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Channels of God's grace

Sr. Dorineide Ferreira xmm
622
25 October 2017

Hi everybody!

I’m Dora, a Brazilian Xaverian Missionary of Mary. I was born in a little Amazon town in Brazil named Abaetetuba, which is close to the Atlantic Ocean and surrounded by rivers, and where there are only two seasons: six months of rainy days and six months of sunny days.

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I’m the eighth of thirteen children. I’m going to see my mother, but unfortunately my father passed away just two days after have arrived in the US, in May 2015.

I first met the Xaverian Missionary of Mary Sisters in my town when I was a teenager and had started to participate in a teen group in my parish. The teen group was led by an Italian Xaverian sister named Antonietta, who still lives and works in Abaetetuba. At the time, she leaded creatively a group even of forty or fifty teenagers with a support of two parish ladies. All of us had fun and learned many things from her. Some of us, inspired in her joyful witness, became catechists or leaders in the church activities, and even participated in vocational meetings to discern about our vocation.

I really felt I would like to become like her, as a Xaverian Sister. The more I knew the Xaverian Sisters and the Xaverian Priests, the more I felt motivated to join them in their missionary charisma of working to “Make of the world one family”, that is, working to build communion among people of different languages and cultures by preaching and witnessing the Gospel in countries and cultures different from ours, special to those who still don’t know Jesus and his Gospel. However, the sisters’ witness of living in community a simple life close to the poor was what particularly awaked in me a desire to become a missionary sister.

As the Gospel says, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature” (Mk 16:15), I said my “yes” to the Lord and joint the Xaverian Missionary Sisters in 2002. Since then, I have been moving several times from Brazil, Italy, and US for my education and missionary work. I took my final vows in February 2015 in Brazil before I came to US where I could learn English and meet many marvelous people, both Americans and foreigners, Latinos and Brazilians as well. Now I’m waiting for my visa to reach Thailand, in Asia, where I have been assigned for missionary works.

I thank to God for all these gifts He has granted upon me not for my pride, but for become more able to serve people.  Also, I thank to Him for having made me heir of the history He has been writing with his people, in the ancient and in the contemporary world. “Seek first the kingdom (of God) and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides” (Mt 6:33), this is an invitation to choose God and his Kingdom as our priority and offer our lives to be a channel of God’s grace and love among the people whom He has chosen us to serve in His behalf.

Why do I go to Thailand, a place far away from my country and family?

            First, because the mission to which Jesus send his disciples covers the whole world, not just our neighbor and country, therefore every Jesus’ disciple should have a view and heart widely opened to it. Second because the Thai people also have the right to receive the Good News of Jesus, for this reason someone must go to preach and testify it; like the prophet Isaiah, I feel urged the God’s call, “‘Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?"  "Here I am," I said; "send me!’” (Is 6:8); and finally, because it is the way of having my share in the effort of building a world of justice and peace, giving my little contribution, not alone but with other people, my Xaverian sisters and brothers, to build human ties of solidarity.