Present yourself?
I am cleric Dominic NGUYEN QUOC OAT from the Province of Saint John Bosco, Vietnam. God has blessed me along with three people in my family in the person of my parents and my elder sister. God has offered me an opportunity to do his mission in England, Great Britain. It is a wonderful country and my experience within this short span of time has made me to feel the warmth and affection of people around me in this vineyard of the lord.
What inspired you to make this choice to become a missionary?
I have heard about missionary experiences of numerous Salesian missionaries of my homeland on their return to homeland from their missionary places. It was quiet enriching experience to listen to such wonderful experiences of my confreres. This has ignited my desire to be a missionary initially. Then, I shared with my high school classmate about my dream of becoming a missionary in a specific country. It initiated the thirst of evangelization in my heart and it has always remained ever fresh within me. I believe that God is inviting me to this call of being a missionary for Him and for his people, hence I applied for a missionary vocation as a lifelong commitment.
Are you happy about the place where you are going? Have you any fears and inhibitions about the new place, culture and people?
Obviously, I'm happy to know my missionary place and however, I still have a few worries and concerns because I am an Asian and being sent to another continent, I need to educate myself more about the language and culture of the place. But I believe that God who called me to be a Salesian will continue to bless me with his Grace to do my best to carry out the responsibility entrusted to me.
How did your family members, friends and confreres react when you told them about your missionary vocation?
It is something natural for our family members to have varied opinions among them, some were happy and the others were worried about my concept of being a MISSIONARY. My father had always encouraged and was very happy that I had the courage to commit to this vocation however I recognized the sadness in my mother's eyes. Even though she was a little sad, she still wanted me to be happy on this path. I believe that God and Mary Help of Christians will help them to feel joy and bestow good health in their life.
What are your plans and dreams about your missionary life?
My dream is to fulfill the dream of what Christ has for me. I shall be His instrument to promote more vocations to God’s work because there is a serious decline in vocation promotion world at large. The vast majority of young Europeans see religious vocations as something foreign and incomprehensible. As the matter of fact, I was ready when our Congregation invited confreres for Missions.
Have you in mind any model of some great missionaries whose style and life you want to follow?
Definitely, all need a role model or an inspirational personality to follow in life. I could count number of them in my life but above all the sole role model of missionary life for me is Jesus Christ, who was an incessant itinerant missionary all through his life, immersed himself in tireless evangelization and was a powerful communicator of God’s message to all times.
What is your message for young people about missionary choice and vocation?
I request them to pray for all the missionaries and courageously come forward to know and read about the life experiences of various missionaries. Nowadays people are up-to-date with news of popular personalities of media, politics, history, etc., but seldom do they take interest knowing what and who a missionary does. It is likely, in every missionary, God has kindled the missionary zeal, like Moses, Don Bosco and Artimide Zatti. We need to generously answer to this missionary calling and keep the missionary flame burning and spreading everywhere.
