By: Fr. Paulino C. Sarac.
A young Filipino priest tells the steps he took which brought him to Chile, in Latin America as a volunteer missionary working with the Columbans.
39 Steps
I’m Fr. Paulino C. Sarac. I was ordained in 1978, and belong to the Vicariate of the Mountain Province, Luzon, Philippines. In 1985, I went down to Pagadian Diocese, Zamboanga del Sur, Mindanao for a vacation. There, the Columbans as if I could take charge for sometime of San Pablo Parish. It’s a parish that was vacant for a while after Rev. John Wanaurny was transferred to Brazil. I accept and took care for almost two years. While there, Rev. Dan O’ Malley, who was the superior, asked if I was interested in an overseas mission. My reaction was yes, but first to ask the permission of my bishop. My bishop at that time was Msgr. Emeliano Madanggeng. The answer was positive, we made all necessary arrangements like psychological test, contract, passport, and visa. After these things, I flew to Australia for a Missiology course- a Latin America; then to Cochabamba Bolivia, for five months, to learn Spanish.
Desert and the Sky
After the language course, I was assigned to Iquique, a desert part of Chile, up to the North. Some say it’s the driest part of the world. It took me a couple of months to be accustomed to the barren land and mountains on one side, the blue roaring Pacific Ocean on the other side, and another blue but calm up in the sky. I was most consoled when I read the National Geographic magazine saying that even in a desert place there are more than 500 living species God’s creation. Among them of course are the amiable people whom we work with for.
Dancing
One distinguishing mark of the life of the people is their popular religiosity. They express their faith in dancing artistically, especially during feast days. The parish priest was Rev. Arsenio Redulla, the first Filipino volunteer priest to the missionary Society of St. Columban. He is now a permanent member of the society.
Home to P. R.
In 1990, I went home for three months vacation, very happy to see gain my folks, full of stories and photos of remembrance of Chile. Truly, the mission experience is enriching, even learning many more things that what one could share. I’m thankful for the opportunity the Missionary Society of St. Columban offered me.
Flowers and Snow
I returned to Chile after my vacation and towards the end of 1990, I was transferred to Vallenar, part of the Diocese of Copiapo with Fr. Patrick Egan. It’s still north of Chile, but a little bit green. It was in 1991 when we got a surprise three days of rain. Would you believe it, after a couple of months, kilometers of fascinating varieties of wild flower covered the valleys and lower mountains. Meanwhile, the high mountains turned white, I mean they became covered with snow.
Floods
The sudden extensive rain caused terrible damage everywhere as no one was used to such torrents. Houses roads, canals were not built for rain. Here, any good Christian would remember at once the parable of the wise and foolish builder, where one built his house on the rock and the other built his on sand.
Meanwhile I am in-charge of the Youth Ministry in the parish and I also look after some of the small communities. This missionary experience has meant so much to me that I feel a very special gratitude to the Society of St. Columban who facilitated me. Long live the S.S.C.