The Holy Mass with Students in Nitzana

A few weeks ago, Fr. Roman Kamiński, the pastor of St. Abraham's Catholic parish in Beer Sheva, was asked to celebrate a Mass for the students. But it was not a typical request. The students were from Zambia and spent one year in Nitzana in Negev, close to the border with Egypt.

August, 15th was the day of celebration due to two reasons: firstly, that was the feast of Assumption of Mary, a solemnity in Catholic Church and secondly - that day was comfortable for students (they do not have many possibilities to organize an event like this). Fr. Roman took with him two deacons from Poland, Michał and Szymon, who currently are volunteers in the parish.

"We arrived quite late, at 8.30pm and it was already dark. Getting there was not easy, because the students live outside the village, in a place surrounded by greenhouses. An experience of getting there was similar to being a missionary who is arriving to an outstation, to a community of believers that needs sacraments." describes Szymon.

There were twelve people, eleven from Zambia and one man from Vietnam. The students prepared the songs, from their own tradition: very rhythmical and joyful. Also the place for the Mass was not typical. It was one of the tents/temporary buildings. There were sinks, gas burners, and some tools. It was their place of living and working and they wanted to invite God into the middle of their current life.

It is worthy noticing that the students participate in one of many programs perpared by kibbutzes or moshavs with agricultural production. It is a result of an agreement made by the goverments of Zambia and Israel. The students can come to Israel for a one year program during which they learn the agriculture in difficult conditions with low precipitation. It is expected that they will use their knowledge after coming back to their homeland. On the other hand they are almost trapped there - their workdays start in the early morning and last till evening. That is why the Mass had to be celebrated in the late hours. Saturdays are obviously free of work, but due to the lack of public transportation there is no possibility to travel, except for using a bike.

The students seemed to be very excited to see the priest who arrived to preach and to give them the Eucharistic Bread. For them it was also a sign of connection with the local parish. Deacon Michał said: "I was really surprised, but also happy when I saw joy on their faces during singing. I could see they believed in what they were singing."