The journey of faith: Priest walks for 2000km spreading the gospel
Father Wesonga Maloba (centre) with his parents Stephen Wesonga Maloba and Bibiana Okwach Wesonga during a break at the Nyayo Stadium roundabout. The priest and his team, including his parents, have been in a 2,000-km walk dubbed "Journey of Faith" and have already covered 1,700 km, having walked from Kakamega to Mombasa through Nairobi and now back to Nairobi. PHOTO | SAMUEL KARANJA | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- He has also used the walk to spread various messages on challenges in marriage, the sanctity of life, youth unemployment, parents as role models for their children, the influence of new media on young people and servant leadership.
- The priest said that during the walk, he has also seen the “faithfulness of God” and great generosity from strangers who have hosted him and his team even without prior arrangements.
- Fr Wesonga had also used the walk as an opportunity to raise funds for the construction of a church in Karen and is expecting to receive Sh250 million towards the project.
He described the journey as one of the most challenging he has ever undertaken in his life, with, at one time, the entire team save for two members falling sick due to weather changes.
Yet for Catholic priest Father Maloba Wesonga, the 2,000km-walk from Mumias, Kakamega County, to Mombasa through Nairobi and now back to Nairobi has been fulfilling, giving him time to reflect on his faith as a Christian and priest.
"The Journey of Faith" walk was a call from Pope Francis that the faithful need to take a spiritual pilgrimage this year and for Fr Wesonga, it was also an opportunity that also allowed him to push his body to limits it has never been exposed to.
“For me it was a journey of faith, retracing my footsteps, meaning that I had an opportunity to go back to the places where my parents raised me and where I received different sacraments in the church.
“To the larger parish community, as they reflect on it, hopefully everyone can reflect on their own lives and faith….have they remained consistence or not, have they developed complicity along the way?” he said on Thursday in Nairobi during the final leg of the walk.
He has also used the walk to spread various messages on challenges in marriage, the sanctity of life, youth unemployment, parents as role models for their children, the influence of new media on young people and servant leadership.
The priest said that during the walk, he has also seen the “faithfulness of God” and great generosity from strangers who have hosted him and his team even without prior arrangements.
Fr Wesonga had also used the walk as an opportunity to raise funds for the construction of a church in Karen and is expecting to receive Sh250 million towards the project.
Some of the members of a team that embarked on a 2000-km walk with Fr Wesonga Maloba during a break in Nairobi on May 12, 2016. PHOTO | SAMUEL KARANJA | NATION MEDIA GROUP
During the tough walk, which covered 15 counties and began two months ago, the priest and his team of 10 have had to brave heavy traffic, tough weather conditions, disorganised eating patterns, diseases and sore feet to achieve their goal.
The team walked for an average of 50km per day, with short breaks in between, and rested at night. He also had three vehicles moving with him branded with messages of the walk theme, “Journey of Faith”.
On Thursday, the priest told the Nation he had already clocked 1,700km, with the remaining 300 to be covered within Nairobi and Thika where he will visit various catholic churches and a prison.
“We have just come to the end of the fifth of the seven-leg journey and from here, we are going to Regina Caeli Catholic Church in Karen to rest,” he said during a break at the Nyayo National Stadium roundabout in Nairobi.
On Friday, the team will assemble at the roundabout at 4am and leave for the Queen of Apostles Seminary in Ruaraka.
On Saturday morning, the priest and his team will leave for St Matia Mulumba in Makongeni, Thika, where they will stay overnight and join the congregation for a Sunday Mass the following day.
On Monday, Fr Wesonga will leave for Kahawa West, where he will spend the night, and on Tuesday he hold a Mass at Kamiti Maximum Prison with inmates.
The team will then leave for Queen of Apostles the following day for a meeting with the parish priest and later visit Cardinal John Njue at Cardinal Otunga Plaza and also hope to have audience with retired Archbishop Ndingi Mwana a'Nzeki.
The team will then wait for the final stretch and take a walk from Queen of Apostles to Regina Caeli in Karen on Sunday where he serves as a priest and where the walk was launched two months ago.
Accompanied by his father Stephen Wesonga Maloba, 76, and mother Bibiana Okwach Wesonga, 69, his sister Judith and younger brother Jacob, the 44-year-old soft-spoken clergyman said the Mombasa stretch was the most challenging.
“Upon arrival in Mombasa, we suffered a major challenge — almost the entire team of 10 people was taken down by upper respiratory infections and according to our team nurse, this was due to changes in weather and the fact that there was an outbreak of Hepatitis B in Mombasa,” he said.
Long journeys of 65km would be broken into 15km each but on a few occasions, the father was in so much pain due to severe heat that he was requested to take longer rest hours.
They would wake up as early as 2am, depending on where they spent the night, and would at times miss breakfast or even lunch. Snacks, however, energised them for the day.
A day would begin with prayers, followed by breakfast at 3am, if it was available, and the team would proceed.
“The journey has given me an opportunity to do a great deal of soul-searching and retrospection, reflecting on so many things that touch on my ministry,” Fr Wesonga said.
