You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:14-16
July 16, 2021
An online event organised Catholic Architectural Guild together with Caritas and CHARIS. Watch the whole video coverage brought to us by Saint Max Story and Media Singapore.
All of us are called to light up our world. The Catholic Architectural Guild is blessed to gather missionaries who have brought their light into diverse fields for a forum to reflect on their journey. Their mission fields range from Singapore all the way to Cambodia, Myanmar and Africa.
We hope that their sharing will inspire us to bring our light into the world in our own ways, big or small.
Forum speakers:
Belinda Huang (Architect), Caroline Seow (Jesuit Refugee Service), Father Francis Teo (MCSPA), Gabriel Teo (Tana River Life Foundation), Jeremy Aloysius (Architect), John and Priscilla Lee (ACTS), Linus Koh (Saint Max), Theodore Chan (Architect).
“I first met Fr. Francisco Andreo early in 1988. It was in Lowarengak in the north of Kenya, till today an extremely remote place. People called him Fr. Paco or simply, Paco, as he prefered to be called. Paco was never indifferent to the needs and suffering of others, moving those around him to find solutions to situations of need. Paco constantly called others to leave everything behind and follow a life of service. And I was included in that invitation! He made it so passionately and intensely, I couldn’t say no! It was through Paco that I began to get a glimpse over time of what being a priest and a missionary was all about. I was 24 years old then and already I had been drawn into a life of caring for others – the children, the elderly, the hungry and the sick.
And so, I began to live my life as a missionary with the Missionary Community of St. Paul the Apostle. Paco couldn’t stand to see a hungry child, and so all the day’s events and life in the mission was to see how there would be food – how to produce, to cultivate: fruit, crops, animals. We needed water in that semi-arid land, and so we worked to drill boreholes, build dams – working to provide for the people who were thirsty and hungry.
Slowly, our missions developed into centres of agricultural production, and water resource development. Conditions were harsh, back-breaking. Everything was a challenge, even making a phone call! But I took it all in and enjoyed life – the people, the challenges, community life, the discovery of the gospels in relation to my daily life. It was like “a revelation to the Gentiles”!
The greatest lesson living with the poor, must be the indomitable human spirit to survive, to improve and to push on despite all the odds. They teach me not to take life for granted. What is clear also is the amount of good that can be achieved when there is goodwill and hardwork, when each of us brings his or her 5 loaves and 2 fish. I find a deep and existential joy in doing good for others.”
“After my university final exams in 1988 I visited my brother, Fr. Francis, who was a catechist in remote Turkana, Kenya. It was a self gift for completing my studies and securing a job with Arthur Andersen, a Big-6 accounting firm. I spent 9 months in Turkana and Nairobi where I saw the medical mission work by the Missionary Community of St. Paul the Apostle.The impressions and discoveries were overwhelming, leaving me in awe and amazement, and also restless.
I returned to Singapore and worked for 6 years as a Tax Accountant. Life was filled with great excitement and non-stop activities. I travelled extensively, often off the beaten track. Despite the ostensible success, it became increasingly hard to ignore the growing restlessness inside. I was certain my life was yet to be lived fully so I did a “heroic” thing. I left my job, sold my car to the Archdiocese of Singapore, donated my goods to the Good Shepherd Sisters, and returned to Kenya to answer the call within my heart.
In time, God was to reveal the shocking truth that I was neither a hero nor a saviour. I was merely finding myself and in the process I was the one being helped, sometimes even a burden on the people I was supposed to help. God is an architect who draws straight with extremely crooked lines. I was going round in circles, thinking my plans were His plans until I reached a desert; a barrenness where I was insignificant. That period “in the wilderness” was the turning point. The deep emptying of self made me realise God was calling me to follow His drawing plans instead, as they unfold, section by section. I was to embark on that journey by taking a leap of faith, into the unknown, with no strings attached.
Over the years, I have learnt to walk with the faith of a blind man who needs to be led. I have also learnt that I “see” better when I complement my faith with humility, gratitude, joy, patience, perseverance, acceptance, hope and compassion. God remains faithful, and His light continues to shine in the darkness, and the darkness can never overcome it."
"1986 - The day I stepped foot on African soil was a dream come through. Inspired by the IJ Sisters, I had longed to do mission work abroad. My prayers were answered. I was to be a science teacher in a village school 200km from Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. I formed a ‘school-club’ with eight 14-year-old girls who christened themselves the ‘Young Helpers’. After lessons, we packed ourselves up in the mission’s pick-up truck and trooped down to the village. Each girl took responsibility for one area of community development - agriculture, hygiene, cooking etc. We fetched water from boreholes, gathered firewood for wintry nights, cleaned mud-huts and bathed the children. When the school boys joined the Young Helpers, we built thatched-huts. I still have fond memories of driving on the pot-holed one-tar roads.
Today, I volunteer in the intersection of business, purpose and social-justice. I rally around the call by the Vatican on businesses to serve the common good and to address challenges of inequality, economic-dislocation and environmental degradation. Pope Francis’s Laudato Si is a voice for people at-risk as the encyclical highlights how climate change disproportionately affects the vulnerable. The world’s forcibly displaced populations have risen to nearly 82.4 million. Yet, in response, an increasing number of countries have tightened restrictions – people fleeing conflict and climate-change are being turned back at borders, imprisoned indefinitely and left to perish at sea. Deserving compassion, protection and humanity, they are instead branded as ‘illegal’, their dignity denied, and needs for security disregarded. In the past decade, I, together with fellow Jesuit Refugee Service volunteers, have engaged with at-risk in refugee camps in Mae Hong Song, in border towns like Mae Sot, in urban cities such as Bogor. We want to shine a light on the rights, needs and dreams of refugees and mobilize collective will and resources so refugees can not only survive but also thrive.”
"No one said it was going to be easy, not even God himself, in the person of Our Lord Jesus Christ. I learnt that to love others is to serve them. I love others when I do things for them without expecting anything in return. Things I may not like to do, that will cost or inconvenience me greatly. To follow Jesus, is to love one another (John 13:35). And there is no love without service. Jesus himself said He came to serve not to be served (Mark 10:45). This was the biggest take away for me from participating in 10 years of Christmas Missions to bring the Christmas message and cheer to the villages of Seam Reap and its environs.
Our group, Divine Love is an informal ground-up group of missioners initiated by Fr Peter Wee CSSR and Ms Betty Wee (Lay Mission Leader). We had many fears and concerns at the onset. How do we bring an “alien concept” like the Christmas Message to villagers that hardly spoke English and were from an Indo-Chinese culture and background and predominantly Buddhist? How would we be received? Would we be rejected? Worse still, reviled. Would it be all a waste of time and money? The challenge seemed very daunting and somewhat insurmountable. But we truly believe that the success of the mission was not in our hands. It rested entirely on the providence of God. Our role was just to facilitate the best we could; lift the villagers and our humble efforts to the Lord for Him to work the miracle of how or who He intends to touch.
I believe that no matter how great or altruistic we think our efforts are, we are merely His servants and instruments. And this is just our 5 loaves and 2 fishes, which were not ours to begin with. To forgo ego and expectations, but instead focus purely on the love and service as commanded by the Lord. To not having expectations of “success” but placing our trust in the will of God regarding the outcomes. This is the difficult, hard, and uncomfortable part of Christian love and charity."
"On my first mission to Thailand when I was in Secondary 3, I discovered a simple way of life that was entirely new to me. It taught me to be grateful for the little things that I was given in life, every single grain of rice that was put on my plate that I had taken for granted. At first, I thought that the mission was to help people and understand the culture of the people in those rural countries. After going for a couple of missions, the missions have instead helped me to learn meaningful life lessons. I learn how to be grateful for the simple things in life.
One of my most cherished memory was making friends with the children at the Battambang parish in Cambodia. They were so welcoming and friendly and were always cheerful and full of joy despite the difficult living conditions they were faced with. They made me feel loved as I felt welcomed by them. I was able to connect with them by opening myself, understanding their challenges and embracing their culture. The depth of which they reciprocated my love was immense and I was truly grateful to meet them and be loved. The missions have taught me to view life from different perspectives. Perspectives which we could not gain from normal life experiences back in Singapore. It has definitely shaped my view of the world and taught me the joy of living with less. Rather than feeding our undying urges to want more and more, we can find true joy from just being thankful for whatever we have, however simple it may be."
“It was 2011, I was having breakfast when some friends started talking about ACTS - a mission group serving in Cambodia. At that point I had never been to an overseas mission trip nor to Cambodia. Before I knew it, I was signed up and headed to Phnom Penh. At the end of that first visit, I felt a strong desire to do MORE. I recalled the words of St. Ignatius of Loyola challenging me to reach for God’s greater Glory. Just then, a friend came over and asked if I wanted to join his small group returning to Cambodia. They were planning to spend time with Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity Home for women with HIV and orphaned children. I felt the hand of God nudging me forward but I wondered how I could contribute to the mission as an architect. As we spent more time with the children, we started painting murals, including their help. After one of our visits, a sister at the Home christened us the “Sunshine Group”, saying that we brought sunshine into their lives.
We were overwhelmed with her outpouring of gratitude regarding the impact we had on the resident’s lives. This became our call to mission to bring “sunshine” with us as we ventured further afar into Battambang, a western province of Cambodia that was poorer and less accessible. In one of the villages, the parish priest, invited us to build a playground for the kindergarten and children. We sought local carpenters to build the structure, and our group spent the week painting and dressing it. The joy and laughter that the playground brought to the children really resonated in our hearts. To date, our little group has built four of these colourful play structures around Battambang. I felt that whatever I have given of my time and energy, I have gotten so much more in return. From the hospitality of the community, the smiles of the families, the gratitude of the villagers, and yes, the joy of the children.
Unmistakably, I am touched by the love of Christ in his people in Cambodia. Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam!"
”When Fr Francis Teo of the Missionary Community of St Paul the Apostle (MCSPA) invited my wife and me to Turkana in 2017, we were full of apprehension. Turkana is one of the poorest, driest and most remote regions in Kenya. "What on earth can two city-dwellers like us do for the people there?" we wondered with laughable naivete. Fr Francis’ response was simply: "Come and see". It was neither reassuring nor illuminating, but we went anyway.
Little did we know that the trip itself was the answer. There was nothing we could offer the people there. But the missionaries showed us what love, perseverance, dedication and God’s grace could accomplish. Seeing them in action was enough to convert our apprehension to awe. We saw firsthand the joy that they brought to the nomadic tribes. What was even more amazing was the sophistication behind their labour of love. We visited farms which flourished in the parched lands because the missionaries taught the herdsmen about desert agriculture. The sense of pride and ownership over the crops has enticed some of the nomads to settle in villages, where their children can then enrol in schools set up by MCSPA. Using English as the medium of instruction, the missionaries aim to provide an education that would allow the kids to break out of their poverty cycle. A more stable and settled living arrangement also enables MCSPA health workers to improve the nomads’ well-being, and all these moves gradually help to elevate the living standards of the whole community. The trip was life-changing for us because we came face to face with a group of men and women who live like Christ. His grace and their faith are what drive these missionaries to leave behind their comfortable homes and devote their lives to serving others in a trying environment. We did not just “come and see”; we were also moved to ask: “What more can we do?” We started with a baby step, and ended up encountering God in an unexpected and awe-inspiring way.”
