LJCCC assists in the birth of a new mission outpost

KG GOSUSU, Kota Marudu – The Light of Jesus Christ Covenant Community (LJCCC) assisted in the birth of a new mission outpost in 2011.

Kg Gosusu is a very remote pagan village, half-way between Kota Marudu and Kudat. With fine weather, it takes about 45 minutes by 4WD to reach the village from the road junction.

Alpheus Loinsang, a catechist and full-time lay worker of the Light of Jesus Christ Covenant Community (LJCCC), started to visit Kg Gosusu in 2011 and felt the call to bring the Good News to this village. The majority of the people there are pagans. In February 2013 he began to share and preach the Good News to the villagers.  Some existing Christians in the village were a testament to other Christian attempts to convert the pagans some years back.

Thus began the Catholic Mission which is now only one year and seven months old. One family was baptised this year. Three families are now catechumens and there are three other families waiting to be registered as catechumens. There are also one or two pagan families who are considering to give up their pagan practice and to embrace the Catholic faith.

Alpheus and a few of the villagers came together to address the need to build a temporary chapel of attap and bamboo but later on decided to build a better and more permanent chapel. They got together a chainsaw and villagers comprising of men, women, youths and children who were willing to go into the jungle to look for wood and were committed to the building of the chapel.  The communal project saw even small children helping by carrying planks while the women chipped in to help in the heavier labour of digging holes to erect the pillars for the building. LJCCC, from the Sacred Heart Parish of Kota Kinabalu, assisted in sponsoring other materials such as nails, zinc and paints which they could ill afford.

Alpheus sees the need for development in Kg Gosusu.  Besides teaching the people to pray and preaching the Word of God to them, he feels an urgent need to bring the people together to develop their land into a progressive village and community regardless of their denominations or beliefs. He wants to share whatever knowledge and experiences he has with the people.  They have no land.  The land on which they live belongs to outsiders but they insist that the land originally belonged to their ancestors and therefore it is within their right to live there.

Alpheus hopes the Government would give due recognition and consideration to the villagers their ancestral customary rights and to give back to the people what belongs to them. He feels it is his obligation to help them. “Where would these poor people go if there is no one to help them?” he laments.

When Archbishop John Wong came to hear of this village called Kg Gosusu and what Alpheus is doing for the villagers, he was very keen to go and see for himself. The villagers,  together with Fr Edward Raymond, parish priest of St Theresa Kota Marudu, then decided that the blessing and opening of the chapel be held to coincide with the impromptu visit of the Archbishop on Aug 16.

The visit of the local ordinary was an occasion of joy and importance for the villagers, who all turned up to be in close communion with their shepherd.  Accompanying the Archbishop, were Fr Robby Mojolou and Seminarian Abel Madisang, and some 20 members from LJCCC.  Besides the visitors from Kota Kinabalu, many parishioners of St Theresa Kota Marudu lent their support with their presence.  The event also attracted some non-Christians who were made welcome to be part of the village communal event.  The chapel was filled and spilled over to the surroundings.

As the Mass concluded, Fr Edward announced that the chapel would be named Our Lady of Assumption in honour of Mary whose Feast of the Assumption was just the day earlier, and Alpheus would be installed as the official catechist for Kg Gosusu.

The visitors were treated to some Rungus traditional dances and a sumptuous lunch was provided for the occasion. – Daniel Kong