3698(I)_Go out, head for the Periphery

New summer apostolate experience of Novices KOR

By Nov. Papias Oh

Seongnam, Korea – The 4 Korean Novices, Joseph Shin, Moses Song, Papias Oh, Andrew Heo, with their Master, Fr. Timothy Choi, had a very special summer apostolate experience July 22 to 28 in Seongnam which is a city nearby Seoul. Since Fr. Stephano Yang, Provincial had strongly wanted and supported the novices to ‘Go out, head for the Periphery’, as the Pope Frnacis has told, for their New Summer Apostolate, the Novices had an encounter with and a service for the homeless for a week in Anna’s House in Seongnam.

Fr. Vincenzo Bordo from OBLATES.M.I who is a director of the house has very well managed it with some services for the homeless since 1998. About 550 poor people has come everyday for dinner, shower, cloth, barber, medical check-up, counseling, sleep, even for work.

Working with the homeless Fr. Vincenzo had discovered that among them were some teenagers and other young people, so he started the sheltering homes for them.

The Novices were welcoming the homeless, the elderly, even the young from the street and serving for them in the kitchen, such as prepairing food, serving, washing dishes, cleaning the kitchen, etc.

On the weekend, they played and went aquarium with the young living in the sheltering homes. For the last day of their apostolate in the Anna’s House, they joined and enjoyed the annual outing to the valley of the personnel and of the young of the sheltering homes. The Novices had a great and very miningful experience as their summer apostolate to touch the heart of the periphery.

On July 29th to 31st, the Novices, continuing their another periphery exprerience, went to one of the issued beaches that occur the highest criminals place during summer named Eulwangri Beach, most close one from the capital city, to see the young to help out with ‘Beach Counseling.’ It normally allows to see the youth to the risk on the beach, such as sexual violence, prostitution, alcohol, violence.

The Novices stayed from afternoon til midnight for 3 days to meet the young on the beach and had the beach counseling, prividing them noodles and snacks to prevent them from the risk. They met about 6oo young people for 3 days to help out.

The new summer apostolate was very hard and challenging but, that’s for sure, it was very pecious and significant for them to become genuine Salesians for the future.