austraLasia #2834 Five 'short stories': from Vietnam to Japan
TOKYO: 5 April 2011 -- (1) I am John Le Pham
Nghia Phu. I was a Salesian aspirant in Vietnam and my four
years with the Salesians and especially the contact with the
ethnic minorities in K’long in Vietnam, lie behind my
missionary vocation. Being with the young and speaking
of God's love to them helps me to be a better person. The
Japanese language is difficult. I am doing my best to get to
know Japanese society and culture.
(2) I am Joseph Nguyen Giao Hoa and
before coming to Japan five years ago I studied some
Japanese, thinking to become a Salesian priest in my newly
adopted country. It was during my experience working with
young people at the oratory that I discovered my vocation to
be a missionary. The example of my Japanese confreres has
helped me a lot and in a particular way the missionaries. A
serious difficult I feel is that Christianity does not
attract the Japanese.
(3) My name is Joseph Nguyen Khac
Diep, a post-novice studying philosophy. Before coming to
japan as an aspirant to Salesian life perhaps it was more
the spirit of adventure than the missionary vocation that
attracted me. During the prenovitiate I found myself in
crisis but then came to understand more clearly that being
in this country means being a missionary with the task of
spreading the Gospel of Jesus. However for now I am but a
missionary in formation.
(4) My name is Andrew Tran Minh Hai
and I must be honest and say that when I came to Japan as a
Salesian aspirant my missionary vocation, if indeed it
existed, was weak and insecure. It was towards the end of
the novitiate that I felt myself called to share with others
the graces received and the spirit of the Gospel, and I owe
this to the exemplary lives of the missionaries I have met.
Living in Japan and assimilating the culture is not easy. St
Paul's words here are a help to me: “It is no longer I who
live, but Christ who lives in me”.
(5) I am Joseph Nguyen Duy Hun, and
arrived in Japan four years ago as an aspirant after two
years of preparation in my native land, Vietnam. I have to
admit that my vocation to be a missionary began here.
It was a discovery more than something which came about
naturally. In fact, working with youngsters at the oratory,
almost none of whom were Christians, I discovered that
I was being called to be a missionary for their sake. My
fellow Vietnamese have been an important source of support
for me and of course the help of Mary our Mother. Japan is
very much a developed nation and it is difficult to spread
the Gospel.
These five young Vietnamese missionaries
have brought a breath of fresh air to the formation
community at Chofu. They have not yet received their mission
cross from Turin, but they are carrying a not always easy
cross in a country not yet so easily permeable to the
Gospel. _________________ AustraLasia
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