Blessings Among Us, Part II
By S. Georgia Kitt
In Volume I of Intercom magazine, Sisters Yoon Mi Kim, Rustica Kayombo, Petra Mkongwa, Maria Pham, Martha Mafarutu and Domitille Ndayisenga, religious women from five different communities, were featured. The women lived among the Sisters at the Mount St. Joseph Motherhouse while attending Mount St. Joseph University. Native to South Korea, Vietnam, Burundi, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, each shared their lives, cultures and wisdom with the women they lived amongst. They are now leaders in their own ministries, faithfully contributing to Gospel living and their communities’ missions.
The following provides an update into their current lives and ministries.
S. Yoon Mi Kim
S. Yoon Mi Kim, a Columban Sister from South Korea, is currently ministering in Pakistan, directing the Columban Sisters’ formation program there. When she left the Motherhouse, she earned a master’s degree in theology from Boston College. S. Yoon Mi continues to receive help from S. Jean Miller with her English, but the 12-hour time difference makes the opportunities less frequent now. S. Victoria Marie Forde also enjoys an ongoing connection with S. Yoon Mi through shared photos of her current ministry in formation work.
S. Yoon Mi Kim
S. Petra Mkongwa
A Benedictine Sister, S. Petra is back home in Tanzania, East Africa, near her family. She is teaching young children in a poor village school. She did not wish to advance her education beyond a certain point so as not to separate her from the very poor.
While attending Mount St. Joseph University, S. Petra Mkongwa (right) learned to crochet from S. Marie Irene Schneider.
S. Martha Mafarutu
S. Martha Mafarutu is a member of the Servants of Mary the Queen from Zimbabwe. She became a Catholic chaplain and is currently ministering at the Wisconsin Veterans Home in King, Wisconsin after a year of preparation in Louisville, Kentucky. S. Martha returns to Zimbabwe annually to offer a retreat for her Community. Through the salary she earns she has provided money for her community to install toilets, purchase appliances, bedding, a solar pump and lights for the Sisters in the motherhouse as well as to build a dormitory for the girls school and furnishing it. S. Mary Barbara Philippart remains in close contact with S. Martha.
S. Martha Mafarutu
S. Maria Pham
S. Maria Pham is from Vietnam and a member of the Our Lady of the Visitation Community. She remained in the U.S. for seven years. S. Maria earned two master’s degrees from Loyola University, Chicago; one in theology and another in counseling. She is now back in Vietnam, living among the poor with three Sisters of her congregation. She gets around the city on a motorized bike and is doing formation work for her community. S. Victoria Marie Forde remains in contact with her.
Maria Pham (back, left) is currently living in Vietnam and doing formation work for her community.
S. Rustica Kayombo
S. Rustica is a Benedictine Sister from Tanzania, East Africa. She is directing all development activities for the Benedictines there and has learned the intricacies of finance, putting her MSJU degree to good use. S. Rustica has helped to build a new clinic and a surgery section as well as equip their schools with improved provisions. She keeps in touch with many SCs and classmates, especially through social media. Sisters Jean Miller and Victoria Marie Forde also remain in contact with her.
S. Rustica Kayombo
S. Domitille Ndavisenga
S. Domitille is a member of the Bene-Maria Sisters of Burundi and is native to Burundi, Africa. She currently remains with the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati, living in the Motherhouse, and is a senior at Mount St. Joseph University, majoring in educational studies. S. Domitille graduated on May 8 and will attend the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, Illinois, in September, earning a master’s degree in theology.
S. Domitille Ndavisenga