In the remote Kenyan region of Turkana, next to its capital, Lodwar, the desert and widespread environmental poverty have come to offer an unusual and privileged space for living the contemplative Augustinian Recollect charism. We will first approach the region where the nuns live; then we will learn something about the local Church that has welcomed them and the monastery, its history and current affairs; and finally we will enter the most intimate of one of the contemplative vocations that go on mission with their sole presence in this remote African region.
We are contemplative Augustinian Recollect nuns in mission land and we were called to this place to collaborate in the evangelization of the Diocese of Lodwar, mainly with our prayer and presence amid the people. We are part of this poor Church and with the poor, from our life of prayer, silence and mortification. And from here, to the whole world: prayer has no limits.
Our presence in Lodwar has questioned many, who wonder: What are these nuns doing far from their land, from their culture, in this desert? We gladly answer that it is the love of God and the love of humanity that has brought us here, and that it is his grace that accompanies us and makes us bear witness through prayer and our presence.
As a community we are aware that if it were not for that love of Christ, which brought us here, we would not be in this place, so far from everything we knew until now and from our Augustinian Recollect Family.
The environment
We Catholics are few; the Christians, some a little more; but most people follow their traditional religion. The work of the Church in the region is strongly supported by female religious missionary communities, especially in the areas of education, social assistance, medical and health care, apart from the rural apostolate they carry out.
On the other hand, the Diocese is supported by external aid, it cannot by itself cover the expenses; On the one hand, it is the poorest society in Kenya, and, on the other hand, people have yet to realize that they must cooperate with the needs of the Church.
The climate of the territory where we live and are desert and hot, with very little rain. The land is not fertile but sandy and with few nutrients. There are few moments when a suffocating heat is not continuously felt.
That is why in the area there are animals that withstand the heat well, such as camels and donkeys, goats and some sheep, which are considered great property and wealth for the Turkana. Poisonous animals also abound, deadly when they attack humans.
Shrubs, cacti, thorny trees, nopales and others typical of the desert grow; and in some places, near Lake Turkana or the rivers, there are palm trees with which they make baskets, mats and brooms.
People
The Turkana are one of the most vulnerable societies in Kenya. They are semi-nomadic and are dedicated to herding. Some have settled in the Lodwar area. The people are welcoming and cheerful; he knows how to thank when he sees closeness and sincerity in those who help him.
There are also those who only expect to receive and not collaborate, they get carried away by laziness, especially men, and more so those who live in polygamy, something traditional in the region, because women work and are the ones who bring home the bread. The situation of child marriages is sad, when families commit girls and adolescents to live with men who are already old or old.
Food is very poor; the land does not produce enough and many live on charity. We know very well that a child cannot spend most of his growth eating only corn and beans. Fruits and vegetables only appear on the tables on Sundays or holidays, unfortunately.
In Nakwamekwi we are neighbors of the Parish of the Risen Christ, run by the Comboni Missionaries. The people are kind, they have shown us affection and respect, they appreciate our presence here and take care of us. We have already seen and experienced many examples of this, which we greatly appreciate. We have girls’ schools at our side, one for Primary and the other for Secondary; both built by Comboni missionaries.
The students attend mass in our monastery. One of the dreams of the missionaries and the bishop is that our presence together with both educational centers for women will help some of the students consider the possibility of a contemplative vocation.
The social and consumerist environment of globalization has already reached this distant place and has brought us the same consequences as the rest of the world: chemical dependencies, destroyed or disorganized families, youth gangs, abandoned children, delinquency…
A community in the desert
The foundation of our monastery in this area of the world was already requested in 2007 by the then bishop of Lodwar, Patrick Harrinton, to the then president of the Federation of Augustinian Recollects of Mexico, Adoración Matamoros.
After two and a half years of waiting, five sisters from three monasteries arrived in Lodwar to find the community: Ana María Martínez, Josefina Ortiz and Maricela González from Papalotla (Mexico); Angelina Pérez, from Guaraciaba do Norte, Ceará, Brazil; and Anita Avilés, from Cuernavaca, Mexico, who for health reasons had to return to Mexico in a short time.
In 2012 two more sisters arrived from Papalotla: Inés Acebedo and Margarita Trejo. In 2014, also for health reasons, Sister Josefina Ortiz returned to Mexico, who died shortly after. In September 2014, María Lourdes Palacios, from Papalotla, and Irene Carrera, from Tlaxcala, arrived. In 2017, Inés Acevedo and Ana María Martínez returned to Mexico.
In this 2019 we are seven in the community, three Mexican professed nuns and four Kenyan trainees, two postulants and two aspirants: María Lourdes Palacios (Mexico City, 1970), Margarita Trejo (Guanajuato, 1968) and Irene Carrera (Puebla, 1977). The applicants are Judith and Jackeline, and the hopefuls are Hellen and Joan.
We walk together with this People of God in their reality, also sharing with them some needs, since being a remote place, things take time to arrive and, when they arrive, it is only at very high costs.
Part of our life here is based on inculturation, as in the celebration of the liturgy with its dances and songs, which we combine with ours, or in the food, which is the same as theirs.
We make our contemplative charism known through silent prayer, liturgical prayer, fraternal life in community; we open our temple to people who want to come meets the Lord, especially when our retreat house is fully operational; and we make known the spirituality of Saint Augustine and the Recollection with our testimony of silent but continuous presence.
The Church, as Mother and Teacher, motivates us to be what we are where we are. We know the appreciation that the Church has for us and that makes us value our mission and specific vocation. We feel Church and we are Church, seeking and contemplating the face of God suffering in our brothers from Turkana, sharing, giving love and mercy since our closure.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Introduction
- 1. Lodwar, the center of Turkana
- 2. The Catholic Church in Lodwar
- 3. Augustinian Recollects in Lodwar: a dream come true
- 4. Sister Irene: “I wanted to feel with the missionaries, suffer their difficulties, loneliness, hunger, conflicts and failures; celebrate their achievements, listen to them”