I am Martha Appa, I come from an extended family of nine with three mothers and a father, but in my biological family, there are five of us, including parents.
It sounds strange to others, but for me, growing up in such a large family has been a blessing and a special gift from God that I always treasure.
Born and raised in a family with a strong Catholic tradition, I could say that I received this vocation through my family. They are the ones who taught me Christian values and showed me an exemplary life and thanks to them, I am here. Arriving in Rome, a holy and foreign land was an unexpected gift. I never thought I could do my novitiate here. In these two years, I have lived many beautiful and surprising experiences.
I have accompanied autistic children and adults in the game of rugby and have been a volunteer in the service of disabled people. From them I learned humility and simplicity. Their dependence on others and their always smiling faces gave me a message of hope, courage and a reason to live. At the beginning, it was not easy to fit into their culture, their lifestyle, their way of doing, thinking and speaking. Sometimes discouragement made itself felt, but I learned to be humble and patient.
I participated in a social camp at Calabria and one episode in particular struck me a lot. One day, at dawn we went to the streets to meet street girls and prostitutes, with the intension of helping them. We met a very young girl, 22 years old, who shared with us her story and how she ended up in this life. After telling her past, she said that a good man wanted to marry her but she refused because she was ashamed of her being a prostitute and she was afraid of being judged.
