Mission Stories – Asia
Pope Francis in Mongolia: A Beacon of Hope and Unity
Mongolia has only 3.4 million people, and though the majority are Buddhist, there is also a 39 percent of the population who are atheist. The small Catholic community came into existence after this landlocked country, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, restored its diplomatic relations with the Vatican in the early 1990s and allowed foreign missionaries back in.
Sri Lanka, a country located at the tip of India surrounded by the India Ocean, has the perfect climate to produce TEA. It is the fourth largest producer in the
world. Unfortunately, many of people who work on the tea estates are living in terrible poverty. Nutritional packs and medical care provided by the Missionary Childhood Association to families on tea estates in Sri Lanka are changing lives.
Faith Grows From the Ground Up
In December 1948, a Spanish Missionary, Sister Guadalupe journeyed to the remote northeastern part of India called Nagaland. Sister Guadalupe of the Sisters of Christ Jesus, was invited by the government to help staff a newly established hospital. No direct evangelization, she was told.
Vocations Spring Forth in Diocese of Zhouzhi
Joy-filled, happy and enthusiastic – ready to work…These words describe the many Seminarians, Religious Sisters & Brothers who serve in the Missions around the world. A small community on China’s Silk Road provides an ideal example. 400 of its 660 inhabitants are Catholic, well over the Chinese national average of one percent. This small village, Zan…
Prayers for Persecuted Christians in Pakistan
“Christians in Pakistan, when we think of the Western world, we think of you as our elder brothers and sisters in the faith, as the center of Christianity,” expresses Father Faryadd*, reflecting the heart of countless believers in the nation.
Daughters of Charity Provide Education in Cambodia
In Cambodia, many families move to the city from the countryside to look for jobs. Soriya, whose name means “sun,” her little sister, Chanlina, whose name means “moonlight,” and her family are one such family. They struggled to earn a living with subsistence farming in their village, so a move to the city of Phnom Penh, held promise.
Water, Source of Life in India and Africa
In some places in sub-Saharan Africa, for instance, women and children can spend between 15 and 17 hours each week collecting water. In times of drought, it can sometimes take even longer. Adequate water supply and good health are tightly linked, and the need to carry water long distances limits the amount women can bring to their families.
Good Shepherd Sisters Follow the Example of Mary in Myanmar
We see this example of Mary alive today in the community of Good Shepherd Sisters. For more than 40 years, the Sisters have worked to eliminate malnutrition, infant mortality and difficulties connected with illiteracy in the village of Magyikwin, in Myanmar. “This area, in the past, was infamous for high consumption of alcohol and ensuing brawls. Today malnutrition, illiteracy and infant mortality are the main challenges.” according to Sister Maria Goretti Lwin.
Desperate for help, people in great numbers are fleeing from Syria and Iraq to Lebanon. They are leaving their own countries to escape war and violence; it is estimated that there are currently over 1.5 million Syrian and a half million Iraqi refugees who are seeking a safe haven. They are being met by a Lebanese population who are already giving homes to at least a half million refugees. If it sounds overwhelming, it is.
From the Streets to the Priesthood
As a child, no one would have guessed the Lord’s calling for Rayalu Kalva. As many of the children in the village of Telakantegudem, Rayalu found himself begging for food. His father died when he was very young and, to this day, he does not know where his mother is. Rayalu was an orphan, a street child, like so many in this town in the south of India.