A young missionary’s first taste of Asia

Fr Marcelo, 33, from Brazil, is bound for the mission to Japan after attending a training course in Phnom Penh. After studying Asia in books, he will experience it in person. The Cambodian Church, a small seed in the great field of the Buddhist world, bears witness. Being "tools of God's love" is very important.

Sep 19, 2017

By Marcelo Farias Dos Santos
The training course for missionaries who joined the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME) between 2009 and 2015 has just come to an end. This international group represents the present and the future of our institute.

I was fortunate enough to go through this experience and I thank the Lord, especially for two reasons. The first is that I met again old friends, whom I had not seen in a long time. At present, they proclaim the Gospel in many parts of the world, each on their own mission.

The second reason is that I discovered the mission in Cambodia, a country with a fascinating culture where a young and vibrant Christian community offers everyone a joyful witness.

After performing my ministry in Italy for seven years, which included missionary outreach and studies, my superiors decided to send me to Japan this year. Asia has always been my dream and this destination makes me think that perhaps it was also God's dream for my life.

However, I must admit that what I knew about this great continent did not go beyond what I read in many books and articles, saw in some documentaries, and the stories of various friends who bear witness to their faith in Jesus in various Asian countries. Now something has changed.

For me, the ten days of training in Cambodia were a first taste of the great Asian continent. I cannot deny that the impact was strong: culture, language, climate and society are very different from any other place I encountered in the West. But rather than scare me such diversity has fascinated, seduced me. I cannot say I know Cambodia – that requires time – but the experiences I have had here have certainly had a profound impact on me and made me think.

For example, although we were all foreigners in our group, people were not afraid of us and greeted us with joy, and this made us feel at home.

How wonderful it would be if we received such a welcome everywhere in the world. If everybody could feel home at home . . . no one would feel like an outsider. We would all be citizens of the world on our way to our true homeland: heaven.

The life of the Cambodian Church made me reflect a lot. This is a small Church, a minority in the middle of an ocean of people belonging to other religions, especially Buddhism, who do not know Jesus.

I knew already that Christianity is a minority religion in Asia. But it is one thing to read about it in books, and it is another to see it with its own eyes. We travelled across the country, visited several places and met many people, miles and miles by car without seeing a single cross, church or image of the Virgin in front of which to pray Hail Mary. In Cambodia, the Church of Jesus is truly leaven in the mass, mustard seedlings in the middle of the fields, a small presence, almost invisible, but faithful and lively.

In addition to the missionaries attending the course we met a very special person, Ming Prakoth, sister of Mgr Joseph Chmar Salas, the first and only Cambodian bishop (whose cause of beatification is underway) who died when he was only 39 years old in September 1977 during the genocide committed by the Khmer Rouse regime.

Her story profoundly touched us all, especially since it is free of any form of hatred or rancour. Despite the atrocities experienced, her words conveyed hope and joy.

The witness of these people renewed in me the passion for the mission and I hope to be for the Japanese people what they were for their fellow countrymen, namely, wonderful tools of God's love.

Thank you, Cambodia! It was a truly beautiful experience. Asia is a challenge I welcome with joy. In a few hours, I will take the plane that will bring me back to Italy. On Sunday in Milan, I will receive the crucifix of departure and the missionary mandate for Japan. I am leaving from Asia, but it is to Asia that I will be back very soon.--Asia News

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