The latest issue of “MISSIONS” takes readers on an inspiring journey from Africa to the Middle East and Latin America.
In the latest issue of the Sercan missionary magazine “MISSIONS”, we first take a look at Africa – to Dakar in Senegal. There, a clinic run by the Ursuline Sisters operates, saving malnourished children from starvation every day. The author of the report, Luiza Chrzanowska, visited the place personally and shows what practical help looks like, giving the youngest a chance at life.
A large part of this issue is devoted to the Middle East. We want to look at this region not only through the lens of the conflicts we hear about so often in the media. After all, it is also the Holy Land – the birthplace of Christianity and the place from which the Gospel went out into the world. In this issue, readers will find, among other things, a biblical perspective on the beginnings of the Church’s mission and the story of the first of the apostles. We will learn what Easter looks like among Christians in Bethlehem, read short lives of Middle Eastern saints – Thecla, Cosmas and Damian, Charbel, the Little Arab Girl, and others. We will also visit Lebanon, which, through the eyes of one of its residents, we discover as a country of remarkable culture and history.
Important conversations are also included. One is an interview with Fr. Prof. Waldemar Cisło, who for years has been helping Christians in the Middle East, especially those living in refugee camps in Syria and Lebanon. The second is the extraordinary testimony of former sniper Yasir Arafat, who once fought with a weapon in his hand, and today – as a converted Christian – works for peace in the Middle East.
The fact that the ninth issue of “MISSIONS”, largely devoted to the Middle East, reaches readers during another escalation of conflict in the region gives it special significance. It is all the more worthwhile to see this part of the world more broadly – as a place of faith, history, and people who, despite difficult experiences, continue to seek hope.
In the Latin America section, we explore the history of Christianity in Bolivia and the so-called Jesuit reductions, written about by Sister Bonawentura Barcik CMBB, director of the House of Hope in Santa Cruz. This issue also brings something completely new for readers. We are starting a new series, “With Mary Around the World”. The first stop is Guadalupe – the site of one of the most important Marian apparitions and the largest Marian sanctuary in the world. This article is by Fr. Piotr Chmielecki SCJ.
There is also a piece about our “Zbieramto” project. Anna Bronisz-Wójcik, who coordinates the “Zbieramto in Schools” project, writes about the circular economy.
The latest issue of “MISSIONS” magazine can be downloaded for free and taken along on an inspiring journey across continents, cultures, and the stories of people who show every day what a true mission really is.