Thailand: Fr. Pelosin, a PIME missionary among children and abandoned elderly of the slums
Stories of "ordinary" mission: teaching reading and writing to children in slums, caring for the abandoned elderly, organizing football matches between slums, ethics courses in the schools and activities for children of the parish. And on March 6, the newly re-elected superior of the Thai Missionary Society will go to Taiwan to agree with the bishop of Hunshu to open a new mission in the diocese.
Pathumthani (AsiaNews) - Teaching reading and writing to children in slums, caring for the abandoned elderly, organizing football matches between slums, ethics courses in the schools and activities for children of the parish. This is the list of "ordinary" activities carried out in the Saint Mark parish in Pathumthani of PIME missionary Father Adrian Pelosin, who on the eve of his 71 years (March 1) was re-elected by the Thai missionary Society as superior for another 6 years.
In his Easter Letter Father Pelosin said that "this year we have 17 member priests, two associated priests and 10 candidates in the Major Seminary. On March 6, I will go to Taiwan to agree with the bishop of Hunshu to open a new mission in the diocese. Also we will increase the mission in Laos and Cambodia. Here in the parish of Saint Mark in Pathumthani we opened two small centers amid the slums of Sake Wat and Lat Lum Keo and March 15 we will open another small center at Wat Prai Fa to assist children and semi-abandoned elderly; children whose parents are in prison for drug dealing, theft and murder. "
"Let me tell you some stories
Bank, Boss, Ben, are three brothers, respectively 13, 11 and 9 years of age. They live with their grandmother who was released from prison last year .. Their mother disappeared several years ago, their father is in prison. Their uncle killed a friend with whom he was drinking alcohol three weeks ago and is now in prison; This uncle’s wife, was taken by the police a few days later for drug dealing. Their maternal grandfather died of cancer earlier this year. The person who takes better care of these children is their blind aunt who has been preparing for a year to receive baptism at Easter. Bank, Boss and Ben are great football players. For them and many other children in the same social condition we are finishing the construction of a football pitch, a basketball, volleyball and Takro court '(a kind of volleyball that is played with the feet and head).
Ball is a 9 year old boy, in the third grade. Two months ago, his father committed suicide and mother went off with another man. He stayed at home with his widowed aunt, whose husband died three months ago and his mother also died after a short time. The aunt, who is called Tai, sells sweet corn in front of the village school earning on average 4 Euros a day. As he tells me about his life, his tears fall freely ....
Peng is a 10 year old girl. Her parents separated after a few months she was born. Her grandmother, poor, took in Peng’s elder brother Peng and gave Peng to a neighbor forbidding any contact with her brother and with her, the grandmother. The family who raised Peng has informed us that they could not keep the child. We brought in our orphanage directed by " Community Encounter ". Every time we go to see her she crys non-stop .... Three years ago we also brought Plag, 15 and Kuan, 12 to the "Community Encounter ". Their mother has been welcomed in the direct center of the Trinity by nuns for the rehabilitation of drug addicts, their dad is prison for eight years for drug dealing. We also brought Po, 12, who did not go to school because his father, separated from the mother did not take care of the child and he was left in the streets. We also brought two brothers there: Pet ton 11 years and 10 years that when their mother was pregnant with them I begged her not to have an abortion, and I promised that I would help support her children.
We only found out about Beer, a seven year old child with a sibling of five a few days ago; They are living with their father who is a drug addict who kicks them out of home regularly. The kids are out of school ... we are following them every day ...
But I have to 'thank the Lord for sending me many people who help me in this work. 10 young people aged 20 to 27 live with me here in the parish house. There is also a Salesian brother of 48. Two of them this year will enter the major seminary, and will be part of the Thai Missionary Society and two will go to India to the PIME seminary in Pune to study English. In the slums of Wat Sake there's a lady in retirement following the center, while another lady follows the center of Lat Lum Keo; March 15 a catechist 'Cat' will arrive to work in the new center of Wat Prai Fa. With these small centers we can be close to the people day and night.
We live like monks in the city: we get up at 5:30, at six we sing the Office of Readings and Morning Prayer, we program the day, we have breakfast. Four young people: Art, Pirun, Seek, Chak, go to teach in the primary school in Wat Kok for the children of the nearby slums, Jam and Ocho to teach reading and writing to children of school at Wat Sake in the morning and in the afternoon help about thirty children after school; Chatri and 'Ia' Mong follow the abandoned elderly, organize football matches between the various slums, give ethics courses in the schools and organize activities for children every Saturday at St. Mark's parish. Pan and Bi help Miss Fon in Lat Lum Keo, Bi is the factotum of the community: (Bi is a young man I took in eighteen years ago). In the evening at 6:30 we sing Vespers, we celebrate the Eucharist, and we discuss what happened during the day.
I have come to the end of my letter , which I am finishing for reasons of space and your time. I wish you all a peaceful time of preparation for Easter following Jesus to Calvary with confidence that suffering and death will have no power, but the resurrection will be our victory together with the Risen One.
I thank you also on behalf of all those who benefit from your sacrifices, prayers and offerings ... one day we will smile at each other all in Paradise; because Jesus said, 'Whatever you do for the least of my brothers, that you do unto Me'. And He will not forget”.
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