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.
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AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For queries please contact admin@bosconet.aust.com . RSS feeds - just go to Bosconet, click on austraLasia 2011 in the sidebar. You will see the RSS orange icon in your browser address bar - add it from there. Or be interactive with the EAO blog Cetera Tolle. Avail yourself of the Salesian Digital Library at http://sdl.sdb.org
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 is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For queries please contact admin@bosconet.aust.com . RSS feeds - just go to Bosconet, click on austraLasia 2011 in the sidebar. You will see the RSS orange icon in your browser address bar - add it from there. Or be interactive with the EAO blog Cetera Tolle. Avail yourself of the Salesian Digital Library at http://sdl.sdb.org
