimes the situations become dramatic.
Because of the coronavirus, in the last two years, we have been busy with all the Covid patients coming here to the hospital but also with conducting a vast hygiene awareness campaign that involved visiting a number of villages. That was an impressive experience and I must say that seeing so many women whom I had helped to give birth at the hospital and their children growing up healthy, gives a new meaning to my missionary life.
“There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” These words of Jesus echo in my heart at all times of the day and night and give me the strength and motivation to be always available, as a missionary nun and nurse, to the needs of people, especially the sick and the women who come to have their children here at the hospital. Life is beautiful and it is worth living it helping the poorest and most abandoned. I have gladly accepted, following in the footsteps of our founder, St Daniel Comboni, to make a common cause with the people of Mozambique.
[Comboni Missionaries]