Last week Fr. Ferrington, the Delegate Superior of the Salesians of Sudan and South Sudan, asked me to attend an Introductory Course of South Sudan. Since he received word about the seminar last minute, I represented the SDBs and will be presenting the material to the Salesian communities of South Sudan in the future (I will also try to share the information on this site when I put everything together). The topics of the seminar were all very interesting, and included history, media, ethnic groups, the church, the government, and women. It was a fantastic opportunity to learn more about the country and people that I am serving, and it opened my eyes to many challenges and opportunities.
Even though the speakers gave great stories and information, the best talk was the impromptu anecdote of Br. Valentino, a 90-year-old Comboni Missionary. He first arrived in Sudan/South Sudan in 1949 when the country was still controlled by British colonists, and lived through two civil wars over his 63 years here. As you can imagine, he has quite a remarkable story. With many laughs intermingled with some amazing experiences, his words were great advice to me, a 22-year-old kid who has been in South Sudan for three months. Much of what he said was great guidance for life in general, so missionary or not, I leave you with a few lines of his that impacted me and might have the same impact on you.
“God, bless me to understand how to deal with the people.”
“It's all about the people.”
“Be brothers… we are all the same.”
“Pay wages honestly and respect the workers. Give them their dues before the sweat becomes dry.”
“There is no second class.”
“Be happy with the people and love them.”
Even though the speakers gave great stories and information, the best talk was the impromptu anecdote of Br. Valentino, a 90-year-old Comboni Missionary. He first arrived in Sudan/South Sudan in 1949 when the country was still controlled by British colonists, and lived through two civil wars over his 63 years here. As you can imagine, he has quite a remarkable story. With many laughs intermingled with some amazing experiences, his words were great advice to me, a 22-year-old kid who has been in South Sudan for three months. Much of what he said was great guidance for life in general, so missionary or not, I leave you with a few lines of his that impacted me and might have the same impact on you.
“God, bless me to understand how to deal with the people.”
“It's all about the people.”
“Be brothers… we are all the same.”
“Pay wages honestly and respect the workers. Give them their dues before the sweat becomes dry.”
“There is no second class.”
“Be happy with the people and love them.”
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