Araimiri, PNG, 20 April 2017 -- Obviously there is no best mission place in the world, but every mission place is always beautiful. Don Bosco used to travel a lot in order to look for and establish the mission places, his reaching out desire to places even happened in his dreams. However he was not looking for the best mission places but every place he went or as he sent his sons to go he always wanted to make those places beautiful and more beautiful....
I left the mother Province of VIE since 2002. With Don Bosco I am being sent to different places in the mission. Actually every place I went I found it always beautiful as it is and I tried to make it more beautiful. In fact, the real beauty that I can see is always happens through the heart, and not so much through the eyes. Therefore, like education, mission is a matter of the heart and faith.
Araimiri is the first house of the Salesian mission in Papua New Guinea. It maybe not so much attractive place if I look at it with the eyes, but it is truly beautiful mission if I try to appreciate it with the heart. Moreover, there is no common criteria or standard for the appreciation of the beauty if it comes from the heart. It is always different from one to another.
This year, my new assignment as parish priest of Mary Help of Christians Parish - Araimiri, gives me an opportunity to acknowledge the beauty of the mission in this place. Just simply imagine, when evening comes, children in the area are gathering in front of the parish church and walking up and down, like any Salesian does, but walk in the darkness, no light, on the sand, bare foot, and even many of the children without any piece of cloth on the bodies, all say the Rosary loudly. For sure, Jesus and his Mother are smiling and very happy to this every time. Another beauty I can see is the people just happy and enjoy with a little and simple thing in life. The things in which we cannot easy to find in many places nowadays.
As a reflection on God's love in this Holy Week, like Jesus, He was sent into the world by the Father; the Salesians are also sent to the mission - a mission for the souls especially the poor and abandoned youth. Although the world didn't welcome Him totally but at the end Jesus found his mission on earth is beautiful according to His last words on the Cross: "IT IS ACCOMPLISHED." (John 19:30). For Jesus, the beautiful mission on earth is fulfilling the Will of the Father. And so, the Salesians will discover the beauty of the mission also by fulfilling God's Will in his life through his vocation.
May the HOPE and JOY of the Risen Christ be always the sources of our mission vocation.
