Deacon John Siyumbu

Deacon John Siyumbu was 13 years old when he received the sacrament of confirmation; and first felt the missionary call to go out into the world to share the love of Jesus.  He recalls turning to his mother, and saying in the Swahili language of East Africa: “Mama, nataka kuwa padri” (Mom, I want to be a priest). “Let’s wait and see,” said his mother, Eunice Wanga. Years went by and John entered Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya.  There he met the university chaplain, Maryknoll Father Lance Nadeau.

Meeting Father Lance would prove to be an important step on John’s mission journey.  John was passionate about learning new languages and he cared deeply about the well-being of other people.  He was searching for a way to share his faith among different cultures and a new possibility opened up for him when he began to get to know his university chaplain. John said, “The zeal, the passion for service, the desire to serve the people of God that I saw in Father Nadeau is what attracted me to Maryknoll.”  His mother wanted John to stay close to home but he could not deny the call he felt to follow his mission journey and to join Maryknoll to live his lifetime mission to serve the poor and the suffering around the world.

John has faced a few obstacles in his mission adventure.  After meeting Father Lance, John went on Maryknoll’s website and saw that Maryknoll was not accepting people outside of the United States.  But John prayed and persevered.  Maryknoll would later change their admittance policies and begin to accept young men from the countries where they serve.  In June of 2022, John will be the first Maryknoll priest ordained from Maryknoll’s overseas mission. On getting ready to leave Kenya, John remarked, “ I was partly unsure and even apprehensive about traveling all the way from East Africa to the US.”  Upon arriving in the United States for the first time John faced another  challenge.  He said, “I arrived in Chicago in February 2017. This was my first journey outside of East Africa, which is warm year round. While the snow was beautiful, I remember how I found the freezing temperatures extremely challenging.”

After facing the freezing temperatures while studying in Chicago for two years John was sent  to Cochabamba, Bolivia saying he was thrilled that he’d finally be learning Spanish and have the opportunity to share his faith with the people there.

While in Bolivia, he accompanied Doña Maria Luz Sanchez in her ministry with the sick and elderly.  John is so grateful to Doña Maria. He said that from her and others in Bolivia he learned about service and what mission means.

When thinking about where he might want to go next in his mission journey John said, “The people of Latin America hold a special place in my heart. I saw the warmth and kindness of God while living in Cochabamba, Bolivia. It would be a blessing to minister among the people of Latin America, finding God among the joys, hopes, struggles, and beauty of their cultures.”

At this major milestone, as Deacon John prepares to be ordained a priest, he reflects back on how his faith has helped him navigate his mission adventure thus far.  He explains, “God is a constant companion in my mission journey. My faith in the mission of Jesus sustains me in my desire to follow and find the light of God among the peoples of this world.”

Dcn. John Siyumbu and Fr. Augustus Tolton (whose image is in this issue) both took a journey that was new or hadn’t been done before. What new path could you imagine taking?