‘In the online group, we gather from different nationalities to praise and worship God.’

Hello guys!! I go by the name of Deogratias Steven Masangia from Tanzania, East Africa. I am a bedrock member of Magnificat or the Shalom’s weekly online prayer group. Well frankly and honestly speaking, It has been really fruitful and helpful guiding me not to go off grid since my life is surrounded by a lot of challenging factors like fear of failure, conflicts, family drama, losing hope, materialism, peer pressure groups, and so many others.

I am a quantity surveyor by profession employed at a private company, some call it cost engineering whereby we deal with building construction and civil engineering works. But my passion is to devote myself to work with the youth as well as young children. I was raised and educated by cappuccin seminary called Maua seminary in Tanzania. My goal and aim is to bring change to the youth and young people by advising and counseling them in their inner struggles. I orchestrated my work and church services work to go in a parallel direction because I felt the ability and passion to do both and did not want to loose any.

In the year 2016, I started my youth ministry work with the catholic youth at my parish level in Miyuji, Dodoma and It was in my belief that the Church of God is like a city built in layers, no matter what experiences come along, the foundation remains.

From the online group, God calls me to serve him through the Holy Spirit. It is said in the Bible in the book of Mathew 18:20: “For where two or three gather together in my name, I am there in their midst….”. In the online group, we gather from different nationalities, continents to praise and worship God who is in our midst.

The online group has helped me to fully communicate with God, glorify God and reinforce my need for him. Through living the life of prayer from the online Shalom group we respond to Jesus’ work of salvation as he is the centre and source of our redemption here on Earth.

In the online group I also receive divine help and also getting strength in any difficult and troubling times. As Deo, deepening my personal faith is Important as a youth since the world transformation in technology is a radical and rapid change and challenging to our faith so we try to balance the two-way traffic. It is through the prayers that I understand God’s purpose in my life and thus dodging bullets of attachments to worldly things.

Lastly, thank you very much and I would like to share a food for thought from my favorite saint called St.Francis of Assisi

• Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible. (St. Francis of Assisi)
• For it is in giving that we receive. (St. Francis of Assisi)
• All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle. (St. Francis of Assisi)