Divine Word MissionariesP.O. Box 6099Techny, Illinois 60082-6099

Non-Profit OrgU.S. Postage

P A I DDivine WordMissionaries

Call toll free 800-275-0626or visit our website at:

www.svdmissions.organd click on: Mission Chapel Program

Your prayers will be heard around the worldGo to: www.svdmissions.org/prayer-request

Or use the enclosed envelope at the center of this magazine. PLEASE add your name, address and GIFT CODE to the form.

This mission chapel located in the villageof Chibrinyoa in the Diocese of Yendi,Ghana, was repaired through yourgenerous donation!

Due to the extreme weather conditions inmany mission areas, chapels are alwaysin need of repair.Chapel Repairs

Give a Gift Today...help restore a misson chapel.

mission stories from around the world

www.svdmissions.org

Summer 2017

DIVINE WORD MISSIONARIES

update

Described as the worst refugee

problemcurrentlyanywhere

in the world...

over 4,000refugees are

streaming fromSouth Sudaninto Uganda

every day.

When you are preparing your Will or estate plan,please consider including Divine WordMissionaries. Through your legacy gift, you will help DivineWord Missionaries continue the Church’smissionary work you so generously supportedduring your life.

Contact us at:800-275-0626for information on bequestsor to talk more aboutdifferent way to include Divine Word Missionaries in your Will or estate plan.

Seek the advice of your financial or legal advisor.

Fund your donation with...CASH • STOCK • SECURITIES PERSONAL PROPERTYDiscuss with your legal or tax advisor otheroptions in your estate planning, for exampleusing life insurance, retirement plans, andother financial resources to benefit thecharities you have supported during your lifetime.

Divine Word MissionariesP.O. Box 6099 • Techny, IL 60082

Have you already included us in your Will? Let us know so we can Thank You!

Editor’s Note

“I was a stranger and you invited me in.”

Across the ocean, or just across our ownstate lines, we read about them or see themon the news: natural disaster survivors,refugees displaced and homeless, victims ofviolence in the streets. They are a reminderthat today prayer is needed more than ever.Our prayers go out to the people of Texas inthe wake of Hurricane Harvey’s flooding. Ourprayers go out to those in the Caribbean hitby Hurricane Irma. Our prayers go out torefugees fleeing from violence in theirhomelands. Our prayers continue for all whostruggle to rebuild their lives.

Together, thanks to your help, we have beenable to provide care and hope—along with thebasic needs like clean water, food andshelter—to displaced people around the world.

Do you want to help even more? Pass thismagazine on to a friend. Build awarenessand help support Divine Word Missionaries.Together, we can change the lives of many.

We would like to give a big “Thank You” toMr. Martin Burrows for lending his timeand talent to help build awareness aboutthe plight of refugees in Uganda. His wordsand photos bring the story into our handsand heart.

Yours in the Divine Word,

Bro. Daniel Holman SVDMission Director

Contact me any time, my e-mail address is:director@svdmissions.org

CharitableBequest

Remembering Divine Word Missionaries in your Will is a powerful way to leave a meaningful legacy

Summer 2017 GIVE TODAY @ www.svdmissions.org 1

Divine Word Missionaries Mission Center • P.O. Box 6099 • Techny, Illinois 60082-6099The Society of the Divine Word is an international Catholic missionary congregation with over 6,000 members from 78 countries.

Divine Word Missionaries work in over 78 different lands on all continents except Antarctica.

Website: WWW.SVDMISSIONS.ORG

DIVINE WORD MISSIONARIES MAGAZINE, Vol. L X No. 3 Summer 2017 issued quarterly

Divine Word Missionaries • Mission Center, Techny, Illinois 60082

Subscription $20.00 a year

Editorial Team: Bro. Dan Holman SVD • Carmelita J. Linden • Jeffrey Westhoff

a friend of Divine WordMissionariesas told by Martin Burrows

.

4

mission stories from around the World

www.svdmissions.orgDIVINE WORD MISSIONARIES

update

SPECIAL EDITION CRISIS in UGANDA

... tribal wars have spawnedthis exodus ... murders,looting, rapes and atrocitiescaused this mass migration ...

2

SOUTH SUDAN

3.6 millionpeople havefled theirhomes

4,000 refugees come intoUganda every day

6 out of 10 refugees are children

Over 5.1 million peopleare in need of aid, and 4.8 million are facinghunger and famine

Summer 2017 GIVE TODAY @ www.svdmissions.org 3

South Sudan isbordered by Sudan to the north,Ethiopia to the east,Kenya to thesoutheast, Uganda to the south,the DemocraticRepublic of the Congoto the southwest, and the CentralAfrican Republic to the west.

4

SPECIAL EDITON CRISIS in UGANDA

Story and photographs by:Martin Burrows

a Friend ofDivine WordMissionaries

patient struggle

N

5Summer 2017

Divine Word Missionaries had been working with thepeople of Yei province in South Sudan since 2012.They set up a small mission there shortly after thenew country, the Republic of South Sudan, won itsindependence the previous year. The missionariesworked and lived alongside those poorer than poor. It was a story of patient struggle to deliver the DivineWord to famished and poverty-stricken SouthSudanese living with instability and violence. Themissionaries worked hard to establish their mission.They built huts in Lainya, a small village near thetown of Yei. But two years after independence wasachieved, the Republic of South Sudan was in deadlyconflict. In March 2015 the mission huts were burnedto the ground. In May 2016 Veronika Terezia Rackova,a Holy Spirit Missionary Sister, was shot while drivingan ambulance taking an expectant mother to thehospital. She died four days later. In the end, DivineWord Missionaries’ superiors evacuated the missionstaff and the mission was closed.

Not all the refugees streaming across the Ugandanborder from war-ravaged South Sudan last year wereAfrican. At least five were Divine Word Missionaries.

6

to read more about the fire visit:www.svdmissions.org/news/magazine

click: Spring 2015A Fire Sparks Friendship

Photos and story by Andrzej Dzida SVD

As darknessgave way to dawn, we saw the destruction...

A bright, roaring blaze consumed the grassroof, and burning debris filled my hut as theroof collapsed.

About the author:

Martin Burrows writes a travel column for the Sacramento Valley Mirror in Northern California.

A retired businessman and former soldier, Martin was also an intelligence analyst in Germanyand the United States as well as a lay Catholic minister. While covering the military coup inThailand in 2007, Martin met Bro. Damien Lunders SVD in Bangkok. He visited Bro. Damien’smission and has been a supporter ever since. In 2014, while doing research on hisautobiographical faith-based travel book “The Final Safari” (available on Amazon.com), Martinmet the Vatican’s nuncio to Uganda, Archbishop Michael Blume SVD. Archbishop Blumeconvinced Martin that South Sudanese refugees needed help, and Martin decided to support thateffort through Divine Word Missionaries. Martin plans to put more time and funds into helpingDivine Word Missionaries get better established on the Uganda-South Sudanese border.

Martin has a bachelor of arts degree in international relations from California State University,Chico. He studied for a year abroad at the American University in Cairo. With extensive travelsin more than thirty countries, he has lived and worked in Vietnam, Thailand, South Korea,Okinawa, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Germany. He is the author of three books.

S

7Summer 2017 GIVE TODAY @ www.svdmissions.org

Since the mission closing last year, therefugee crisis has escalated into what The Wall Street Journal describes ascurrently the worst refugee problemanywhere in the world. Fleeing famine,drought and violence, nearly 4,000 refugeescome into Uganda every day. These peopledesperately need clean water and food, butthe resources of the world relief agencies arebeing strained. Divine Word Missionariesestablished a new mission across the borderfrom Yei in Ladonga, Uganda, and with theirblesssing I observed and reported on thestruggle to provide food, water, medicinesand other essentials needed to sustain thegrowing population.

I won’t go into details on the tribal wars that have spawned thisexodus or the murders, looting, rapes and atrocities that causedthis mass migration. You can get those stories from the mediathat have been reporting this unraveling travesty. This is acontinuing story of patient struggle...

8

Father Francis Joseph Naduviledath SVD andBrother Vincent Oki Knaofmone SVD are thevanguard of the new mission serving refugees fromthe Yei valley. When I arrived in April 2017 they werestill setting up shop. They had been there only threemonths and their mission was not completelyfunctional. The missionaries live in a small housewith occasional electricity from small solar panels.Because their house doesn’t have fans orrefrigeration they don’t need much electricity. Thisdid not appear to be a hardship for these toughapostles who had grown accustomed to an eventougher life in South Sudan. At least here they couldfind supplies in the market. In South Sudan, theyhad nothing.

This soft American from California found such aSpartan life in 90-degree temperature and 90percent humidity almost impossible. Sufferingfrom heat fatigue, I presented myself, tolerablywell, the next morning for our rounds to themissions’ eight refugee camps. Our first stop wasBidi Bidi, the largest refugee camp in Uganda withabout 275,000 people.

At Bidi Bidi, Fr. Francis and Bro. Vincent constantlyran into friends and parishioners they had not seensince their evacuation six months ago. Excitedly, theparishioners flocked around them. With shiny facesand wide grins, these refugees spoke nonstop abouttheir gratitude to see their spiritual advisor fromtheir beloved homeland. Their priest and friend wasamong them, a symbolic reminder that God was stillwith them, too.

9Summer 2017 GIVE TODAY @ www.svdmissions.org

The only possession Fr. Francis and his confrereswere able to bring from South Sudan was theparish’s 4-year-old Toyota. The white truck proudlydisplayed the Divine Word Missionaries flag fromLainya. For the refugees, this flag became a rallyingpoint in a welcoming but alien country.

The majority of refugees escaping South Sudan arewomen and children. The men stay behind to fightfor their homes. Stella Yata is 18 years old and her2-year-old daughter, Annet, will never see her dadagain. He was killed a few months ago. Like mostSudanese men, once he got his wife and daughtersafely to the refugee camp he went back to fight forhis home.

In the distance was a small chapel, a choir wassinging a lovely gospel hymn, and I walked closerto hear better. From books I’ve read, I knew theSouth Sudanese were wonderful singers. Neverhave I heard anything more spiritual as thisrendition of “Peace in the Valley” beautifully sungby the refugees displaced from the Yei valley. Iwent inside. The humble old decayed chapel wasbeing brought to life by the poorest and mostdisenfranchised of war refugees. As the musicfilled the air I believe I was seeing the face of Godin these now homeless people.

By now I had fallen in love with these refugees. The only way to fully understand what they haveendured was to go to the area they had been forcedto leave. Against strong warnings from my host, Fr. Francis, I boarded a small plane and flew to Yei.

10

Summer 2017 GIVE TODAY @ www.svdmissions.org We'd love to hear from you: 800-275-0626 11

Fortune was with me. The middle-aged Africanwoman sitting next to me asked where I was going. Iimagine she was wondering why an older whiteAmerican was flying into a black African town in themiddle of a civil war. (I was wondering that myself.) Iexplained that I was a journalist who wanted tointerview the bishop of Yei. She smiled and said,“What a coincidence. I work for the bishop. Thevicar’s driver is picking me up at the airport.” Shesaid she would take me to the bishop herself. Sheadvised me to hide my camera in my luggage as anyphotography was against policy and that I would bearrested.

My new guardian angel further recommended that Ichoose an identity other than journalist becauseWestern press would be escorted to the border andthrown out or worse. I told her I could live with notbeing a journalist. (My editor would agree that Iwasn’t.) From then on, I introduced myself as a friendof Divine Word Missionaries.

Bishop Erkolano Tombe was very welcoming, asbefits South Sudanese custom. He was surprised tohave me show up unannounced. Why didn’t Fr.Francis tell him of my intended arrival? Ordinarily, Ibelieve I get a better view of things if I arriveunannounced, but the simple answer was there hadbeen no cell phone or Internet service at the Ugandamission. I now wished I had been able to call ahead to

12

this war zone. If Bishop Erkolano had confirmed Fr. Francis’sgrim picture—and he would have—I would have remained inUganda. Before I got on the plane, I had figured Fr. Francis wasbeing overly cautious about not wanting me to get into anydanger. After all, he had left South Sudan six months ago, andthings change. Bishop Erkolano said things had changed; thesituation had gotten much worse since the closing of themission.

Bishop Erkolano explained that for my own protection I wouldbe restricted to the compound during my four-day visit. Underthe circumstances, that was fine with me. I had a powerfultelescopic lens that allowed me to photograph from afar. I managed to look inside buildings in the nearby village throughopen windows and doorways. All along I was thinking ... justwhat the bishop needed, an “American spy” with the fearful,xenophobic Dinka soldiers just a stone’s throw away.

13Summer 2017 GIVE TODAY @ www.svdmissions.org We'd love to hear from you: 800-275-0626

14

Summer 2017 15

I was Bishop Erkolano’s only houseguest. He and I shared manyconversations during my stay. In one conversation he told me 50 percentof Yei’s people were now in refugee camps in Uganda and another 25percent were hiding in the bush outside town. Most of the remainingresidents were buttoned up in their dwellings and did not move about.This assessment was confirmed by my observations coming into townand my amateurish “spying” attempts from inside the compound.Anyone in the village who saw me with my camera disappearedposthaste. How could they be more scared of me than I of them? Theywere experiencing post-traumatic stress. They had seen and sufferedmuch. The bishop said his diocese had lost seven of its eight parishes.His little cathedral, Christ the King, was all that was left. He wasdetermined to hold out until the end.

My journey was coming to an end and time soon came for me to leave forthe little dirt airport a short way from town. Father Emmanuel Sabity,

16

the bishop’s very able assistant, would take me. The goodSouth Sudanese pastor was a no-nonsense guy. He hadbeen suspicious of me when I arrived and didn’t warm tome until an email got through from Fr. Francis confirmingmy bona fides. Civil wars make everyone cautious, but thebishop couldn’t have a better assistant and I couldn’t havemade a better friend than Fr. Emmanuel.

On the way to the airport we were stopped by Dinkasoldiers. They looked into the back of our vehicle andasked whose suitcase was that. Fr. Emmanuel pointedmy way and said it was mine. The soldier opened thedoor, pulled the heavy bag out and dropped it onto thehood. I remained poker faced but trembled inside. Thesoldier proceeded to unzip the cumbersome bag. Itlooked like this could be the end. All my photographs,all those beautiful faces, could be lost to these soldiers.My mind raced, remembering the kind woman on theplane telling me “photography was against policy.”Inside the suitcase, my camera was on the top, and myeditor’s letter demanding I be accorded my rights underinternational press standards was in there as well.

Better timing could not have been found in a spy thriller:The Dinka had my bag half unzipped when Fr. Emmanuelsaid, in a nonchalant tone, “Why bother? He is a priest, aman of God.” The uniformed Dinka said a begrudging,“Yeah,” zipped the bag back up and tossed it in the backseat. Fr. Emmanuel is the kind of man you want watchingyour back in a knife fight. I decided not to reprimand himfor fibbing or suggest he needed to confess, though I thinkabsolution is in order!

Summer 2017 GIVE TODAY @ www.svdmissions.org 17

18

Summer 2017 GIVE TODAY @ www.svdmissions.org 19

South Sudan, Uganda, hunger, shelter, clean water, disease andabandonment—along this journey I had learned the hardshipsthese refugees had endured. Two thousand huts had been torchedin the Yei valley alone. I learned that, apart from food and water,refugees from Yei would need physical, psychological and spiritualhelp to overcome their emotional duress. The one thing I constantlyheard from the refugees themselves was the need for priests, Biblesand missalettes. In my travels side by side with Divine WordMissionaries I had learned that missionaries accomplish Herculeantasks with little or no people or provisions.

Divine Word Missionaries, in Uganda and in so many corners of theworld, are faced daily with the important job of caring for those inneed. The Red Cross and United Nations were coming into therefugee camps with food, water and medical aid in a big way. Manyother nonprofits were setting up trauma centers and schools tohelp the residents of Yei deal with this crisis. Along with providingthe necessities of life, Divine Word Missionaries continue theirpatient struggle to bring the loving and life-affirming words of Godto these beautiful South Sudanese refugees.

I have been to many war zones—as a soldier, as a helper and now,in my old age, as a reporter. One thing that is constant in these“worst of times” is that people want and need to turn to God.

I financed this trip myself. Divine Word Missionaries do not have thefunds to squander on professional writers. I volunteer only foragencies that are efficient with their donations, and Divine WordMissionaries is the most efficient of all I have seen. This trip was myidea, but without the help of Archbishop Michael Blume, the PapalNuncio to Uganda, and Brother Dan Holman, Divine WordMissionaries mission director, I would not have been able toaccomplish my task.––M. Burrows

Send some love their way...

Provide them with...the necessities, trainingand inspiration they needto develop, grow andbecome self-sufficient.

PleaseGive a GiftToday!www.svdmissions.org

FROM: Archbishop Michael A. Blume, SVDApostolic Nunciature • Kampala, UGANDA

TO: Mr. Martin Burrows

Dear Martin,

Thank you very much for your email with the personal andtouching account of your venture into South Sudan. TheLord is good to helping you get out with your testimony.

Things continue to develop in South Sudan. More refugeeshave fled and Uganda is being stretched to its limits by theflow. But there are some positive things happening. Fr.Francis will come on soon to welcome a new Divine WordMissionary from the Philippines. Originally assigned toSouth Sudan, he will take his first steps in that country bycrossing Uganda and joining our team at the Diocese ofArua until further notice. Then in July, there are three SSpSSisters, united to Divine Word Missionaries by mission anda common Founder, who will come from Ethiopia for anexploratory visit of the camps and settlements with theintention of coming to help. A couple more confreres shouldalso be coming in the not too distant future.

I'm grateful for your help in making the South Sudan crisisbetter known. A great many of our countrymen do noteven know the country exists nor that it is the mostdramatic refugee movement of the century and seems tohave no end in sight.

I thank God for our confreres and sisters who areseeking and comforting these scattered sheep without ashepherd. I hope to be going back into that area in thenot too distant future.

Attached is a photo taken last November in Arua, withsome of the missionaries and priests we went alongwith to see the refugee areas and to meetparishioners and friends of the missionaries who hadcome across the border.

God's blessings on you.In the Divine Word,+Michael A. Blume, SVDN.A.

20

DivineWord

STAY IN TOUCH

a group that gives our missionaries around

the world the confidence ofknowing that life-changing

care is always near.

Join a special groupof friends who are theheart and soul of our mission

As amonthlydonor, you'llhelp to keep ourprograms runningand enable us toplan for the future and theever-changing hunger, health and education needs of those we strive to serve.

at�ew 252017 Matthew 25 Partners for Mission will focus on

the history of our first twelve missions. When establishing

those first missions we were blessed with many

successes, but we also faced many challenges. Through

all of the ups and downs, Divine Word Missionaries hold

dear these profound words from our founder, Saint

Arnold Janssen: “His Mission, Our Mission.” For the next

twelve months follow father, leader, and founder

Father Arnold Janssen– Saint Arnold Janssen–and see his vision to proclaim Jesus

by word and example around the world.

ChinaOur very first mission was to China in 1879. Fathers John Baptist Anzer SVD and Joseph

Freinademetz SVD (Saint Joseph Freinademetz) immediately went about learning the

January 2017

DIVINE WORD MISSIONARIES

M

Be a Mathew 25 Clubmember...join yourprayers with thousandsaround the world... thenmake a difference aroundthe world!

www.svdmissions.org

VViissiitt uuss aatt::wwwwww..aannnnuuiittyyssvvdd..oorrgg

EE--mmaaiill uuss aatt::aannnnuuiittyy@@uussccssvvdd..oorrgg

D i v i n e Wo r d

GIFT ANNUITY(SVD Funds, Inc.)

since 1904TTrruusstteedd NNaammee

The Society of the Divine Word started the CharitableGift Annuity Program in 1904 and our annuity program has grown steadily over the past century.

U

Page 1

For a personalized analysis, mail this c upon to:Rev. Dariusz Garbaciak, SVDDivine Word Gift Annuity (SVD Funds, Inc.)P.O. Box 6067 � 1985 Waukegan RoadTechny, IL 60082-6067

Name (Please print)

Address

City

In the amount of: � $5,000 � $10,000 or �

Phone

Date of birth

DWM2015

ZIPState

Date of birthof joint annuitant

Email