In the Heart of Tanzania

It is a fascinating story of a missionary in the exotic yet at times dangerous country of Tanzania. The author, in over 300 pages, describes his experiences of 12 years of work and life in Africa. The book comprises descriptions of many aspects of daily life of the local people and encounters with nature, sometimes charming, others rather dangerous. Mainly, it is a document how the author tried to fulfill his missionary and Salvatorian vocation. (From the periodical "Salwator" published by Salvatorian Fathers in Cracow, Poland)

Dear Father Joseph, Thank you for giving me the honor of reading the manuscript of your missionary works in Africa. I knew missionaries performed many various functions in addition to "God's teaching"; you opened up my eyes as to the extent of a missionary's involvement. Truly, you were sent by God to do his work. (Mrs. Trudy Witkoski from Houston, TX)

Dear Fr. Joseph, I would like to thank you for writing down these remembrances. The book fascinated both my family and me greatly. It can be read at just one sitting. It definitely brought us closer to the life of missionaries. It presented the hardship of the lives which people in Africa lead: the extreme conditions you have to deal with on an everyday basis, such as climatic challenges, the lack of water, and many other problems. How important is the role of missionaries! You have to be not only priests, but also teachers and doctors; you have to know a little of everything from every field of work. For example, how helpful your knowledge of mechanics turned out to be. (Mrs. Maria Kopec from Myslowice, Poland)

Thank you from the bottom of my heart and God bless you for writing the book. It was indeed a great and a greatly demanding adventure. I read the book at one sitting during the Labor Day weekend. It seemed to me that I knew a little bit about the missionary life from the oral reports given by my priest colleagues working in missions, from reading magazines and supporting missions through "Echo" from Africa. However, only after reading the book could I realize that "I know that I know nothing," or rather, I had known nothing up to now about everyday missionary life and its challenges and hardships. In fact, what you experienced seems to be beyond the limits of human strength. That constant fight to conquer yourself, sicknesses, attacks of malaria, to face hostile nature, snakes, heat, sweat, and wild animals. One more time, I wish to express my deepest admiration. In addition, the book is written in a beautiful, vivid, narrative language. (Rev. Emil Altmajer from New York, NY)

You ask if I have read the book? In fact, I absorbed it. I read it right after I got it, and since then, I have been returning to it like a drunk to a pub. I simply adore what you have written. Of course, it has certain emotional undertones for me. Some of the facts I remember from your tales, others from your letters. I had the pleasure of meeting in person your friends Francis and Andrew. It is really a wonderful source for younger missionaries. It strikes with the precision of narration and indubitable realism. It also contains a certain dosage of humor, however, accompanied by deep reflection and wisdom. (Mrs. Halina Sala, a painter and a college professor at School of Pedagogy in Cracow, Poland)

I read the book with great interest. It lasted for about two months, since I deliberately "took this book in doses" - as you do with medicines - to achieve a better effect. Even though I had heard many tales about Tanzania, your book is something more, I must say. For me it was and still is an inspiration for profound thoughts, an opportunity for me to rethink deeply the matters of the church, ministry, and priesthood. (Rev. Joseph Tarnowka, SDS, a parish priest in Liechtenstein)

Fr. Jozef Musiol, born in Poland, is a member of the Society of the Divine Savior (S.D.S.), doctor of canon law (J.C.D.), member of the American Canon Law Society and Polish-American Priests Association, parish priest and judge in the Diocese of Austin, Texas. After high school, he studied Philosophy and Theology in the Salvatorian Major Seminary in Bagno, and later in the Institute of Theology in Krakow, Poland. He was ordained a Catholic priest in Krakow in June 1972. His first pastoral assignment was in Zakopane in Tatra Mountains, Poland. From 1973 to 1982, he worked as a missionary in Tanzania, East Africa, in different mission stations. In mid 1982 he moved to Rome, Italy where he studied Canon Law at the Pontifical Gregorian University, where he obtained a licentiate and a doctorate in Canon Law. He returned to Tanzania in mid-1989 and for four years was a professor of Canon and Liturgical Law in the Inter-Diocesan Major Seminary in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. On arrival to the USA in the Fall of 1993, for one year he was an administrator of a parish in Brooklyn, New York. In 1994, he was transferred to the Salvatorian Community in Texas, and was appointed a judge of the Austin Diocese Tribunal and a pastor of various parishes. In April 2003, he was elected a regional and local superior of the Polish Salvatorians in the USA and transferred to the Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa in Merrillville, Indiana. After finishing his term in office in the middle of 2006, he was appointed a vice-postulator for the Cause of Beatification of the Servant of God, Francis Mary of the Cross Jordan, the founder of the Salvatorians. He then moved to Savannah, Georgia to supervise a diocesan investigation of the cause. In May 2007, he came back to the Salvatorian community in Texas. He was reappointed a pastor of a parish and a judge of the Diocese of Austin.