137th Missionary expedition - EAO both giving and
taking
ROME: 18th September 2006 -- There are 23 intending
SDB missionaries arriving in Rome in preparation for the 137th
Missionary Expedition; 12 of them are from EAO, the bulk of these from
Vietnam, and in a remarkable turn of events, two young African
Salesians, one from Angola, the other from Tropical East Africa, are
coming as missionaries to PNG-SI. The EAO region, then, is both
giving and taking in a way that firmly marks the missionary spirit of
the region. Of particular note is the 'internal' missionary
placement within the region.
Mongolia is due to come up to full strength now with
the arrival of Fr Paul Leung from Hong Kong. He will be replaced
in his province by three others, Br Rhomel Mendoza from the Philippines
North province, and two from Vietnam, Bros. Joseph Tran and Joseph
Do. Other young Vietnamese missionaries will go to the Sudan (2),
South Africa (2), Albania, Lithuania and Chad. Fr Henry Woo from Korea
will be going to Zambia.
Missionaries from our region are often invited to
reflect on their experiences and to share these. As all of them
pass through the Pisana in Rome and a number spend several months there
in language preparation as well as waiting for visas, contacts are
established and they continue to remain in touch as they move on
eventually to their mission stations - where almost inevitably another
long period of time is spent in language preparation. Fr Vincent
Minh, from Vietnam, is one such. After some time in Rome, then in
Dublin, to bring his English up to an adequate level, Fr Vincent was
appointed to Ethiopia where he began studies in Amharic. He has
just been appointed as the principal of the junior school in Dilla
where in addition to Amharic he now has to contend with the local
language there! The lengthy periods of language study, frequent
re-appointment to one or other community and grasping cultural
differences are major hurdles faced by these young missionaries.
Their response is always deeply rooted in prayer and missionary
reflection and the realisation that it is God's call to mission that
they are acknowledging. God never said it would be easy! As
one young missionary now in Hungary put it: "I came from Asia and now I
work for European youngsters. This is not easy. For me it
means more patience, more suffering and overall I need Don Bosco's
heart... I hope with time that the youngsters will recognise that all
of my life in Don Bosco is being lived for them".
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