The chance was too good to pass up. For the first time, our parish in Singapore – the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour (OLPS) – was holding a visual exhibition to showcase its various outreach activities.
The event, which saw different ministries putting up display panels over two weekends, was prompted by Pope Francis’ designation of October 2019 as the Extraordinary Mission Month.
My husband, Michael, and I thought it was the perfect platform to promote our ongoing collaboration with Fr. Francis Teo and his team in Manila.
We had visited Nariokotome and other MCSPA Missions in Kenya in June 2017, and were moved to spread the word about the community’s tireless work after we came back.
At a church camp later that year, we shared our experience and had people coming up to us wanting to find out more.
Like us, most of them were keen to expose their kids to outreach activities that would help pave the way for an others-centred life in an increasingly self-absorbed world.
Many children in Singapore are blessed with a comfortable life but not attuned enough to appreciate their good fortune.
A trip to Turkana, however, is neither an easy nor cheap one to make. Instead, Fr. Francis proposed a group visit to MCSPA’s Asian base in Metro Manila.
When some of the potential visitors asked what they could do to help, he gave his standard reply: “Just come and see.”
So in December 2018, five families from OLPS went and had a glimpse of MCSPA’s scope of work in a few slum areas.
Over four days, we visited some of the homes, organised Christmas parties for the families and distributed food and presents.
We didn’t do much. But the seven youngsters in our group of 16 learnt first-hand that applying their talents and resources – no matter how meagre they might seem – for the good of others brings much joy and meaning in life.
This is not a one-off, feel-good project though. We have scheduled another visit to the Manila Mission in December this year. This time, the group size has nearly doubled to about 30 people.
Through these annual visits, we hope to forge a long-term relationship with some of the families there and continue to support MCSPA’s work in any way we can.
This is also the message behind our display panel at OLPS, which featured photos from our Manila trip in 2018, summed up what we did there and shared the ethos of MCSPA.
May we, like the missionaries of MCSPA, learn to put our faith into action and share the Gospel through personal witness and welcome.
By Gemma Tee
