austraLasia

By Fr Martin Lasarte, SDB

RMG, 22 February 2019 -- Watching the four heart-touching videos of the 2019 Salesian Mission Day is a time of deep emotion and prayer. Not many Salesians from the EAO region have the experience to visit or even imagine the life of more than 24 million Africans, mostly women, children and youth, who have spent years living in many refugee camps within the African continent.

Twenty minutes of deep insight through history, personal stories of refugees - young people, catechists, mothers, former child soldiers, and Salesians - is captured in each of the three videos from Palabek (Uganda), from Kakuma (Kenya) and from Juba (South Sudan).

You many encounter storytellers like Br. Jim Comino (South Sudan - Juba), Fr Felice (Kenya - Kakuma) or Fr Lazar Arasu (Palabek - Uganda) or Fr Charles Taban (South Sudanese SDB, former refugee) and many other Salesians, refugees or our lay mission partners in the IDP (internally displaced people) or refugee camps.

Since last February 1, 2019 all four animation videos produced by Missioni Don Bosco (Turin-Italy) have been available on YouTube. Simply sharing these videos on social media or inviting people to watch them in our youth groups, parishes, schools or vocational training centres is a very meaningful action of missionary animation.

Salesian Mission Day 2019:

Prayer for Salesian Mission Day 2019

O God, Father of all,

in your love, you remind us about the joy that we experience in giving and receiving hospitality.

Help us to open our hearts to welcome everyone,
especially those who are far from their country and their dear ones.

We present to you in particular the situation of the migrants,

refugees and internally displaced people who are in Africa.

Grant, that our hearts may allow your Spirit to enlarge them,
so that we too may recognise angels in those we welcome
- the messengers of your presence - whom you continue to send into the world.

Amen.

Resources for Salesian Mission Day 2019: