SCALABRINIANIZING THE INDONESIANS

Vocation Promotion of OSM sisters

Sr. Alicia, as a vocation directress of the Servites, visited the Senior High Schools in the region of Manggarai. One of these schools is Sta. Familia Senior High School located in western part of Manggarai, in one district called Lembor. She went to this school together with his two servite sisters (Sr. Alicia Diaz and Sr. Xitlali) to promote their congregation and to encourage the young girls of this school to be part of their religious family. Usually in Manggarai when vocation director/directress pays a visit to promote their congregation, the principal of the school ask all the students to listen to them. With their limited capability to speak Indonesian, they were able to cultivate the interest of the students, not only from the female side but also from the male side. For this reason, the boys were also asking the nuns if there is a male branch in their congregation. The answer of Alicia was positive. She was very happy to find out that the boys are also interested in religious life. However, he could not confirm that the male Branch of the Servites are willing to accept the young Indonesians into their religious family.

Since then, with the help of Fr. Robertus Pelita, pr, the headmaster of the Sta. Familia Senior High School, there was a regular communication with Sr. Alicia. At least twice she came to visit this school towards the end of the school year 2000-2001. She invited those who are interested in their congregation to visit their house in Mbau Muku in the heart of the town of Ruteng. One day there were more or less six students who come so far from Lembor (3 hours with the bus) just to visit them in Ruteng. Sr. Alicia and her sisters welcomed the students very well. There was no particular program that was prepared, but Sr. Alicia has invited these students to stay in front of the blessed Sacrament. It was in the small chapel next to the living room. It was also the first time the guys experienced staying silent in front of the Blessed sacrament. After this holy hour, she invited us for lunch. They prepared a good lunch. The atmosphere of the visit was very nice.

At the end of the visit, sr. Alicia Sandoval, OSM, informed that those who are interested to enter the seminary have to be in Ruteng on June 1^st, 2001 without exact address of the house where to stay. There was not yet any house intended for the male candidates. There was no such thing as an application letter or any formal letter to indicate that the guys are accepted in the seminary. It was a simple invitation for those who want to be part of their religious family. They guys went back to Lembor with heart full of joy.

The Entrance to the Seminary

June 1^st, 2001 was the official date for the entrance to the seminary. Some of the guys arrived earlier in Ruteng. Since there was no house, they were accommodated in a rented house in Dongang for few days. Fortunately, by June 1^st, 2001 Sr. Alicia was able to find a house not yet fully finished where the candidates can be sheltered. The owner of the house is Mr. Rofinus Mbon, he is the third assistant of the Mayor of Manggarai. There were still workers who needed to finish painting the house. The guys had to sleep on the floor for few days. Then slowly the beds are provided together with other things needed in the house. This house is located a bit distant to the house of Sr. Alicia.

There was neither a priest nor a religious brother in the house. By June 1^st, 8 students lived here. Sr. Alicia from time to time came to visit the guys and gave some indications to live together. She was able also to form a sort of organization in the house. There was a general coordinator, bursar and one in charge of liturgy. Most of the students, if not all of them, entered the seminary for the first time and have no clear idea of what the seminary life is all about.

The Activities of the Day

Below is more less the schedule that we had during our stay in Ruteng. I need to admit that the exact time is probably not as written below but the activities were really like mentioned below. I will tell you the details as we go on in this simple story that we have passed.

04:30 Rising

05:00 Mass

06:15 Louds - Preparing breakfast (breakfast once the food are ready)

08:00-12:00 (English Lesson, tempo libero, marketing, etc)

13:00          Lunch (After lunch, we have siesta until 3 pm o may be more)

15:00 Manualia

17:00          Preparing dinner

18:00 Vespri

19:00 Dinner (After dinner, we are totally free)

The days began too early

When we were in Ruteng, we began our days very early. It is not easy to wake up early in this small town. Ruteng is at around 1500 m. The weather is very cold especially early in the morning. The water is also very cold. We didn’t have a hot-water system to take a shower. Neverthelesss, we were full of enthusiasm. Like anyone else in Ruteng, waking up early is not a problem. Most of the students who studied in Ruteng wake up early because they want to go to attend the mass.

Our prayers

In Flores in general and Ruteng in particular, the seminarians are known for their spiritual life and eagerness to pray. We were no exemption. We attended the mass everyday. Since in the house, there was no priest, the guys had to go to the parish of Cewonikit or to the cathedral to attend the mass.  The parish priest of Cewonikit knew us most probably because Sr. Alicia presented us to him. During the mass, sometimes he asked one of us to read the readings of the day. Most of the time we were requested to be the altar boys.

Right after the mass, some guys prepared the breakfast while the others did the louds. Sr. Alicia have bought the breviary for all but unfortunately nobody knew how to use the breviary. The guys were just guessing how to pray the louds. Slowly through the help of other people who came to visit us, we began to know how to use the breviary. As a matter of fact, there was no such thing as a seminary. It was simply the coming together of the youths who desired to become a priest.

We Ate Well in Ruteng

In Ruteng we ate very well. There was nobody who cooked for us. We divided ourselves everyday to cook. Sr. Alicia allocated good amount of money for us. As I said earlier, in the house we had one in charge of the economy. He is responsible of budgeting the money given by Sr. Alicia. The budget was big that most of the time we bought a good food. In our High School Years we hardly found the food that we ate during our stay in Ruteng. Perhaps it is one of the reasons why many liked to stay.

I believed that other seminaries in Flores and in Indonesia in general urged the seminarians to give their contributions to the running of the house and for the expenses of their studies. Some of them, they determine the exact amount to be given every month. When we were in Ruteng, this was not clear. Yes, Sr. Alicia from time to time informed us that we need also to contribute something for the congregation but as we see it, it seemed to be not necessary because she gave regularly the money for our expenses in Ruteng.

English Course

English has been recommended when we stay in Ruteng. All the materials about the congregation of the Missionaries of St. Charles – Scalabrinians are in English. No one of us understood well English. In the first days, we studied on our own. Sr. Alicia Sandoval, OSM, tried to find an English teacher for us. She contacted Miss Karen, English Teacher of british origin who at the moment was giving English Course in the Catechetical School in Ruteng (STKIP). Miss Karen could not commit herself to teach English for us. Instead she recommended one of her student from manggarai Mr. Jack. He was one of the bests students at STKIP. Actually STKIP offers two programs; English program and Theology.

He was really a good teacher. With his help, we were able to understand and write English. He adopted a good teaching method for us. He gave more space for us to speak and write English. He corrected us when necessary. In less than one month, we slowly understood and spoke English.

Due to his busy schedule, he decided to stop giving tutorial class to us and in his place, he suggested to ask his companion who was also studying on the same institute. His name was Mr. Ansel. From Monday to Friday he came to give tutorial class for two hours. He was also very good one. He mastered English and he knew how to transmit it to us. We had studied English with him for several months before Sr. Alicia decided to send us in STKIP.

We enrolled in English Program at STKIP. We were just guests students. We took only few courses. Since we had had English courses prior to enrolling there, we were ahead of other students in terms of English comprehension. Most of the things that the teacher taught us are the things that we have learnt with Mr. Jack and Mr. Ansel. At the end, we went there not to learn more English but to get to know other people.

It is in this institute that we found some other scalabrinian vocations. They were our classmates and after few months of knowing us decided to join the congregation. Sr. Alicia accepted them. By the end of February, we were already 18 all in all.    

Labora et labora

Since there was no solid structure in the house, we had many hours vacuum. In the first two or three weeks we just slept as we liked to. But then, Sr. Alicia has asked the parish if they had some work to do. At that time, the parish in cewonikit had a project to rebuild a new church. The priest asked us to do some work there. All the afternoons we spent to work. No other activity available and so the easiest choice was to send us to work.

In the Parish of Cewonikit, we worked only for more less one month. After that, Sr. Alicia decided to send us to Mbau Muku Parish to work. In that moment, the parish under the guidance of Fr. Matias, pr (diocesan priest) was constructing a house for the priest. Here we experienced the hardship of work. In this parish, there were 2 priest: father Matias and Father Maksimus Regus. However, we have never had some spiritual guidance or sort of instructions from them. They were there only to indicate us the work that we needed to do.

One Slap before the Outing

The majority of the candidates of the first batch came from Holy Family High School (SMUK Sta. Familia – Lembor). One day they proposed to visit this school and to have a friendly soccer game. The school accepted the proposal and they agreed on one Sunday to have this friendly soccer game. Some of the seminarians did not have soccer shoes. For this reason, one day before the visit, on Saturday afternoon, they went to borrow the soccer shoes in STKIP.  On Sunday morning before the departure, Sr. Alicia Sandoval, OSM, asked us if we have attended the mass already (Saturday afternoon). Some said yes while others no because they went to find the soccer shoes. Sr. Alicia was very angry and he slapped us one by one. It was the most embarrassing experience.

Processing the Passport

On February 2002, we were asked to process the papers. We prepare every document that will be needed in order to attain the passport. We went to the hospital to have the general check up. Until the month of February, there were 18 of us in the house. But then later on, Sr. Alicia has admitted only 14 candidates to process the passport in order to be able to go abroad. In Flores, only in Maumere has the immigration office. So we travelled more than 14 hours to Maumere with the bus. We slept in the house of one policeman of origin ambonese whose relative is one of our candidates. Some of us could attain easily their passport while others had to wait for few days more because there some discrepancies in the documents required by the immigration office. We seek help from some priests in Ledalero. Flores is an island with a strong catholic influence. Usually the priests are well-respected. That is why we asked help from them. At that time there was a priest from Manggarai whose nephew is scalabrinian seminarian came with us to the immigration. He was trying to explain to the officers about our situation and thanks God at the end we were able to attain the passport. Now this priest is the current Bishop of Ruteng, Mgsr. Hubertus Leteng, pr. It was on February 19^th, 2002 that we attained the passport from the migration office of Maumere.

Tears Falling in the Airport of Labuan Bajo

On March 10, 2002, 14 seminarians together with some OSM sisters aspirants left Ruteng. Together with them there were Fr. Carmelo Hernandez, Cs and two nuns (Sr. Alicia and Sr. Xitlali). We rented the wooden truck owned by the Yayasan Gembala Baik St. Aloysius, the consecrated brothers who are working in Ruteng. The car got stopped in the middle of our trip because of some malfunctions. Fortunately, the driver was able to repair it.

We arrived at around 11 o’clock in Labuan Bajo. In this airport, some of the families have waited for us. Most of the guys experienced for the first time leaving their families for a far place. Only those who come from outside of Manggarai have been outside of their island. The majority has always been in Manggarai. Perhaps for these reasons there were many families who were there in the airport to give farewell to their sons. As the time for the departure came, many were burst into tears. Some really cried out loud. Even us seminarians were also in tears. We have been in our familiar place and now we have to adventure in the foreign land.

The Comedy in the Airplane

All of us travel with the plane for the first time. The feeling of uneasiness and curiosity dominated the trip. We were like putting in the jungle and we did not know what to do. Before our trip, Fr. Carmelo has given us some important indications. He was speaking to us in English and it was not clear how many really understood what he told us. We remembered one of his messages is that not to take anything that is offered in the plane and in the hotel because we would pay them later and who would do that will pay by his own money. We did not know exactly if it was the content of the message or we just did not understand what he said.

On the plane, the waitress came to bring to us the snacks. Those who sit in front began to reject because they were too afraid that they would pay later. On the other hand, there were also some who accepted the offer of waitress. Here began the argument. Those who did not accept the snacks began to reprimand the ones who accepted. They reminded them that we were forbidden to accept any offer from the waitress. Their voices became louder and louder until the waitress heard us.

She laughed at us and approached us that it is part of the ticket. We didn’t need to pay for that later. It is gratis for everybody. At the end, we were very ashamed.

Bali is beautiful but not for us in that moment…

Bali is the largest tourist destination in Indonesia. We were aware of that but in one day that we stayed there we did not go out much to see the beauty of this famous island. We kept on staying in the Betania Retreat House owned by the RVM sisters. We either didn’t have the courage to go the place that we didn’t know well or our minds were still in our families and relatives. We slept in Bali in one day but Bali that people used to say is the paradise we did not experience in that moment.

Early in the morning of March 11, we were given the tickets and some modules to comply. It was the ticket of Brunei Airlines. Our flight will be in the afternoon. The hours past so fast. Before the flight, Carmelo reminded us that we can eat the food that will be offered in the plane. Another important indication that he gave was not to walk in the group. He advised us to walk two by two. Since we were with the aspirants of the OSM Sisters, we were asked to go one seminarian with one aspirant.

In the Calmness of the City of Brunei Darussalam

We arrived in Brunei Darussalam airport in the evening of March 11, 2002. We were reminded by Fr. Carmelo that Brunei Darussalam is a muslim country. We were told not to say that we are seminarians and also not to tell them that Carmelo is a priest who accompany us to go to Manila. Upon our arrival in the immigration lane, some of us were interrogated by the migration officers of Brunei. There were some who were confused but at the end they let us go and spent a night in Brunei Hotel.

To say it frankly, Flores was the island that didn’t have yet the city set-up. We were awkward to be accommodated in the beautiful hotel of Brunei. Fr. Carmelo reminded us once again not to take anything from the freezer in our rooms because upon our departures, they would ask to pay.

As the darkness of the night waded away, we woke up from our deep sleep. We were pleased to be served with the American style breakfast. Perhaps there were such things as etiquettes but in our case, we ate like the people of Flores eat in their own land. We did not mind how we ate. We just ate until we got satisfied.

Right after breakfast we had some free time. We went around the small city of Brunei. There were some mosque around the city but we did not even bother to see or visit them. For us, as devoted Christians we were, it is not admissible to enter the mosque. We had still the hesitance to know another religion especially Islam.

In the afternoon of that day, we were headed for Manila, our final destination. Upon our arrival, some theologians have been waiting for us. We were so excited to begin our new life in Manila. We dropped our luggage in 7^th Street New Manila. It was in 4, 13^th Street that we were welcomed by the scalabrinian community. That was one of the unforgettable days because it was marked by the immense hospitality of the theologians. We were so happy.

Studying English

On March 18, 2002 we were sent by Fr. Carmelo to study English in one of the famous and most expensive universities in the Philippines, University of Ateneo de Manila. This university offers Intensive English Language Program for foreigners. Together with us, there were other two Scalabrinian brothers from Colombia and Brazil who would study theology in Manila.

Before beginning the English course, we did the test in order to know in which level we would be. In this school, they divided the students into two levels (A and B). Three were in level A while the rest were in level B. In the class there were other foreigners mostly of South Corea. The first modul was done from March 18 to May 7. The second modul from May 13 to June 24. We studied there until this June 24, 2002. The school offered a good English course. The only problem was that among us we did not speak English. We spoke in our dialect or in Bahasa Indonesia.

Prepadeutic year

During our prepadeutic year, we did not go out to other schools to study. All the courses were done in the house. Besides deepening our knowledge in English, we studied also New and Old Testament, Human Formation and some teaching points given by Fr. Romeo Velos. The prepadeutic year was the most critical moment not only for us but also for the Filipino brothers. There were a lot of misunderstandings and incomprehensions. There were clashes of characters. Several of the Filipinos went out during this period.

The Confusion of Philosophy Years

After the prepadeutic year, we were obliged to study philosophy. We studied philosophy from 2003-2005. The first problem facing the Indonesian candidates was the difference in educational system. For the Indonesians, after elementary school, they have to take six years to finish high school. For the Filipinos, they need only 4 years for high school before going to the college. The question was: do the Indonesians have to do 4 years college? The Christ the King Mission seminary, the school of philosophy run by the divine word missionaries, demanded the four years program if we want to finish Bachelor in Philosophy. There were some confusions then. Father Romeo Velos wanted this four years program so that we can attain a degree while Fr. Carmelo wanted us to take only two years philosophy even if we will not attain any scholarship degree. At the end, we persuaded the two years program where we took only philosophy subjects.

However, after one year of studying philosophy, 4 of us were asked by Fr. Nilo Mantilla,cs, to change the status from the GUEST STUDENTS to the regular students. With this change, we were abliged to go back to the first year of college and took the regular courses for college students so that at the end of the fourth year we can attain a civil degree. As we back to the first year, we learn all the minor subjects like algebra, chemistry, etc., and we got not even one philosophy subjects.

When we finished this school year, we thought that we would continue studying philosophy. To our surprise and amazement, we were sent to continue our formation stages. This time we moved to novitiate stage. The thought of finishing philosophy degree faded away. That one year of regular student was a waste of time.

Postulancy

The formation team has made a special arrangement for our postulancy. For the summer vacation during our philosophy years, we went to Cebu, one of the famous cities in the southern Philippines where our novitiate house is located. We would spend our one month vacation there. Here the novice master invited some people who would give us some inputs. Here we attended the seminars on: Human Formation and counseling (Mom Evelyn Rosal and Mom Kets), Anthropology (rogasionists priest), and some other teaching points given by one RVM nun and Fr. Hily Gonsalez.

Novitiate year

We begin our novitiate on May 1^st, 2006. We were 8 in the group, 2 filipinos and 6 Indonesians. Along the way, the two Filipinos and two Indonesians decided to go out from the congregation. There were only four Indonesians did the first profession of religious vows. Two were destined to study theology in Manila while the other two were asked to study in Rome.

Many entered and few persevere

As of now, only 2 of us remain in the congregation. We started 18 and we end up in 2. Naturally, the question comes up; why many entered and only few persevere?

Until now, I could not give the exact answer. I could offer only few points on which I retain important.

Firstly, With the coming of the new female congregations in Indonesia especially in flores marked the beginning of the VOCATION PROMOTION in Flores. Before it was the candidate who seek the congregations but now it was in another way around; it is the congregation who seek for the candidates. There were very few congregations present in Manggarai and they screened the candidates who wanted to enter. They put many requirements that the candidate had to comply. They made the entrance exam. Only few could pass the entrance exam. With the coming of the new congregations, it became easier to enter the convent. The scalabrinians were no exemption. The congregation accepted whoever wanted to enter the convent. It was one of the new reality. For this many wanted to enter even if without motivation at all.

Secondly, the congregation of the Missionaries of St. Charles was not yet known in Indonesia. The candidates know more about the Divine Word Missionaries because they have missions all over the island of Flores. They don’t have yet any idea what it means to be a Scalabrinian. There were materials given to us but all the materials are written in English. There was one candidate who decided to go out because his parents were afraid that Scalabrinian congregation probably is not real religious congregation.

Finally, I would say that the vocation to the priesthood is a mystery. We never know how many would be chosen. The candidates need only to discover what God wants for his life.  

The first Indonesians who joined the Scalabrinians