Decision Time

If you’re like me you probably felt a little frustrated during the press conference called by the two Independents, Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott.  “When are they going give me the answer I’m waiting to hear?” was the question going through my mind.   Over the past 17 days I’ve heard various comments about the actions of the Independents.  “These guys are holding the country to ransom.” and “What’s taking them so long to make a decision?” were the most common questions and statements made by my friends.  I believe that in explaining the process they went through to come to their decision what the Independents were practicing was a form of discernment. In the Christian tradition, however, discernment is more than just a process you go through.

Important decisions take time and prayer.  Instant answers aren’t always the best answers. There is a sifting process you go through as you determine the important criteria you have to keep in mind in coming to your decision.   For the individual it’s about determining which line of action will allow me to grow in my relationship with God. The challenging part comes when you have to make a decision between two good alternatives.  It’s not easy but it come be done.  It is a skill you develop and hone as you practice it more. This goes hand in hand with a daily encounter with God in prayerfully reading Scripture.

Peace,

Br Mark

Unity in Diversity

Every two years newly appointed leaders from various Districts around the world are invited to Casa Generalizia (International Headquarters for the De La Salle Brothers) in Rome. 

It’s a pretty incredible opportunity for those who are asked to go – I mean how many people are offered the opportunity to visit one of the most beautiful cities in the world? 

But while being able to travel and do a bit of site-seeing is a great perk of the trip, it’s not the reason for getting us all to Rome. In fact, the purpose of the gathering comes back to one of the Brothers’ five vows – the one most people know nothing about – the vow of association. 

I am convinced of the truth in the claim that a small group of committed people can change the world. The Brothers believe that working alone you’ll only ever be able to achieve so much. But working as a global group, through the extended support and resources that become available, the impact the Brothers are able to make on the lives of those in need is that much greater. It means that our service to the poor and marginalised has a global context which is critical because there are people living in desperate situations and in poverty stricken families and communities all over the world. 

Last month 16 Brothers from throughout the world came together in Rome. There were Brothers from Madagascar, Brazil, Belgium, Sri Lanka, Argentina, Rwanda, France, Ireland, Chile, Poland, Congo, Cameroon, Canada, the USA, and of course myself [...]

Curries, Cricket and Much More

After a two week break in Brisbane and Sydney over Christmas I flew out to Colombo, Sri Lanka on 4th January.  It was my first visit there, but I had been told to prepare for many curries and much cricket talk!

Upon my arrival, I was surprised by the presence of the military along the streets. Soldiers were carrying guns patrolling the streets. On our drive from the airport we were stopped twice at military checkpoints to have our IDs scrutinised. Considering that an end to hostilities had been declared I was taken aback by the level of military presence. It was quite unexpected.

The first few days were spent at Mutwal in Colombo.  It is a beautiful spot right on the water.  I was able to visit the school here.  There wasn’t much of a chance to speak with the students as I could not speak the local language.

I then headed to Wattala which is the venue for the Brothers’ training program.  They made the most of my visit there by organising a four day program with me speaking to 26 young religious from different groups of Brothers and Sisters. 

Wattala is infamous in Colombo as the mosquito capital!  Once the sun went down the mosquitoes came out. 

I was fortunate to meet up with a Sri Lankan Brother who I had met in Rome ten years ago.  He made the seven hour trip down form Mannar in the north to see me.  Mannar was in the heart of the fighting between the government and the LTTE (Tamil [...]

Faith, Zeal and a sleepless final night

WEEK 2 of the Challenge Program
Leading the four guys from Australia to Papua New Guinea for a 2 week volunteer experience to ‘Test drive the Brothers’ life’ commenced with Sunday morning mass. We were once again without power because someone had stolen the battery inverters from the church leaving us in relative darkness! 

Monday we were back into our daily schedule again with classroom activities and leadership training sessions. The guys who have been with me during this trip to PNG have been full of zeal and a great inspiration to the young people at Mainohana. 

On Wednesday, we left Mainohana at 6am to drive to Port Moresby. We arrived in time for the graduation ceremony of the final year students from the Hohola Youth Development Centre (which the Brothers run).

Unexpectedly I was invited to the stage to present some of the student awards.  I was hardly in formal attire being dressed in shorts and a T shirt.  Just the same they were happy to have another Brother present for the occasion. 

On our last day in the country we had the opportunity to visit one of the Lasallian schools just outside of Port Moresby at a place called Bomana.  The school is situated opposite the War Memorial where a number of Australian soldiers from the WWII PNG campaign are buried. 

I hadn’t long arrived at the school when I was greeted by one of the teachers who turned out to be one of my former students from my stint of three years teaching in PNG in the 1980’s!

In true PNG style, school [...]

Week 1 of the Papua New Guinea Challenge Program

In the past six years I have traveled to Papua New Guinea about 12 times. While I have enjoyed every visit to PNG, I was particularly looking forward to this trip – two weeks  with five guys from Australia who had taken up the challenge to ‘Test Drive the Brothers’ Life’.

After spending two nights in the Brothers’ community at Hohola, a fairly depressed area of Port Moresby, I headed out to Jacksons International airport to meet five guys

The group of five consisted of Chris (30) from Melbourne, Peter (26) from Darwin, Aaron (21) from Portland in Victoria, Nick (22) from Perth and Lewis (24) who in August commenced his training to become a De La Salle Brother.

After strategically packing our luggage and cartons of food, nine of us crammed ourselves into a land cruiser for the journey to Mainohana, 3 hours west of Port Moresby.  The guys in the back had a bumpy ride. 

In addition to trying to avoid large potholes, I needed a spotter to give me a heads up on the man made speed humps that emerged at regular intervals along the journey. 

Villagers put these speed humps into the roads to reduce the amount of dust that sweeps through their villages from the numerous vehicles that travel through.

We sat down to our evening meal at about 7.30pm. After dinner, Br Bob gave the group a short presentation on the two cultures in the area – the Roro and Mekeo people. After the presentation there was not much time left to freshen up before [...]

Home safe and sound

It’s been a week now since arriving home from my two week trip to Pakistan and Singapore and I have not stopped (except for the occasional NCIS program – I do enjoy a good crime show!)

Pakistan was a great experience - despite the fear of suicide bombings and the level of tension (on the day I left six suspected suicide bombers were captured in the city of Faisalabad) I felt particularly safe. 

I think strangely enough it’s because there is so much security. Even in the McDonalds restaurant in Lahore I had to go through airport type security just to get a feed!

I departed Lahore and headed for Singapore. While the heat in Pakistan had been dry, the moment I walked out of Changi airport I was hit by the humidity…it was shocking.

My time spent in Singapore involved assisting two of the youth coordinators; Kenny and Linddi.  They had organised a leadership training day for students from two of the local Lasallian schools and I helped out. 

I got home (Bankstown, Sydney) late Friday night and next day I was back at Sydney Airport! This time it was to pick up Des, a young man from Melbourne who is considering starting his training for the Brothers vocation. 

Des spent all last week assisting at the Year 12 retreats for one of the Lasallian schools.  Part of his discernment process for the Brothers’ life is experiencing a variety of different ministries. When I dropped Des at the Airport on Friday he looked happy and somewhat exhausted – well what else could be expected from 5 days at a Year 12 retreat!

Most of last week I caught up on paperwork, attended meetings and [...]

A tense situation

On my last night in Pakistan I was taken out for a meal to one of the local hotels, which proved to be an interesting experience.

Firstly, getting there was precarious. I am glad the driver knew where he was going because I saw no road signs in English and he seemed to take many left and right hand turns. 

 The traffic has to be seen to be believed. Imagine a vehicle carrying goods that appear to be five times its size!  And every second mode of traffic seems to use a donkey – boy donkeys have a hard lot here! 

When we got to the hotel, security was high. I had to walk through a metal detector like those at the airport. In addition there were armed guards on the roof. 

After dinner and back at the Brothers’ community, conversation focused on the suicide bombings at the Islamic university in Faisalabad. The government has ordered the closure of all schools and other educational institutions.  

The situation is tense. Yesterday, the Brothers were at the gates of the school here turning away students and their parents.

There does not appear to be any logic to the targets: cash and carry shops, Co-educational schools, English medium schools, military facilities…. 

It seems that for the next month or so, armed guards will be posted at each of the entries to the Brothers’ schools here in Faisalabad.  

Today I will make the road trip from Faisalabad to Lahore to board a plane to Singapore. 

Your prayers are in need for all of Pakistan.

Peace

Br Mark

‘Brown outs’ are a part of life

It’s almost a week since I arrived in Pakistan and opportunities to write have been limited by time and numerous “brown outs” which are common occurrences. For those who don’t know, a “brown-out is the term for a drop in voltage in an electrical power supply – it’s not as drastic as a blackout, but the dim lights and the reduction in power is annoying!

Anyway…after a long flight from Sydney, I arrived at Lahore international airport to be greeted by Brothers Sajid and Lutu. We then set off on a 3 hour drive to La Salle High school in Faisalabad. (Faisalabad is the third largest city in Pakistan after Karachi and Lahore).

In Faisalabad, the Brothers run a number of schools, the largest being La Salle High School which is known as an English medium school. Of the almost 2,000 students that attend, most are Muslim.

Enjoying my sleep after the long journey, the next day started early and there was no need to be woken up by an alarm.  At 4.30am I heard the first Muslim call to prayer from a nearby Mosque.  If that didn’t wake me up the second call to prayer at 5.45 would have! 

During the first morning in Faisalabad I visited several Lasallian schools. At each visit I received a warm welcome, which consisted of walking between a tunnel of students who showered me with rose petals and presented me with flowers! I lost count of the number of students who came to greet me and shake my hand saying “God bless you [...]

Never a Dull Moment

The past few weeks have been a bit of a roller coaster ride. In my role as Auxiliary Visitor (second-in-charge of the Brothers in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea) I have a variety of responsibilities including Vocation Promotion, Community renewal, developing formation programs for Brothers’ communities, and when I can, involvement in Youth Leadership Programs.

There is certainly never a dull moment.  In the middle of September I had three days in Brisbane at a school working with a group of 28 Year 11 students.  They were an enthusiastic bunch.  Along with James, the De La Salle Brothers Youth Coordinator, we ran a leadership training day giving them skills so they could run a two day program with younger students in Year 7 and 8.  That’s an encouraging part of this aspect of my work.  You see the results of your efforts almost straight away.  We taught them the skills and they put them into action. 

It was difficult to leave the warmth of Brisbane even more so because it’s my home town (Yes, I’m a big Broncos fan!) but then it was down to Melbourne.  It’s a nice enough place if you take the shocking weather out of the equation! I spent time with Bill and Lewis, two young guys who have just commenced their training to become Brothers. I ran a five day program with them where we explored the Old and New Testament. Then it was back to Sydney where now I call home. 

Last week I conducted a “community visit” which was [...]