4137_Learning how to be a missionary!

Timor Leste missionary in Japan attends a missionary course in Brazil

September 20, 2016

By Fr Da Silva Ambrósio Lucas, SDB

Sao Paulo, Brazil, 20 September -- Fr. Ambrosio is the youngest Salesian Missionary in Japan (31 years) where he arrived few months after his ordination, last January 2016. After first experience of the Brazilian migrant ministry in Hamamatsu inter-cultural community he got a good chance of initial missionary formation. Thanks to the well organized annual missionary course for the outgoing or incoming missionaries (Brazil), he was send there for three month (August - December):

"It has been five weeks here in Brazil since I arrived on August 16. I had spent three weeks happily in Sao Paulo, and glad that, I was able to visit some important places including the National Sanctuary of Our Lady of Aparecida with more than ten thousand members of the Salesian Family in the occasion of Salesian Pilgrimage (Romaria).

Here in Brasilia, I am very lucky to meet and stay with the parents of Mr. Yumi (san), the grandparents of Bruno (our aspirant in Japan) for five days before I entered the Centro Cultural Missionario (CCM). The center is managed under the Bishops Conference of Brazil (CBCN) and I'm part of the 161th batch, since 1960 when this course was started.

This course is known as the Initiation Course for the missionaries working in Brazil. The main focus of this formation is to learn Portuguese language, to interact with the reality of the local family, to receive introduction to the Brazilian society, cultures as well to the journey of the Church in Brazil.

My 17 batch-mates are coming from different parts of the world: Haiti, Tanzania, Republic of South Africa, Ghana, Colombia, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Honduras, Peru, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Macau, Timor Leste and Japan. All of them have been working here (mostly in northern part) in Brazil for more than 8 months. I'm the only exception with my missionary work outside Brazil. Many of them don't believe in my “destination” after this course. Anyway, I believe this course would be very helpful in our mission in Hamamatsu (Japan), though I know that Nihongo (Japanese) is the first language that I need to study.

I want to share that here I am not the ‘only Salesian’. Sister Kurosaki, Caritas of Jesus is also taking part in this course. Originally from Nagasaki - Japan and now working in Sao Paulo as missionary. Though we are living under the rhythm as students in CCM, we also find time to share our common spirit in prayer and recreation by visiting the National 'Santuario de Dom Bosco' as well as the other places in his honor since Dom Bosco is the co-patron of the capital city - Brasilia.

I am praying and hoping that there will be some more young Salesians from Timor Leste ready to leave for Japan and for the world mission!"