By Fr. Tom Gonzales, MSP

Msgr. Tomas Gonzales is from Baliuag Bulacan and was ordained for the Archdiocese of Manila. Having served in Tondo and Pasay and later as Pastor in Alabang and Sta. Cruz, he then volunteered as a missionary to Papua New Guinea and then at present in Hong Kong as an associate member of the Mission Society of the Philippines (MSP- is the official missionary arm of our Philippine Catholic Church). Here he tells of the two different worlds he has come to encounter. GUTBAI is the Pidgin word for 'Goodbye’, the GUDE for ‘Hello’ and ‘Good Day,’

Yes, after four years of missionary work at the MSP Missions at Lietre and Utai of Vanimo Diocese of the Sanduan Province of Papua New Guinea (bordering the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya), I have to say ‘Goodbye’ and move on. Indeed m we have to constantly keep Jesus Christ before our eyes, and never hesitate to go anywhere He leads us. We have to constantly ‘go and preachin’ the Gospel – a continual journey of a missionary who is always looking forward with eagerness to what lies ahead.

But now, I have to move on... to say “GUTBAI PNG” and at the same time say “GUDE”, HONG KONG”. For upon the request of the Bishops of Hong Kong to the Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People of the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines, I was sent by the Mission Society of the Philippines to minister to the Filipino Migrants in Hong Kong m now numbering 140,000 (excluding the illegal immigrants). Thus, with the opening of the new missions, I began a new chapter in my missionary journey. I no longer make long patrols on foot with a heavy bag on my back as in the jungles and rainforests of Papua New Guinea; nor do I experience more the hard life of the PNG mission – with no electricity, no roads, no basic necessities in life; crossing rivers with crocodile, or treading thick forest with danger of meeting a snake, a wild pig, a cassowary...or your legs being feasted on by leeches or being bitten by the malaria-carrying mosquito. Now I live in an environment which is the extreme opposite of my former mission. Now I live among a highly industrialized and hi-tech community; a materialistic world where time is gold and money is the thing that counts. I walk among well –clad people who are always in hurry ...running...rushing –to catch the bus, the MRT, the LRT, the train or the star-ferry boat. I walk in the midst of the “jungle” of concrete, tall buildings and skyscraper. Yes, now I could easily take the modern means of transportation, but still, I walk a lot... and walk past too, especially if I have to meet the different Filipino groups. Yes indeed walking literally and figuratively. And in a month’s time, my shoes are battered from over walk and also get sick from on overfatigue. But it is living our MSP charism:

In love and gratitude to the Father, ours is a joyful missionary spirit flowing from a deep union with Christ through Mary and in the power of the Holy Spirit to be willing to spend and be spent in sharing His Gospel to all.

I no longer risk my life crossing rivers with crocodiles or treading thick forest with the danger of meeting a snake, a wild pig, a cassowary...