Here I am greeting the school kids at one of the De La Salle schools in Faisalabad. They were keen to meet someone from Australia!

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 answered emails and phone messages (as you might expect after my trip, I had a backlog).  I also went to a professional development day for Leaders from other religious orders. It was a good opportunity to network with others in similar roles.�
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Tuesday night Lewis, one of the Postulants (that’s the name for someone who is in the Brother’s training program) arrived from Melbourne to Sydney for a couple of days to also help out on some school retreats. It was good to catch up with him. 

Lewis and Bill have now completed three months of their postulancy. During that time they have had input on a variety of topics (scripture, theology, religious life, church teaching and the history of the Brothers). 

Lewis continues his ministry activities at a De La Salle school in Malvern, whilst Bill commences today at a Lasallian school in Bankstown, Sydney.     

At the end of this week I am off again….this time  to Papua New Guinea with Bill and Lewis and 4 young men who have signed up for the 2 week Challenge Program to “Test drive the Brother’s life”.

Two of the four guys come from Victoria, one is from Western Australia and the other from the Northern Territory. We all meet up in PNG on Saturday and head to the highlands to Mainohana to work with poor and marginalised youth and to live in the Brothers’ community. 

Internet and email services are pretty poor in PNG, but I will attempt to write when I can. Meanwhile for the rest of the week, I have a lot to do.

Peace,

Mark