By Gebaynesh Gebre, cms
Sr. Maria Marrone is 69 years old, from Italy. She worked as a nurse and mid wife for 40 years in Uganda in different places with different tribes. The 40 years of her life in Uganda were described in two sentences.
The first is, God loves his people and the second is God cares for his workers (missionaries)
Sr. Maria explains her life in Uganda in two sentences. It was the time of war; mission was taken by the government soldiers. ALL workers of the mission have run away to save their life. Only the missionaries remained in the mission. One day brother switched off the water pump and he never managed to put it on again. They did not have a drop of water in the clinic and in the house, for drinking, for washing, for toilet…and so on. Brother came and asked the sisters to please pray since he was not able to repair the water pump. All the sisters went to the chapel to pray. As soon as they started praying the Rosary, they heard a storm coming. And after few munities there was heavy rain. They went to collect the rainwater for the house and for the clinic. It was not the rainy season, but it continued raining for four days. ‘‘Water from heaven’’ she says. Wile they were using water from heaven the workers realised that the soldiers were not with bad intention, they came back, and the water pump was repaired.
‘God cares about us’ Sr. Maria
Sr. Maria witnessed the love of God to the people. As she was working in the clinic as a nurse, one day there were many wounded soldiers and other people. That day she was very tiered, and she overslept. She did not wake up on time to go to Mass while the sisters were in church. She was at home with the elder sisters preparing themselves to go to Mass. Suddenly they started shooting. An elderly sister and herself were hidden in one room where they kept cleaning material, and which is very small. She felt hopeless thinking they will kill her and started fighting with God meanwhile the canticle of St. Frances came to her mind: where there is heatred let me sow love, where there is injury pardon… ‘where are you, God? Why don’t you come? ’She started complaining as the rebels were reaching the clinic. In this few munities God sent a heavy rain through the intersession of St. Francis. It was dark and they could not see anything, the river which is near by was full and the flood was to heave and pushed them to the river. When the sisters came out thy didn’t see any body, they went to see the patient in the clinic, all were well. In that day, as thanksgiving they celebrated mass in the clinic not in the church.