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SVCF
Issue #3
Salesian Volunteers Crossing Frontiers
Anno della Fede
年信念
הנומא לש הנש
Ano da Fé
Year of Faith
Année de la foi
Año De Fe
信仰の年

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Table of Contents
Pg 2
Pgs 3-4
Pgs 5-6
Pgs 7-9
Pgs 9-11
Pgs 12-14
Intro to the Mission
Juan Carlos Montenegro
Faith Through the Eyes of a Teenager
Karley Porras
Searching for Meaning
Joe Rodriguez
Living in Community with Fr. Mike
Justin Antoine Fontenot
Letting Go and Letting God
Lorena Zamora
Real Faith
Jessie Smith
Graphic Designers
Giovanni Fernandez
Juan Carlos Montenegro
Editor
Judy Wilber Alvarez
Background and Cover Art
Giovanni Fernandez
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Faith in Action
I have been thinking about the word “Faith”. What does it
really mean? Can the word “faith” be a verb? An action?
Does faith mean that we need to just sit down and pray for things
to happen? I have come to realize that our faith can be shown by
the way we interact with one another; by the opportunities we cre-
ate for our young people to encounter and develop their relation-
ship with God.
The bible says “Fear not, beloved, you are safe; take courage and
be strong” Daniel 10:19. To me, what it means to “take courage”,
with all our faith, is to be courageous enough to go encounter our
youth. This is the time that we need to embrace our faith and use
that courage that we are blessed to have.
This magazine is an example of how different people live their
faith in action. I hope you enjoy the articles written for you. Please
use them to help young people to understand their Vocational Call.
In Don Bosco your friend,
Juan Carlos Montenegro
St. Dominic Savio Youth Minister
Salesian Mission Animations Director
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Faith Through the Eyes
of a Teenager
Karley Porras
Curiosity. It’s a
trait all hu-
mans have. We
wonder how things
work, how to fix
things that are broken,
what will make a
better tomorrow, and
many other ques-
tions. Humans are
curious all throughout
life, but there is a
time when it seems
more questions are
asked, more answers
are wanted. It’s the
time when youth start
trying to find them-
selves, their place in
the world, and what
they believe in. It’s
called being a teen-
ager.
“Who is God?”
“Where is the proof
He is there?” “If God
is there, why doesn’t
he stop all the prob-
lems in our world?”
These are all ques-
tions many teenagers
ask at some point.
Faith is something
that is very hard for
a teenager to grasp
because, “Why should
I believe in something
I can’t see?” Many
teenagers won’t admit
it, but during this cru-
cial time in our life,
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we are very vulner-
able. So many things
can influence us at
this time, and make
our futures different.
How can we know
what the right thing is
to believe in?
The Church’s por-
trayal in the media
often times doesn’t
help a teenager have
faith. Many times the
Church is made out to
be something that is
too old and too tradi-
tional for our chang-
ing times. An effect of
this is, many teenag-
ers shy away from the
subject of faith or reli-
gion, for fear of what
others may think. It is
sad that some teenag-
ers do that, because
if they knew God and

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trusted in him, they
would have no reason
to be afraid of what
others think of their
faith.
Even though many
teenagers are lost dur-
ing this time, and are
still discovering what
to believe in, there are
those who know God
and are able to have
faith in him. God gave
us all free will so that
we may choose to be-
lieve in whatever we
please, with the hope
that we would choose
to believe in him. I
am lucky enough to
see teenagers in my
everyday life that
have made the choice
to believe in God
and accept him. I am
very blessed to be-
long to a parish that
has touched the lives
of many teenagers
and they have grown
to touch the lives of
those around them.
Seeing what can hap-
pen when you have
faith makes you see
things in a different
way, it even makes
you define faith a
different way. The
textbook definition of
faith is an, “allegiance
or duty to a person,”
but I define faith as
trusting and loving
something you believe
in. I may not be able
to see God like I see
the people around me,
but I keep my faith
in him because I see
him everywhere. I
see him whenever a
child is born, a couple
married, a person’s
life is saved, and
even when a flower
blooms. Each one of
these is an example
of God being there in
my life. Each one is
an example of why I
have faith. And most
importantly, each one
is an example of why
I’m not afraid to say I
am a Catholic.
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Searching
For Meaning
Joe Rodriguez
Social Communications Delegate
St Dominic Savio School. My
wife volunteered her time in the
Church Office, and I volunteered
my time as a member of the
Finance Committee and later as a
catechist.
During this drastic transition, Sr.
Mary gave my wife a book to
read. The book was the story of
St. John Bosco, written by Pe-
Not that long ago, before
becoming a Salesian, a
great part of my life was
traveling to different cities and
states, putting on Catholic evan-
gelization retreats for youth. It
was a time when I saw the seeds
ter Lapin and called “Give Me
Souls.” I could not put the book
down, but would stay up late at
night, devouring each word and
sentence. I was so fascinated by
his life and the work he was do-
ing with youth.
of conversion and reconcilia-
tion being planted in the young.
On rare occasions I would also
see some of these young people
answer God’s call to the religious
life.
After read-
ing the book,
my wife and
I felt called
to be Salesian
Coopera-
During this time I felt God calling tors. Soon we
me to settle down and plant my began the
roots in my parish. My wife and formation
I soon registered our daughter at process and
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within a short period of time we today’s times, as we were serv-
were inducted. It was a joyful ing the poor. My life as a Salesian
moment in my life. However, it was renewed and my zeal for the
wasn’t too long after that I en- missions increased.
countered the reality of my situ-
ation. Somehow my reading of Now what I see today in the
the life of Don Bosco placed high Volunteer program is not so much
expectations that were not being the actual visiting of sites, and the
met. I had a hard time reconcil- spiritual experience gained by it,
ing St. John Bosco’s life and how but rather all the nurturing that
it applied to living today in the takes place before it. We call this
U.S.A. So I became disillusioned accompaniment. It’s the work of
and questioned God, “Why am I all who help create small steps in
here?”
the lives of the young while they
are in school, learning to be mis-
Well God answered my prayers sionaries in their surroundings,
one day when Juan Carlos Monte- sometimes as small as collect-
negro came up to me and invited ing change and bringing it to the
me to come to the Salesian Orato- teacher.
ries in Tijuana, Mexico. I agreed
to go and we accompanied about Kudos to all who continue to
20 young people. The experience teach in small or large ways - to
was so powerful for me that I was those who are sowing and to oth-
able see St. John Bosco alive in ers who are reaping.
"We are all called to be missionaries
of our own surroundings"
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Living in
Community
with Fr. Mike
A Volunteer Story
By Justin Antoine Fontenot
Being a priest has lots of
responsibilities and expectations.
As pastor of San Luis Rey Church
share his faith in the
native tongue, which
he still does today
in Laredo, Texas, Fr. Mike has been given a at San Luis Rey.
little bit more. Like all priests he celebrates In the six months
mass on Sundays, hears confessions, and
I’ve spent here in
presides over baptisms, marriages and
Laredo, I’ve learned
funerals. But he also does the church bulletins quite a bit from Fr.
every week and will even pull up his sleeves Mike, such as easy
and get his hands dirty with more manual
and smarter ways of
labor-type work. Before Fr. Ata arrived from doing certain tasks,
Spain, Fr. Raul was the only Salesian priest more background
to assist Fr. Mike at San Luis Rey. Whenever about Don Bosco, and
Fr. Raul would travel for his Marriage
answers to questions
Encounter trips, Fr. Mike would celebrate I’ve had about living
every single mass on Sunday by himself! If out my faith. I once
such dedication isn’t evidence of a man with asked him why he
so much faith and love for his parish and
decided to become a
community, I don’t know what is.
Salesian priest and
his simple response
Before coming to Laredo, Fr. Mike spent
was, “I wanted to be a
two years in Guadalajara, Mexico. In those teacher.” Although he
two years he learned to speak Spanish and
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a classroom setting in
his current position,
he can’t help but
teach you something
when you interact
with him. During
our times at lunch
I’ve had my share
of learning history,
religion, and lots of
Spanish.
This whole
experience has
changed my life.
Before coming to
Laredo I didn’t feel
like I was doing
enough for others or
for myself. Now I’m
in better physical
shape, have come
to terms with my
past, and have grown
spiritually. I’m
fulfilled and faith-
filled. As my year
of volunteer service
is coming to an end,
I’ve considered
different options as
my next step. One
of those options is to
enter into the Salesian formation program.
Living in community with Fr. Mike, and
seeing how he and the other Salesian priests
interact with the people, has furthered my
own interest in maybe becoming a Salesian
myself.
As a Salesian, Fr. Mike truly is an example
of the spirit of Don Bosco. I myself have
been inspired by his faith in this little town
and his faith in God. If I am to be a Salesian
someday, I hope to be at least half as faithful
as this father, worker and teacher named Fr.
Mike Gergen.
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Letting Go and
Letting God
Lorena Zamora
Ihave been in Okinawa, Bo-
livia as a Salesian Lay Mis-
sioner for 8 months, and they
have been the most fulfilling and
best 6 months of my life. While
being here, I have realized that to
continue working as a mission-
ary you need faith, extreme faith.
I find myself telling people, “If
I didn’t have my faith, there is no
way I would be able to be here and
work.”
God has definitely been my
number one companion along this
journey. He has been holding my
hand these past 8 months, and I
know He will keep holding my
hand for the next 4 upcoming
months.
There are many hardships I have
had to go through and I am still
going through while being here.
Though I may not understand
why certain things happen, I
have faith in my God and I know
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that there is a
reason why they
are happening. I
believe the Lord
has a plan for
me.
I will say that
my faith has
increased so
much more
while in Bolivia. I have always had
trouble letting go, and letting God.
I always felt that I needed to be in
control of my life and it bothered
me when I wasn’t. Because of that
attitude, I would eventually end up
hurting myself or end up broken-
hearted. I have to keep reminding
myself that God is in control and
not me.
To be honest my faith does get
challenged a lot, especially here,
and it’s very hard to accept what
God wants from me. Often times I
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really don’t understand what God’s
plan is for me. When at times I feel
confused, upset or lonely, God has
a way of manifesting Himself in
the kids with whom I work. They
show me so much love, love I have
never experienced before, and
that’s how I know He is here with
me, by my side. I have faith in Him
that in the end, everything will turn
out alright, and that I am becoming
a much better person than I was
before, having this experience just
the way He planned it. I‘m letting
go and letting God.
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Real Faith
By: Jessie Smith
As a missionary in
Tijuana this year, I have
thought a lot about the
concept of faith. I have thought
about what it means to me, and
what it means to the people
who have come into my life
during this year of missions.
Sometimes I am amazed at the
great faith people have that
God will take care of them in
their trials. I have taken this as
a great lesson from the people
I have been blessed to meet
here. Their ability to live in
the present and trust God has
inspired me to hope and believe
in God’s promises for me, and
all of us, in a greater way.
be a missionary was, first of all,
a step of faith, because I had to
trust that God was calling me to
do something in an unfamiliar
place, and trust that He would
guide me through it all!
From the moment I left my job,
my home, and my family, and
stepped on the airplane to come
to the missions, until this very
moment 8 months later, God
has guided me faithfully. Not
only has He guided me, but
pleasantly surprised me with
many things! Even in moments
What does faith mean to me?
How has faith been a part of my
missionary experience? Well,
without it, I would not be here. I
would not be filled with the joy
that I have experienced, and I
would not have a purpose as a
missionary! Taking the step to
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when I don’t feel Him near
not always easy to do.
and don’t understand His plan,
I recognize the need to have
There have been moments this
real and genuine faith, that
year where I have been called
every challenge, every trial is on to do something: teach a last
to help me grow. I have to trust minute class, be in charge of a
during the trial, and have faith large event, or make important
that He will lead me through decisions that effect many
it, changing me into a better
people. There are many times
person,
when things
a better
Christian,
a better
“I tell you the truth,
are out of my
control, people
if you have faith as are out of my
daughter of
Christ.
small as a mustard
control, and
resources are
seed, you can say to little, but it’s in
Through my
experiences
this mountain, ‘Move
these moments
that my faith has
this year I from here to there’ grown the most.
have come
to know
faith as
and it will move.
Nothing will be
I have had to
just kneel down
and, in faith,
not only
knowing
God can
impossible for you.”
surrender to God
any challenge
Matt. 17:20
or stressful
do great
moment, and
things in my life, but also that leave it to Him. If I remember to
He will keep his promises and ask God to take care of it, things
follow through. Faith to me is usually go much better than
trusting God will take care of all planned! Sometimes I imagine
the things that are completely what it would be like in our
out of my control. Faith to me world if we REALLY trusted
is having courage, believing in God and really had faith in His
God’s love for me, and trusting promises for us!
Him with every detail. This is
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Can you imagine what life
things happen” (James 5:16).
would be like? Imagine all
Every day, I pray that God will
the Lord’s
increase my
promises for
us, and if we
really had
“Now faith is
being sure of
faith, so that I
can trust Him
better with
what we hope for faith in every
one of them?
my life. This
is something I
In a book
of scripture
my mom put
together for
me before
and
certain of what
we do not see.”
have definitely
learned this
year when
everything is
out of your
I left for
missions,
Heb. 11:1
control, and
you just have
she wrote
to be present
the following verse: “When a and go along for the ride!
believing person prayers, great
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"Th Holy Spiri
bring ou heart
os
p eciou gif :
profoun rus Go '
lo an Mercy."
- Pope Francis