by Sr. Keresifon Ekanem MMM                              Nigeria                                   02.10.2024

It was a singular privilege to have participated in the April 2024 Medical Missionaries of Mary (MMM) Heritage Experience.  The program went well and I really enjoyed every bit of it, the spiritual as well as the social aspects of it.

Sharing of mission experiences by our older Sisters was so enriching and inspiring.  One can only imagine the passion and zeal with which they engaged with their missions especially in Africa – some still wish they can come back, of course for good while others wish they had the opportunity even for once.  They talked about the people they worked with and the places they have been to with so much love in their hearts.  The challenges they faced of bad roads, poor accommodation facilities and sometimes nothing really to start with were just stepping stones for them to do more for the salvation of souls.  We still encounter some of these challenges today in our different missions.  MMMs, trust us!  We go to where others do not dare to go to, where human need is greatest, with openness and total trust in God.  No wonder Mother Mary Martin said, “Nothing is too hard for those who love.”   We thank her for laying such a solid foundation for us, her Sisters.

May 2, 2024 was the day for us to say goodbye to our beloved Sisters in the Motherhouse against May 3 because we were going to take off at the crack of the dawn.  This was done after supper.  We all expressed our gratitude to one another and we all wished we had more time together again.  But we all knew that no time will ever be enough.  If we were to have more time together again, we will still feel the same way at the end of that time.  Goodbyes are hard to say!  But we meet to part and part to meet.

Meanwhile, two aspects stood out in our goodbyes.  First, in the early morning of the following day, the Sisters were gathered at the brown door, as it is called, even before us who were travelling, to say the final goodbye!  It was really amazing their love and care.  We have left but the memory is evergreen and will always be!  Indeed, Sisters, you are great!

Secondly, at the end of the goodbye to other Sisters who were present the previous day, we stayed a bit longer with Sr. Jo Anne Kelly to chat.  Wondering why?  She had been a Directress to us either as Aspirant or Novice.  The good old times were reminisced again for the last time just before we left.  I asked her if she could take us again to Mother Mary Room – a sacred space, and the place I loved so much in the house.  She responded in the affirmative and we were excited.  On entering the room, we found a cushion we did not see before and it was clearly marked that Mother Mary sat on it in her life-time.  We could not but sat on it, excited that we had such a great privilege. This was in addition to other privileges in the room including kneeling on her kneeler to pray before the crib – the Mystery of the Incarnation that inspired her and thus gave birth to the MMM Congregation.  Again, Sr. Jo Anne told us a few other things about Mother Mary that we never heard before like initiating the praying of the Office in English which was being said initially by all in Latin.  At the end, she prayed for us and encouraged us to continue to live out the MMM Healing Charism and inspire the young ones by our lives.

In the Mother Mary Room, the fullness of the Goodbyes was accomplished!