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Mae Hong Son
On the first day of the novena for the feast of our Saints, we received the invitation from Fr Domenic to give catechism classes to the children and the youth of the catholic families who are 28 out of 600 families in the refugee camp «Mae Sirin». Fr Domenic is a diocesan priest of Loikaw diocese who has been serving for 12 years, the refugees from Myanmar in Thailand. We the four sisters of the community «St Bartolomea Convent» were pleased that, for the first time, we were asked to carry out this mission. Despite the limited time at our disposal, we prepared charts, pictures, songs, games, videos etc… On 15th May, after travelling for three hours through rough and rugged roads, we reached the camp close to «Sacred Heart Church» where the people, the youth and children welcomed us with joy.
On the evening of the same day, we began our activities with 46 participants: 18 youth, 13 children and 15 of them preparing for the First Holy Communion for whom we have planned some catechism classes. For the smaller ones, we arranged action songs, reading and painting of Gospel stories while for the youth all four of us, in turn, taught moral values, good manners, liturgy and the parable of the good Samaritan. We have also encouraged them to share their point of view and their life experiences, difficult to talk about due to their condition.
On 18th May, we presented the life of our Saints and the mission of our Institute through a PowerPoint presentation. On the last day, they organised a cultural programme in which each group performed different dances and we helped them to act out the lives of Bartolomea and Vincenza. One of the youth, while expressing gratitude he first thanked our Saints, because it is thanks to them that the sisters are present among them. On our departure day, during Mass, we thanked the Lord for the gift of this experience in which we relished his blessings and protection. Although we were tired, we were extremely happy and considered this opportunity as a gift from our Saints.