Mo. Irene Carrera. Augustinian Recollect Nuns. Lodwar, Turkana, Kenya.

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.

I am Irene Carrera and I have now (2019) spent five years at the Saint Augustine monastery in Nakwamekwi, Lodwar, Turkana, Kenya. I come from the monastery of San José de Tlaxcala, in Mexico and I am originally from Santa María La Alta, in the Mexican state of Puebla, where I was born on October 20, 1977.

To share my experience in Turkana, I would like to begin by citing Psalms 138 and 42, Psalms that motivate me every day to live my contemplative vocation:

  • “Lord, you probe me and know; You know when I sit down and when I get up”…
  • “As the deer seeks streams of water, so my soul desires, Lord, to be with you”.

My mother was my first vocational promoter, because she told us about exemplary lives and always questioned us about what we thought we would be when we grew up. I also remember the testimony of the priest Pedro Bravo, parish priest of my town, a praying priest. When we visited him or looked for him and he was not in the parish house, we knew where to find him: in the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament.

I was little, and one day I asked my mom why the father spent so much time in prayer. She told me:

— Prayer is like food for the soul; if it doesn’t feed it weakens. For this reason, it is good for everyone to pray, and he also prays for those of us who do not have time.

This caught my attention, but I didn’t say anything then. I felt the concern of being a nun when I was nine years old, but the nuns I knew did not attract my attention. I lived with them when they came to my parish for their missions, but I didn’t dare to tell them anything.

My dad was a street vendor and sometimes he took my younger brothers and me to work. One Saturday we arrived in Tlaxcala. After preparing things, we each went out taking different streets. I took Avenida Juárez. An old and austere gate caught my attention. I crossed the street and knocked to offer the handicrafts I was carrying.

I was surprised to see that it was a nun who opened the door, Sister Antolina. I felt a deep emotion within me to the point that instead of offering the handicrafts, I asked her what it takes to be a nun. She looked at me and we had this dialogue:

      • Do you want to be a nun?
      • Yes.
      • How old are you?
      • Thirteen.
      • You are very small. Do you study?
      • No, I only have Primary.
      • You need High School to be able to enter the monastery.
      • My dad would let me study.
      • Who are you coming with?
      • With my dad.
      • Well, go get your dad and I’ll talk to the superior and see what happens.

I left with excitement and a little fear because I had no idea how I was going to tell my dad. By the grace of God, I soon sold what I was carrying and went back to look for my father. I told:

      • Dad, come on, they talk to him there.Where?
      • I take you there.
      • So that?
      • They want to ask you for a favor.

He did not resist, and we left. Upon arrival, the sister ushered us into the hall where Mother Margarita was already waiting for us. My dad was surprised, but I sensed that he knew what this was all about. He started by saying:

      • Here I am, they sent for me.
      • His daughter wants to be a nun. Would you give him permission?
      • If she wants, then let her stay.
      • It’s that for that you need to study High School.

She convinced him, by the grace of God, and he agreed to send me to school. It was Saturday and the following Monday he himself took me to sign up, which I couldn’t believe, even my mom was surprised.

It took almost three years to finish High School. I was in doubt, and he told me:

— Could it be that my vocation is to be a nun or rather to continue studying to serve the poor?

I resorted to prayer and reviewed in my interior the things that happened to me and why. Thus, he discovered the mercy of God.

These days I met the Poor Clares. All my childhood I grew up next to Saint Francis of Assisi, patron saint of the neighborhood where my parents live, and I knew his story and that of Saint Clare. I got excited and told them that I would go with them; but inside me, I asked the Lord to show me the way where he wanted me.

At the end of the school year, the Poor Clares came back for me, but they couldn’t find me anymore. I had a dialogue with my mother:

      • Which sisters are you going to go with? Because the Poor Clares have come; They have said that they are at their house in case you want to go see them.
      • But I will go with the Augustinian Recollects of Tlaxcala; I think that is what God wants.

Finally, I had to call the Tlaxcala monastery to tell them that the parish priest would not give me a letter of recommendation if he did not meet them first. The nun replied that, if I wanted, on the third day they would go to my town to present themselves to the parish priest and visit my family. Without thinking, I said yes, but then I didn’t even know how to tell my parents that the sisters would come home.

I did not inform them until the very morning of the visit, but I perceived in them that this moment was already expected. When the Augustinian Recollect nuns María Luisa and María de Gracia arrived, we went to see the parish priest; To his surprise, they were nuns he already knew, so he didn’t pose any problem, apart from asking me if I wanted to go with them now. I answered yes.

The next day he gave me his blessing by saying goodbye and promising that he would pray for me, as he appreciated the contemplative life. In fact, during the time that he was the parish priest of a very small town, there were many vocations and all of them were contemplative.

I entered the monastery on April 27, 1995; I began the novitiate on August 28, 1996; I professed temporary vows on August 28, 1998, and solemn profession was on August 28, 2001.

The years of formation served to learn to live, love and serve in the Augustinian Recollect charism; I also learned to love the Church, to be an instrument of love and surrender for the salvation of souls, living what our father Saint Augustine says:

“Love God as Father and the Church as mother”.

I began to feel the concern of leaving my country without ceasing to be what I am, a contemplative nun: to live in a mission land, next to those who give their lives for the evangelization and extension of the Kingdom of God; feel, suffer with them their difficulties, loneliness, hunger, conflicts and failures; celebrate their achievements, listen to them.

Somehow, he already did this in Tlaxcala, he was with them, he prayed for them; I offered my life for the missionaries on the day of my profession, as well as for the priests and for the conversion of sinners; but without even imagining that one day it would come true.

My heart filled with joy when they read us the letter of invitation for a foundation in Kenya, a true land of mission. I told Mother Margarita, prioress of the community, who listened to me attentively and replied:

— I know about your concern, but now is not the time, it will be later.

Before this answer I remained calm. Putting my trust in the Lord, I told him:

— Lord, you know the time, whenever you want, I’m here; Thy will be done.

The moment came when the assistant of the Federation of Augustinian Recollects of Mexico at the time, the Augustinian Recollect Renée Lozano, went through the communities inviting the sisters to volunteer to support the Kenyan community and sharing his experience after having visited the community.

The time had come, I applied to the community and waited. The will of God was manifested with the positive response. I thanked God for his call. Finally, on September 16, 2014, I left for Kenya together with Sister Lourdes from the Papalotla monastery, accompanied by the Comboni Missionary Rafael Rico, then parish priest of Nakwamekwi.

And here I am sharing my life in this monastery, living and discovering the face of God in the environment that surrounds me. The community and the people of this place invite me to live in the merciful and faithful love of God as the prophet Hosea says:

“I will take her to the desert and there I will speak to her heart” (Os 2,16).

I fall more in love with Him every day. It is not easy to live in this hot and desert climate, but love for my mother, for the Church and her work of evangelization impel me to continue with joy here if the Lord allows it, together with my sisters.

I invite young people not to waste time: life is short, and you must act. If you are anxious to consecrate your life to God, be brave, listen to your heart and respond generously. We only have one chance to live and serve God and his people.

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