by Br. Daryl Charron, C.PP.S., Vietnam Mission Director
The Vietnam Mission candidates in formation have been busy the past six weeks with various activities. Hao Pham, Hoa Vu, Ky Phung and Diep Vu are all preparing for definitive incorporation on April 7th. Dung Nguyen and An Nguyen are preparing for Pledged Candidacy that same day. Fr. Nhan Bui, formation director for the Vietnam Mission, gave all the candidates a day of reflection on St. Gaspar’s birthday, January 6th. He focused on the topic: “Living Religious Life with Joy.”
The beginning of February included further preparation for spiritual growth before the Community celebration on April 7th by going on retreat at a retreat center here in Saigon. The candidates and their formation director enjoyed a week long retreat with their retreat director, Fr. Hien, who is famous in Vietnam for giving retreats. The candidates especially enjoyed his talks on staying connected to your religious community and trying to be faithful to them even during difficult times. They were fascinated by his stories of surviving time in jail by hanging on to the strength and support of his religious community.
Another important event that happened last month was the graduation of Hao Pham from the Dominican School of Theology. Many of us in the Vietnam Mission attended this joyous occasion of Hao on January 27th congratulating him on his many accomplishments. He is currently doing ministry at our Tan Thanh Mission along with Diep Vu. They recently helped along with our candidate, Blir Ntor, in serving food baskets to 100 poor families in need in the parish for the Tet New Year.