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December Appeal

As this year draws to a close, I cannot thank you enough for the kindness and caring you’ve shown this past year -- not only to the men, women and children whom we serve in missions throughout Africa -- but to our missionaries who sacrifice so very much as well. In all honesty and without exaggeration, it is because of your giving that many of those who had no food to eat, nor clothes to wear -- and some without even a place to sleep -- now are sharing meals with families and have enough to get by . . . even if it is just temporary.

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September Appeal

If you’re like me, you’re old enough to remember the television commercial which aired more than twenty years ago. The visual image was of a child -- obviously living in poverty -- who seemed to have little hope for the future. As the child looked into the bleakness of his life, a man’s voice said, “a mind is a terrible thing to waste.” It was a powerful message!

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August Appeal

During the past decade or so, we’ve seen the weather go through some crazy fluctuations. Wild storms which have developed into hurricanes and tornadoes have wreaked havoc across the United States. Recently, though, especially within the last several years, the situation has gotten even worse. As I write this letter to you, the temperature is 96 degrees -- in Alaska!

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July Appeal

A number of years ago, I remember reading a book about poverty. It became very popular and was even on the best-seller list. But while the author, Michael Harrington, was writing primarily about Americans who were poor, he offered keen insights on what it is like for anyone to be poor and -- in many ways -- invisible. He was referring to the ways that we “look past” those who are poor.

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June Appeal

There is a saying from the Bible. I’ve read it before; perhaps you have, too. It appears in the Book of Proverbs:
“Train a child in the way he should go and even when he is old he will not depart from it.”

I’ll have to admit that I am always amazed when I read things like this written thousands of years ago. It shows how even though so many things have changed over the course of history, so many things still stay the same. Even in ancient times, adults still knew how important it is that children need to be shown the right path in life . . . that every young person needs to be guided. But what happens when there are too few adults to give young people the help they need?

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May Appeal

St. Teresa of Avila, a Carmelite nun who lived in Spain during the sixteenth century, had a great love for God and sincerely appreciated the fullness of the life she had been given. Perhaps one of the things that people most recognized and appreciated about her, though, was her ability to cut through the clutter of language. She was able to speak directly to the heart of what was important. She impressed upon those she knew that life with God is as critical as water is to our survival as human beings.

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April Appeal

Whenever I go out for lunch, or go shopping in a grocery store, quite often I’ll overhear a conversation in which one person or the other is complaining about some aspect of life here in the United States. We see it on television news channels. We hear it on the radio and even read it in newspapers and magazines. Someone somewhere is writing or speaking about something wrong in the U.S. And in many ways, that’s okay. We have the freedom to air our views no matter if people agree with us or not.

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March Appeal

We all know how precious children are. Their innocence, their purity, their willingness to love -- despite being hurt by those who are supposed to love them . . . each is an example of how we as adults are called to live our lives. Even our Lord Jesus spoke of the unique place that children hold in the world.

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February Appeal

Ten months ago, Northern Mali was invaded Islamist terrorists. Since their arrival, they have imposed strict Islamic (sharia) law: tv, radio and music are all prohibited; women had to be veiled; robbers had their hand or their foot cut off; unmarried couples were stoned to death.

< The area under Islamic occupation includes the parish of Gao, which had been founded and run by the Missionaries of Africa for the past 60 years. When Gao was attacked by Islamist fighters, there were about 700 Catholics in that parish-- scattered over a huge region. In Gao itself, there were about 350 people; Timbuktu was home to 150 Catholics, Kidal 120 more.

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December Appeal

As the year winds to a close, I cannot help but think about all of the people you and I have helped during these past 12 months. Without a doubt, together we have made an incredible difference in the lives of some of Africa’s most needy men, women and children. Let me give you a glimpse of what we have accomplished with your help as partners in our mission.

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November Appeal

In the past, whenever I have written to you, I have tried to explain some of the difficulties facing the men, women, and children living in communities surrounding our missions throughout Africa.  Incredible poverty grips nearly everyone and everything.  Those who are desperately poor are isolated from modern conveniences such as telephones, televisions, transportation, healthcare facilities, electricity and others that so many of us take for granted.

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October Appeal

With so much of the media focusing on political candidates and other “news of the day,” critical news about the basic struggle for survival -- often gets overlooked. But unfortunately whether the media decides to report on these issues or not, the events continue to unfold -- and lives continue to be at risk.

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September Appeal

By now, there probably isn’t a person on the planet who has not heard or read something about the AIDS crisis that continues to take its toll on people in ever country around the world. Most recently, the disease seems to have left the spotlight -- except for an occasional news story...

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August Appeal

As you might imagine, the life of a missionary is an incredibly demanding one. Learning languages foreign to one’s own; adapting to completely new ways of doing even every day tasks; sometimes living in what can be described as sparse living conditions . . .

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July Appeal

50 years ago.  I can remember the occasion of my ordination, my family and friends were standing around, and someone was congratulating my mother.  She was a very humble, gentle woman who simply said - “There is still a very long way to go.”  Oh the wisdom of mothers!

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June Appeal

Living here in the United States, it is easy to take so much for granted. The overwhelming majority of people can walk down the street without having to be too concerned about being physically harmed. We have local supermarkets where we can purchase just about any food item that we can imagine or might want. When we are thirsty, we have the convenience of turning on a kitchen faucet for a drink of clean water. Without a doubt, we have been blessed.

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May Appeal

First of all, I want to thank you for your continued kindness and generosity. There is no doubt in my mind that without your past financial support, the Missionaries of Africa would not have been able to reach out to those who are suffering throughout Africa. Your charity is what makes our work possible.

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November Appeal

As I write this letter to you, the words of the Christmas carol, “OCome All Ye Faithful,” are scrolling through my mind. To be honest, I cannot really remember the first time I heard the hymn . . . I just know that it has been a part of Christmas for as long as I’ve been alive. I’ve heard it sung in churches, on radio and television -- I’ve even heard the melody playing in malls as shoppers have hurried from one store to the next.

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MOA helps drill water wells in Tanzania

Water can be gathered, or as some would say ‘harvested’, from below by digging or drilling boreholes to pump it up. It can also be harvested from above in those places where the groundwater would be too deep or maybe hardly existing.

Mbeya, in the East African country Tanzania is one of the many places where one often collects it from above, by harvesting the rains of the rainy seasons. Read More>>