Sr. Costanza Mazzi, nurse and Missionary Sister of the Immaculate, dedicated 47 years of her life to the mission in Cameroon, providing her service especially in the poorest areas, such as DJalingo, Bibemi, Ambam… places “where the need was great, but the faith and hope of the people were extraordinary”.
1. After 47 years of mission in Cameroon, how has this long journey enriched your understanding of being a missionary of hope among all peoples?
When I left for the mission, I thought I was going to “bring” something: my faith, my culture, my help. But once I arrived in Cameroon, in a mission where there was practically nothing, I understood that the real mission is not to bring, but to receive. I discovered that the local people, with their simple and sincere welcome, their faith, joy, gave me much more than I could offer.
In that true human contact I understood that hope is born right there: in the exchange, in the sharing, in the mutual listening that goes beyond knowledge of the language. After 47 years, I can say that this, I believe, is precisely what it means to be a missionary of hope: letting yourself be transformed by the encounter with others, living the love of God in simplicity and daily reciprocity.
2. Can you tell us about a time when you saw hope concretely transform the lives of the people you served, and how that experience marked you personally?
One of the most beautiful and unforgettable experiences of my life was the healing of a little girl. I remember that a family came to us with their daughter of about six years old, already in a coma. The hospital had discharged her saying that she was now dead, but her parents, full of faith, came to us saying: “We know that you can do something.”
I didn’t know that little girl, I was seeing her for the first time. I laid her on the bed, unconscious, and in my heart I prayed: “Lord, it is You who must heal. I will do something, but everything through Your hands, not with mine.” I started treatment, injections and everything that was necessary. Then I took a spoonful of holy water and poured it gently into his mouth, as I always do with the sick.
Seeing that little girl, who was in a coma, open her eyes and call her mother after three days of care and prayers… was an immense joy, a miracle of hope and faith. The mother was always grateful, and I told her with all my heart: “It was the Lord who healed her. I am only His instrument.”
Since that day, my trust in God has strengthened even more. I understood that serving with love and hope can change people’s lives and ours too.
3. What challenges did you encounter in spreading hope during your missionary service, and how did you overcome them while remaining faithful to the Gospel?
Difficulties are found in everything, in every moment of missionary life, but one of the greatest challenges I encountered was addressing social injustices and the differences between rich and poor. Many times people with means and power demanded to be served first, as if their position gave them a special right. But I have always tried, with calm and determination, to make people understand that the poor are great in the eyes of God, often greater than those who have power or riches.
It wasn’t easy. The powerful do not always understand, and often try to impose themselves with arrogance. In those moments I prayed to the Lord to give me the strength to remain steadfast, not to be intimidated, but to continue to serve with humility and courage. My strength came from Him.
4. Looking at the Church and the life today, how can each of us become a missionary of hope in the daily life?
Many think of missionaries as heroes, extraordinary people who accomplish great feats. In reality, a missionary is a normal person who has received from the Lord the gift and vocation of leaving his own country to serve others.
But ultimately, each of us can be missionaries, because the Church itself is missionary. Through small daily gestures of sincere love, attention and service, we can make every place a mission field, aware that alone we can do little, but together we can build a lot.
We often think of “neighbor” as someone far away, but this is not the case.
The important thing is to let yourself be guided by the Lord, bringing the joy of the Gospel everywhere and making God’s love known through your life, welcoming people as they are, without judging, loving them in their reality.
Sr.Shyla Rayappan
