1514 East Timor Second oldest Brother celebrates 'silver'
austraLasia 1514
ITM's second oldest Brother celebrates 'Silver' in
style, at Tigaraksa
TIGARAKSA: 1st April 2006 --It is quite an achievement when
a province can celebrate the 25th jubilee of a confrere and call him
the second oldest in the province! Indonesia-East Timor (ITM) can
actually claim a little more than that - it can also claim the highest
number of Coadjutor Brothers in temporary vows in the region, 20 of
them. It is a figure that could be checked against a single
province in other regions too - the record just might stand.
Other than the result of the good Lord's insistent call and the wonder
of human response, this number of Brothers is undoubtedly due to the
hard work of Fr Andy Wong as Provincial who systematically encouraged
the growth of this vocational path.
But our Jubilarian, let's not forget him!
Brother Ephrem Santos, Filipino form Manila, 19 years in the ITM
mission, 12 of those in East Timor, 7 now in Indonesia. He is in
charge of the vocational training centre at Tigaraksa and also a member
of the formation community there, the prenovitiate. For the
occasion of this celebration all 50 plus confreres in and around
Jakarta, Tigaraksa, came together - and many other members of the
Salesian Family, friends as well. The Mass was celebrated by the
Superior of the vice province, Fr Calleja, and the 'guest' homilist for
the occasion was the Regional Superior Fr Klement.
Brother Ephrem has always been known for his smile -
for many other things too; he is no mean technical expert in a dozen
areas, and a shining example of the best of the vocational path he has
been called to as a Brother. Before the Mass concluded, Fr
Klement decided on a brief dialogue which all could listen to, asking
Bro. Ephrem a little about himself and what sustained him. His
answer was simple: "There is nothing I cannot master with the help of
the One who gives me strength" (Phil 4:13).
Following the Mass, the 'boys'
from Tigaraksa presented Bro Ephrem's life in music and drama -
by all accounts very witty and well able to highlight the smiling
nature of the man. Bro Ephrem is a pioneer member of the
Tigaraksa community. It offers, through its Skills Training
Centre, a particular service to a predominantly Muslim area.
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