Venezuela - "I follow the spirit of Don Bosco with the goal of opening the hearts of people to God"

09 October 2017

(ANS - Caracas) - He is one of the Salesian religious who received the Missionary Crucifix in the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians. Not this year, but eight long years ago. He is among the many Salesians from Vietnam who has decided to spend his life in the mission ad gentes – ad vitam. His name is Juse Do Van Dung. He's 39, a priest and this is his testimony.

I was ordained a priest on March 19, 2017, in the parish of Mary Help of Christians in Sarría, Caracas. I worked with ethnic minorities for 3 years before coming to Venezuela. I stayed 5 years to study. Now I am at the Apostolic Vicariate of Porto Ayacucho, in Alto Orinoco, the Amazon region where the Salesians have been present since 1932. There are 220,000 natives of different ethnicities in our territory, covering 162,000 km².

My vocation was born about a year before taking my vows. I received my greatest teaching from missionaries, foreign and Vietnamese: from them I realized that not only my country, but other nations also needed missionary work. Even though they are different countries, in each of them we are called upon to collaborate and have our vocation emerge. That is why I am here, with a spirit of service, to offer my commitment to the Salesians.

Although I'm not one for foreign languages, I want to entrust myself to God, follow my holy guide, and even if I do not achieve great results, I will always try to learn and collaborate with people. I know I cannot do much compared to the many needs of all the many people in difficulty, but I look forward to working for the young and the poorest!

I follow the spirit of Don Bosco, despite the difficulties, the obstacles, the differences of cultures, with the aim of opening the hearts of people to God so that they may be happy.

More information is available on the "Don Bosco Missions" website.

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