By Asp. Gilbredt Steven

Sumba - Indonesia, 7 March 2024 -- Formation as aspirants and pre-novices is the time when prospective Salesians are trained to understand the basis of their vocation and then understand the vocation to become a Salesian within themselves. The Formators held a special event, namely a workshop on "Religious Living," as a means for the candidates to gain knowledge so they could recognize the basis of their respective vocations in life. For this reason, the formators invited Fr. Vincentius Prastowo, SDB, and Fr. Silverius Andang Kencana Aji, SDB.

This workshop lasted for one week and started on Tuesday, 5 March, after the arrival of the two priests in the Sumba community on Monday afternoon. On the first day, Fr. Prast gave material on Imagery (Capturing Yourself), which discussed Self Transcendence. Then, Fr. Andang invited Aspirants and Pre-Novices to recognize and look again at our calling in life from the beginning.

The second day of the workshop began with the session 'Making Don Bosco a Role Model' presented by Fr. Andang. Aspirants and Pre-Novices were invited to realize that the Salesian's calling is to make Don Bosco himself the example. Then in the second session Fr. Prast filled in by talking about Crisis (Challenges & Opportunities). This continued in the third session by exploring Don Bosco's personality again. On the following day, the first session was filled with material regarding sexual violence. Then the next day, Fr. Andang gave the first session on Service. The discussion that was touched on was then further explored. Fr. Prast gave the basics of the Salesian preventive system for ministry on Social Media. The next day, Fr. Prast gave material about writing Opinions. Fr. Prast wants to invite aspirants and Pre-Novices to form an opinion and criticize it. Meanwhile, Fr. Andang spoke about the material Limits of Service. Then, in the third session, Fr. Prast asked aspirants and Pre-Novices to also make a Personal Plan Of Life.

Fr. Prast's and Fr. Andang's in the Sumba community is almost over. They will return to Jakarta on Monday. On Sunday evening, a short farewell event was held as a thank-you for the arrival and willingness of the two priests to provide knowledge about Religious Life for aspirants and Pre-Novices. This evening, apart from greetings and words of thanks from Fr. Prast and Fr. Igan, the Aspirants performed regional dance performances from North Sumatra as a form of appreciation and thanksgiving. Then Fr. Prast also asked us to practice making a Personal Plan Of Life.

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