As told to Dianne Liamanowski
I come from a family of nine children and grew up in Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya, in East Africa. My family was very influential in my vocation discernment; through them, I discovered how to relate to the larger world. I always thought I wanted to be a priest, even when I was a wee lad in early grade school years, but it was not until after high school that I made a serious discernment about religious vocation.
I have always enjoyed traveling and studying other cultures, thus I was more interested in a religious missionary community that had a world outlook to their ministry. I joined Consulate Missionaries in 2002 and worked with them for 4-1/2 years. I pursued a banking career with Barclays Bank, later working with Kenya Commercial Bank. I loved being a banker, but I thought that there was more to life than sitting in an office and dealing with money that wasn’t mine — while earning a fraction of the token (in truth, the income was okay).
I wanted more and my soul was restless. I was in pursuit of life and happiness and I realized that the happiness I sought was only found in God. He helped me to discern things clearly in my life, and I always emerged from the ashes unscathed. I wanted to share that joy, the goodness of the Lord, with other people. I wanted people to discover the source of true happiness. It was as if after being consoled by God, He wanted me to console others too in His name. (Isaiah 40 has always been an enlightening passage to me). So through prayer and faith, I discerned back into a religious vocation and joined Glenmary Home Missioners based in Cincinnati Ohio. I moved to the United States in 2008 and basked in the glories of Glenmary Mission life in the southern states, particularly counties that had less than 1% Catholic population.
After four years with Glenmary, I decided to pursue my priesthood vocation on a diocesan level because I felt that I could do more in a familiar city-like surrounding. Having no immediate family around, the diocese supported me in my priesthood journey and made sure that I had good training in the Seminary (which is quite expensive) and that I was never in want of essential amenities. Now if you ask how the diocese could afford to do this as it does with other students of the priesthood, look no further than the support that you give to the diocese, especially during the Catholic Ministry Annual Appeals! Thank you, and may God bless you for all your support!