I arrived here in the Philippines on July 31, 2022. This means that I completed the last year last July 31, 2023. During the Novitiate in Kinshasa, I didn’t expect to be assigned here in the Philippines. To my surprise, I found that my assignment was to come to the Philippines. For me, it was a new journey mixed with challenges. When I arrived, it was my first time living in an international community with many brothers coming from different countries and cultures. This new journey was, needless to say, a challenge that I had to face. Thank God, I was able to get acclimated to this new community life. I have to say that if our community life is well lived, our religious family will be strong and our mission will go on.
Regarding the country that is hosting me, I can say that the Philippines is a hospitable country. After arriving in the Philippines, my first challenge was the language. Since I come from a French-speaking country, my first focus was to learn English, which would be my formation language. However, while going outside, there are people who like to talk to me in Tagalog. This is a big challenge since I have not yet learned Tagalog. Besides, I was challenged to eat the food that I found in the Philippines. The good thing is that as a missionary, I have to be aware of the exigency of missionary life (immersing in a new culture, learning a new language, encountering new people, etc.). In this line, I had a chance, during our community outing, to visit some places in Intramuros. We visited Fort Santiago, San Augustin Church, and Rizal Park. As a missionary, it was a crucial moment in my life because the experience I had reminded me that my mission is being realized not in a vacuum but in a particular place. Therefore, it’s helpful to know the history of this particular place for my mission.
The Philippines is known as a country that is predominantly Christian. Many Catholics live their Christian life as dutiful soldiers. However, I notice that their Christian life seems to turn into a routine. In addition, there are some devotions or some actions that I didn’t understand until now. For instance, blessing a dog or raising a hand when a priest is blessing people with holy water. In our conversation during dinner time, one confrere once said that it is the responsibility of the Church to teach the faithful about what is allowed and what is not allowed to do. The most important thing is to help each other in our journey as Christians. I keep a positive image of Filipino people, especially those who are close to our community because they really assure us of their prayers.
To end this short experience, I have to say that my experience in this country does not end with this one page. It’s still going on. What I wrote here is just the impression of the moment.
