Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Sharing: Shenzhen Volunteer

          After thinking to do a social work for a while for a while, I registered to be a Shenzhen Volunteer (http://www.sva.org.cn/) through their mobile application to be in a Youth Group for Saving the Environment last September 2019.   Shenzhen Volunteer has so many groups and volunteering works in schools, hospitals, libraries, etc.  Its opened for Chinese and foreigners.  I was waiting for the volunteer card to start the voluntary work but then I found out that the card is available after 20 hours voluntary work and training.  
I did my first voluntary work at Luo Hu library last Nov 17, 2019 and then at Luo Hu hospital on Nov 18, 2019.  Both voluntary works are open for any volunteers.  There are voluntary works which is only open for their group members.  I planned to ask participants of university student’s summer camp on July 2019 to register as a Shenzhen volunteer because I didn’t know that it’s a mandatory for the students to be a volunteer, unfortunately the summer program was cancelled.  Students below 15 yo should be accompanied by a family member.
My first work at library is to check the order of books in the shelves for around half hour and then go to children library to keep the books in the shelves in order for the rest of the time (total 3 hours).  I met an 8 grade student who did 50 hours of voluntary work in the library even though the requirement from the school is only 24 hours/semester.  He can do voluntary work for 9 hours during week end because he did most of his homework at school and doesn’t have tutorial after school.  Several children at Holy Family Church can’t attend Sunday Mass because they have a lot of home work and tutorial on week end.  Many students were in queue before the opening of the library.  The situation in the children library lead me to suggest to our parishioners to arrange family visit to library, when the mother help/accompany the children to see the books, the father can do voluntary work or vice versa so all the family member will give up their cellphone for 3 hours because using cellphone is not allowed during the voluntary work.  
One of the volunteer at the hospital is grateful for my help and ask to help more often as they need 24 volunteers/day for both morning and afternoon session.  She recognized me as an Indonesian from my way of speaking Putonghua because her son’s mother in law is from Indonesia (As I remember, at least it’s the second time somebody said that I am from Indonesia because of my Putonghua).   She also recognized me as a Catholics because I write ”天主“(=God for the Catholics, the other denomination Church is using ”上帝“) on my motto in my We chat profile: “让我们用简单的爱去做简单的事情,使天主的爱彰显 (Let’s do simple things with simple love to make God’s love visible.” )  She is a Protestant and leader of Luo Hu hospital volunteer.   She asked several questions including my work so I said I am doing voluntary work at the Church.  Another volunteer asked where is my husband, children and parent etc and at the end she said its very good that as an Indonesian I am willing to do this.  As a volunteer, we help the patient to use the machine to get the tag number, the print out of the check up result, etc.  
     As I posted our group picture on my We Chat wall at the end of the day, Ms. Wu and Mrs. Cheng said they were at Luo Hu hospital that day.  Mrs. Cheng is accompanying her mother in law so I asked Ms. Wu to visit together on Nov 20, 2019.   I also asked Ms. Wu to visit Mrs. Ye.   I led a prayer for Mrs. Ye with her family member and Ms. Wu as she will have surgery the next day.  I believe God led me to visit and pray for Mrs. Ye through my voluntary work because I talked with Mrs. Cheng on Nov 16 evening after Mass and she didnt say that Mrs. Ye would be hospitalized the next day.   Besides, Mrs. Ye asked Fr. Lu to say a Mass for her healing but Fr. Lu even asked me whom I would visit when I said I would go to hospital so I told him that I would do volunteer work.   
     Becoming a Shenzhen Volunteer reminded me when Fr.Lu accompanied me to go to bus stop after our first meeting last August 30, he said “Start here”, and then pointed out a sign on the wall. https://anastasialindawatimm.blogspot.com/2012/09/sharing-first-week-end-in-shenzhen.html  I started to help at Holy Family Church with broken Putonghua fresh from the language school  then reach out to bigger Catholic community in China both by my physical and virtual presence and now, going out to the larger community with Indonesian accent Putonghua.  I believe all of this is God’s providence for my mission in China.  



Hong Kong, Nov 20, 2019



Sr. Anastasia B. Lindawati, M.M.
Let’s help each other to live less waste living for a better world.


Nov 26, 2019:
I have been doing volunteer work  four time total 15 hours till today. During the last session, a guy asked me to accompany his mother, with heart problem, while he go out to buy something for his daughter and a woman asked me to help her to get tag number, see the doctor and pay the bill as she got dizzy while waiting her daughter in endoscopy room.  I joined Luo Hu hospital and Shenzhen People’s Hospital Volunteer group and waiting approval to change from the Youth Group for Saving the Environment to another two hospital volunteer groups. 




 




Thursday, November 14, 2019

Sharing: Nov 2019 Puning O2O Gathering


Ms. Lin and Mr. Cai helped me to organized the first Puning O2O Gathering on Nov 10, 2019 at Shen Shi Yang Church Puning-Shantou. There were more than 30 members (mostly male) registered including from Shenzhen and nearby district. This gathering is a collaboration with the parish priest of Shen Shi Yang Church Fr. Lin, who set up a single Catholics group chatting several years ago but never arrange an offline gathering.  During his welcome speech, he said as he remember it’s the first  single gathering in Shantou diocese and grateful that I helped to arrange this gathering.  Several of his members are also members in my single group chatting prior to the gathering.
Three participants and I went to Puning on Nov 9, 2019 and prepared the logistics: booking the meals and cake, and also set up the place.
I led the gathering with the prayer for finding the soulmate followed by self introduction, and lunch at nearby local food restaurant.  I asked them to see the precious gift followed by watching  short clip of a Hong Kong Catholic movie star Zhang Wei Jian ( https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MzIzMzE1OTE3OQ==&mid=2649450342&idx=4&sn=0eca848ff485bf461275623fbf3bc7f5&chksm=f0962802c7e1a114f7767d2c6c73cbce5ed74fa897b07f036863422debf92312ecde6f4c966c&mpshare=1&scene=1&srcid=0914gJKiU5bZ3AeMM57HLYyd&sharer_sharetime=1568447355474&sharer_shareid=83b8db563bcfec2c22c6fc36d3e3e4d2&pass_ticket=gqCQsyWpNMRFMLpIqya3kH%2B95mnaySHBA1m62uttTN%2BAFgUNMYJ6h00SjIKiQPJG#rd) and “ Look Up” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7dLU6fk9QY&t=10s. There was birthday celebration for one of the members, small group sharing and report to big group.  

Four participants and I went to a nearby Church in Liusha after the gathering and then had dinner with several other participants under Fr. Lin account. 
Since there was one member didnt agree to upload group picture to social media so no pictures are available for the group chatting.  The gathering activities pictures arent allowed to be uploaded to social media too.  We set up a new group chatting for all the participants of the gathering so the pictures are available in this group.
I attended evening Sunday Mass at Shen Shi Yang Church and then memorial Mass at Shi Men Catholic Cemetery the next morning.  There were 4 priests ((including Fr. Lin), one deacon, one seminarian and around 300 hundred Catholics for the Mass.  There are two big graves and many smaller grave.  According to the grave stove, it was in 1791.  The people believes that these people were killed because of their faith in their village and then buried in this place, which was a Plum (李子) farm so the local Catholics bought the place three years ago, the price is based on the number of the plum trees and graves, and renovated it and also arrange annual memorial mass on Nov 11.  I went back to Shenzhen after visiting a nearby Church in Kui Tan in the afternoon.   
Since the last O2O gathering in Shenzhen, there are several developments in my group chatting.  Till now, I set up 4 youth group chatting: for youth gathering (mostly single and doesn’t want to be in single group), for single looking for soulmate and learning from each other, for dating, and for married preparation program.  Total members for youth gathering group chatting is more than 60 members  and for single Catholics group chatting is 280 members in 2 groups.   I write an announcement for the group members to sit behind the choir if they attend Sunday Mass at Holy Family Church so they have more opportunity to interact with each other.   

Hong Kong, Nov 14, 2019



Sr. Anastasia B. Lindawati, M.M.
Let’s help each other to live less waste living for a better world.

Friday, November 1, 2019

Sharing: 2019 Maryknoll Sisters Asia Pacific World Section Meeting

     
      I arrived our Kichijoji Convent - Tokyo on Oct 4, 2019 just in time for happy hour and dinner for Sr. Abby’s birthday celebration. 
Srs. Margaret, Bitrina, Abby and I went to Hakone https://hakone-japan.com/  for our young cohorts outing on Oct 5 and then a meeting on Oct 6 at our Kichijoji Convent.   There were sixteen sisters from Hawaii, China, Philippines, Japan, Korea, USA and two Maryknoll brothers for our Inter-religious Exposure to Buddhist Temples, Shinto Shrines, Zen Temples and Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Kamakura on Oct 9-11:
7. Koshoji: https://www.inspirock.com/japan/kamakura/koshoji-temple-a7309723105 (please see the picture of the Buddhist monk with the Cross belongs to Hidden Christian Community in this temple)
8. Tokeiji: https://en.tripadvisor.com.hk/Attraction_Review-g303156-d319994-Reviews-Tokeiji_Temple-Kamakura_Kanagawa_Prefecture_Kanto.html (please see the picture of the Buddhist monk with an “IHS” ciborium belongs to Hidden Christian Community in this temple)
9. Zenkyoin Temple
10. Jochiji: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C5%8Dchi-ji.  There was dialogue with Buddhist Priests, Shinto priestess and Fr. Taka.
All participants arrived at Junisuo Retreat House Kamakura on Oct 7, 2019.  Our meeting for Asia Pacific World Section was held on Oct 8, 12-13.  Several of us continue to stay another night at the retreat house because of the typhoon Hagibis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon_Hagibis_(2019). We had memorial Mass for Sr. Jean Michalec, MM https://www.facebook.com/MaryknollSisters/posts/10153024687049979 and  evening prayer (prepared by Br. John) on the death anniversary our foundress Mother Mary Joseph on Oct 9.

Sr. Kathleen accompanied me to visit our Kamakura Convent on Oct 14, 2019 and then I went back to Kichijoji Convent.     I attended Mass at St. Ignatius Church http://www.stignatius.jp/en/information/mass-schedule the next day and then met Ms. Grace, who is from Indonesia and work in Tokyo.  Sr. Margaret accompanied me to go to St. Mary’s Cathedral https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Mary's_Cathedral,_Tokyo and St. Therese of Little Jesus on Oct 16-17 including attending the funeral mass of Fr. Michael.  

I am grateful for the opportunity to learn about Buddhism, Shinoism and Zen besides the opportunity to exchange stories and ideas with the rest of the group.   Thank you very much!  
Hong Kong, November 1, 2019


Sr. Anastasia B. Lindawati, M.M.
Let’s do simple things with simple love to make God’s love visible