Tomohon, Indonesia, 5 October 2018.
To celebrate the feast of Saint Vincent de Paul on September 27, 2018 the brothers in the community of the first year noviciate in Tomohon had conducted many activities. The participants of these activities are the postulants and the novices of the Brothers of the Seven Sorrows and the Brothers CMM. They participated in many kinds of sport and liturgical activities such as playing volleybal, futsal, badminton, table tennis, vocal groups, psalm singing and bible reading. This years celebration is special because they started a new program: ‘Go out’. In this program, the participant are sent in groups to meet people in the streets, market or houses, and offer themselves to help with whatever they can do.
‘Go out’
The ‘Go out’ program was done on Tuesday, September 25. Twenty-eight brothers participated, divided into 5 groups. Very early in the morning at around five, the participants were dropped in five different spots in the city of Tomohon. Each group had been asked to go and meet people and offer themselves for a free job. In the evening, they came together again and each group shared their experiences.
Strangers
Brother Wilfridus guided this sharing and he gave three questions to guide them. The questions were about how the participants felt about the program, what kind of free jobs they did, and about what kind of message they gave to the people. The brothers shared many things; about how they were anxious at first when they heard about the program; how they were rejected by some people, and how they felt encouraged by the program. Brother Frido, one of the participants, said that at first, they were confused on where to go and what to do. They went along the road and saw nobody because it was very early in the morning. People were still sleeping. They tried several times, knocking the doors of the houses but got no response. Some people rejected them, and considered them as strangers. “It was very challenging. We almost lost hope,” said Brother Frido. “We saw the doubts in their eyes. They tended to avoid us”, another brother said.
Leaving God for God
Brother Philips, novice master, announced that this new program will become a permanent program for the future. “By doing this, we do what is asked by Saint Vincent. That is leaving God for God”.
Br. Wilfridus Bria CMM (Indonesia)