The SVD missionaries in Thailand and Myanmar are well-loved and appreciated by both the local bishops and the people, reported Fr Boni Buahendri SVD, after his first visit there as Provincial.

Fr Boni began his trip in Myanmar, before moving on to Bangkok and then the Diocese of Udon Thani in Thailand.

“My purpose was simply to be there with the confreres and listen to their stories, to go around with them and see their situation and let them know that they are very much part of the Australia Province,” he said.

Against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict in Myanmar, the SVD has taken up the pastoral care of a newly established parish at Annunciation of the Lord Church in Kone Ka Lay village, Htantabin Township, approximately a 45-minute drive from the SVD house in Hmawbi. Fr Tuyen Nguyen SVD is parish priest with Myanmar-born Fr Roger Kyaw SVD, assistant priest. Meanwhile, Fr Deva Savariyappan SVD is the spiritual director, counsellor and one of the formators and lecturers at the National Catholic Institute of Theology and seminary in Yangon. His other ministries include assisting in formation of the Carmelite Sisters, and adult formation through retreats and recollections.

Fr Boni said there is also an SVD formation ministry in Myanmar, with two SVD postulants currently receiving initial formation there.

“Our ministry in Myanmar takes place in a predominantly Buddhist setting, but I could see that our parish, while home to a very small community of parishioners, was really vibrant and I was really encouraged by seeing all the people coming and the energetic singing,” he said.

“I received a very warm welcome from the people and the confreres and it was really good just listening to them, to their stories, including their challenges.”

While in Myanmar, Fr Boni visited Cardinal Charles Maung Bo SVD, the Archbishop of Yangon, who expressed his delight with the SVD presence in Myanmar.

Fr Tuyen said Fr Boni’s visit was much appreciated by both confreres and parishioners.

“Boni is simple person and close to the people in our parish, talking to them even they do not know English well,” he said.

“That is why we and our parishioners appreciated the visit of our new provincial. His attitude of listening, his support and his words encouraged us to have more energy for our mission.

“Before coming to Myanmar, he said he wanted to be with us, listen to us and accompany us and that is what he has done in his few days with us, listening to our difficulties, our challenges, sharing our mission stories, giving some advice to us, not demanding, understanding the situation we are facing.

“We are thankful for the visit. It was a significant visit for us to have his presence and his support to our mission.”

From Myanmar, Fr Boni spent two days in Bangkok, visiting Fr Anthony Le Duc SVD and Fr John Le SVD, who are engaged in ministry with Vietnamese migrant workers and academic work.

“It was good to see what they are doing and to spend some time with them,” he said.

He then moved on to Udon Thani Diocese, visiting the SVD’s Mother of Perpetual Help Center for people affected by HIV/AIDS and then heading out into the countryside to catch up with confreres engaged in parish ministry in small, isolated rural villages.

The Divine Word Missionaries have been present in Thailand since two SVD Brothers responded to an invitation to care for people living with HIV/AIDS in Nong Bua Lamphu in the Udon Thani Diocese in 2000. There are now 12 SVDs in Thailand from a range of different cultural backgrounds, including Vietnamese, Indonesian, Indian, American and Laotian.

“Our presence is small, but significant in this majority Buddhist country, and I received a very warm welcome from the people in all the places I visited,” said Fr Boni.

“The Mother of Perpetual Help Center, run by Br Damien Lunders SVD and helped by the local Thai people, is well-known to both the local Church and the local people.

“And Br Ron Fraske SVD also teaches English in the local public high school, which means we are not only contributing to the local Church, but also to the local community in general.”

Fr Boni visited eight confreres in eight different parishes in the rural parts of Udon Thani Diocese - Fathers Binh Tat Nguyen, Rajasekhar Reddy Bobba, Toub Anisong Chanthavong, Bernardus Nofrianto, Truong T Le, Hai Ha Tran, Vinh The Tran, and Pham Dinh Tuan.

“I could see that they were all welcomed and loved by the Thai people, both Buddhists and Christians,” Fr Boni said.

“It was good to hear their stories and to know that they are all happy with their ministry and are doing well with the language.

“I was very touched to see that they are doing many good things with their limited resources, such as renovating an old presbytery, building fences and even building a small church.

“But one challenge they have is that they are each living alone, quite a distance from one another and from the SVD house in Nong Bua Lamphu. So, I reminded them to try and form solid and good connections among themselves and I invited them to have regular catch-ups, despite the distances.”

At the end of his visit to Thailand, Fr Boni spent some time with the confreres in Nong Bua Lamphu, for a time of sharing.

“I explained about the Province and shared with them some of our planning and outlined where we are at and where we are going from now and we shared Mass and then dinner and a social time.”

Fr Boni, who is from Indonesia, said he was deeply touched by the warm welcome he received during his visits to Myanmar and Thailand.

“I myself am from Asia, so there is a connection there. I felt a warm welcome, not just from my fellow priests, but from the people as well and I can see that our ministry in those places is very much valued.”

PHOTOS

TOP RIGHT: Provincial, Fr Boni Buahendri SVD (centre) with Fr Tuyen Nguyen SVD (left) and Fr Roger Kyaw SVD (right) during Fr Boni's visit to Myanmar.

TOP LEFT: Fr Boni pictured with two SVD postulants in initial formation in Myanmar.

MIDDLE RIGHT: Fr Boni received a warm welcome to Fr Toub Anisong SVD's parish in rural Thailand.

MIDDLE LEFT: Fr Boni and Thailand District Leader Fr Ben Bulla SVD exchanging gifts with Udon Thani Bishop Joseph Luechai Thatwisai.

BOTTOM RIGHT: Fr Boni with SVD confreres in Thailand.