By Fr Angel Yamanouchi, SDB

Saitama Diocese, Japan, 25 September 2023 -- On 24 September, a meeting of young people from different parishes was held in the parish of Honjo in the diocese of Saitama. The aim of the meeting was to give young people the opportunity to think about their future, and their dreams. Three young people gave their testimonies. One is a young Brazilian who participated in the World Youth Day in Portugal. Sharing his experience awakened in the young people the desire to participate in the next World Youth Day to be held in Korea. Then he continued with a young Peruvian woman who is a stewardess. Learning Japanese well, the support of her family and the accompaniment of the parish community allowed her to be where she is and to feel fulfilled. Finally, another young Brazilian who is a high school teacher. Arriving in Japan at the age of 11 without knowing any Japanese, he had to work hard to be able to continue his studies. Seeing the backs of his parents who sacrificed for him and his sister, especially his mother who, being a nurse in Brazil, studied late into the night after work in order to validate her degree here in Japan, was what kept her going.

We have published a pamphlet with the lives of 8 young foreigners, of different nationalities, who are living what they dreamed of one day.

Seeing the backs of his parents who sacrificed for him and his sister, especially his mother who, being a nurse in Brazil, in order to validate her degree here in Japan, studied until late at night after work, was what allowed her not to give up on the road. They feel fulfilled, they live happily and you can see the light in their faces. The ninth is a young Japanese girl who has lived with foreign children in the parish since she was a child. It was there that her heart began to connect beyond the differences in language, culture and customs.

The meeting ended with the Eucharist celebrated by Bishop Mario Yamanouchi. During the mass, a young Japanese girl and her grandmother made the ADMA commitment. She is the first young woman to join ADMA. She came looking for me to teach her about the Don Bosco education system. Then, when she started working at the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians orphanage in Akabane, Tokyo, she felt the desire to be baptized. She was baptized at Easter. In the parish of Honjo, she accompanies foreign children by helping them in their studies. While singing the final hymn, they received from the bishop the pamphlet of the young models, so that each one can find and realize the dream that God has for each one of them.

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