By Fr Ariel Tampus SVD

In the January-February 2006 issue Father Ariel described his experiences as a seminarian during his two-year Overseas Training Program in Zimbabwe, where he was hoping to return. Having been denied a visa for there, he applied for one to Botswana and, a ‘waiting missionary’ no more, left for there in January.www.svdbotswana.com  is the website for the Botswana – Zambia – Zimbabwe province of the Missionaries of the Divine Word, known officially in Latin as Societas Verbi Divini, hence ‘the SVDs’ as their popular name in the Philippines.

PHOTO: Francis Espera

I am a ‘waiting missionary.’ I call myself by this new term because I’m a missionary of the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) waiting for over a year now to go to my mission in Africa. The main reason why I am still in waiting is the political crisis in Zimbabwe, where I’m assigned. At the moment, this country is being sanctioned by the international community due to the many injustices by the government against its people. My brothers working there informed me that the Zimbabwean government is very cautious about granting entry visas for missionaries, since the local Catholic Church is very vocal in criticizing the government. And that makes me a waiting missionary. At present, I’m still in the Philippines.

Like St Paul’s Missionary Journeys

One brother told me once that I shouldn’t lose hope, that I shouldn’t be tired of waiting for that is what our Christian life is all about. Christians are always in waiting for the reign of God. What a consolation to hear this from a co-missionary! So I started to accept that this is part of God’s greater plan for me. To participate in God’s plan, I started to make my waiting time more productive. I envisioned a plan to make my future missionary experiences in Africa more alive because of my experiences here in the Philippines. I proposed to my superiors that I be allowed to visit and experience our many frontier missions here in my own country. They were more than happy to grant my request for my growth as a Divine Word Missionary. I can compare my experiences with the many missionary journeys of St Paul. He covered so many missions in his lifetime. I managed only three.

First Stop: 

Quinlogan Mission in Palawan

Quinlogan mission is a new frontier mission of the SVD Philippine Central Province. It is located in Palawan, around 180 kms from Puerto Princesa City, the island-province’s capital. My first impression of the place was that it was still very undeveloped. It made me realize that there are still many places in my country without electricity, something I can hardly imagine in our modern and highly technological world.

The people are very poor since most of them depend only on fishing. Many times during my stay there we ate only sardines since the fishermen sometimes didn’t have a catch because of typhoons.  People in the area learn to live one day at a time. There were no refrigerators, so we had to go around everyday to look for our ‘daily bread’.

During my one-month stay there Fr Antonio Enerio SVD, the parish priest, made a point of letting me experience everything that makes a Quinlogan missionary – how to drive on a rough road, what to do when the mission car breaks down, when the resources aren’t enough for survival, and why we are doing all this. It was indeed a very memorable experience to live my vow of poverty among the poor. Poor missionaries among the poor – that describes the SVDs in our Palawan mission.

Second Stop:

Aguinaldo Mission in Ifugao

This frontier mission is under the responsibility of the SVD Philippine Northern Province and is managed by Fr Teody Saluba SVD. When people talk about the Ifugao, they usually think of the beautiful Banaue Rice Terraces, one of the ‘Wonders of the World’. Indeed, the place is full of wonders, including our missionaries there. Since the area is very mountainous, many Christian communities can’t be reached by car. So our missionaries there don’t have much choice but to walk and climb for an hour or two to reach them.

My two weeks in Aguinaldo let me experience this wonderful reality. Indeed, it took tons of patient love for mission. As I was catching my breath when we reached the mountaintop to celebrate the Eucharist with the people there, I reflected that it seemed to be the favorite ‘pastime’ of our Lord to climb a hill to pray. I have no doubt our men working in this area are God’s favorite missionaries, for they have the same favorite ‘pastime.’

Third Stop:

Ipil Mission in Zamboanga

My third missionary journey brought me to our newest mission in the Southern Province of SVD Philippines. Getting to the mission was already hard work. From Zamboanga City it took me almost a day to reach the mission station. Travel time could be cut by half but for the rough roads and lack of buses. Our bus left early in the morning for Olutanga Island, the whole of which has been given by the Prelature of Ipil to the SVDs for pastoral care. It has two parishes and a quasi-parish and I stayed in Mabuhay mission with Fr Joseph Audiencia SVD and Fr Jerry Perocho SVD.

What is very interesting about Olutanga is that it is our only mission in the Philippines where we live side-by-side with our Muslim brothers and sisters. Since the area is a Muslim settlement, our Christian communities have many opportunities for inter-faith dialogue. I realized there that we can always co-exist with our Muslim brothers and sisters. After more than a year of SVD presence in the island, I can see that there is a lot of mutual respect and our confreres are planning activities to strengthen this.

The Journey Continues

My three missionary journeys made me realize that in our pilgrimage towards God’s Kingdom we can always do something worthwhile on the way. Whatever form this may take, it should make us realize that we are all companions on this one journey. Whether in Palawan, Ifugao or Zamboanga, or maybe in Zimbabwe, our journey continues.

But the fact is, we sometimes have to wait!

You may contact the author at ayheesvd@yahoo.com