Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters SSpS Mission

Fall 2010

IN THIS ISSUE:

Heaven’s Children in Korea Forty Days for Life Mission Experience in the USA Mission Sunday Celebration News Notes

Called by the Spirit ~ Embracing the World

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Until the 1988 Olympics here in Korea, foreigners were a rare sight in the country. Throughout Ko-rean history, the idea of “homogeneous Korean people” was a kind of energy that forged deep na-tionalism which had positive effects on past eco-nomic growth and in overcoming political and so-cial crises. Today, the Korean society has become multicultural and the number of foreign residents in the country has reached one million, accounting for over two percent of the total population. Since the mid-90s in the so-called ‘age of migra-tion’, South Korea has become one of the destina-tion countries of migrants. While the story about a hundred migrant workers in Seoul first appeared in a Korean daily in 1987, it was in 1991 that Korea received its first influx of migrant workers in the form of industrial trainees. It was also about this period when Korean men began to marry foreign brides in large numbers. The foreign spouses in-cluded ethnic Koreans from China, Japanese, Chi-nese and Southeast Asian women from Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand and Cambodia. The esca-lating number of marriage migrants reached 167,000 in 2009. The number of their children has grown steadily since the middle of the 1990s, but it was not until the mid-2000s that Koreans began directing their attention to multicultural families. In 2006, there were 25,000 children from these families. The figure doubled to 58,000 in 2008 and again to 107,689 in 2009. Recognizing that migrants and multicultural fami-lies are vulnerable sectors in society, the Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters recently renewed their commitment to these groups. Although the SSpS in Korea have been rendering part-time volunteer services in this line of ministry since 1996, last No-vember 2009, a new community was formed and all four Sisters now work as full-time collaborators in the Exodus Migrant Center (East Kyonggido) of the Diocese of Uijeongbu.

Sr. Clara Maria Paek (Kor) serves as a social worker and tutor in the after-school learning center exclusively for children from multicul-tural families called “Heaven’s Children”. Sis-ter and a lay co-worker, with some volun-teers attend to the needs of 21 elementary and middle school students all from low-income families. Recent surveys show that insufficient Korean language skills of the mothers and their lack of ability in cultural communication are the major causes of diffi-culties in children’s education. It usually leads to slow academic progress and at times, issues of confusion of identity and lack of self-confidence. Very often, the non-Korean mothers are not able to play their de-cisive role in their children’s education. Therefore, after school the children proceed to “Heaven’s Children Center” where they are helped with their homework and also receive supplementary lessons in Math, English, Mu-sic, Arts and Korean Culture. They go home only after taking supper in the center. In ad-dition to the tutorial jobs, Sr. Clara Maria goes with some children to their weekly counseling sessions. With much creativity, everyday Sr. Cristina Evelina Gal (Rom) prepares nutritious snacks that energize the children for after-school activities. She also supervises the cen-ter’s kitchen making sure that balanced meals are available to all who come. Teaming up with two lay volunteers, she coordinates the Korean cooking classes held every Wednesday mostly for mothers from South-east Asia. Sr. Cristina is also in-charge of the “Pascha House”, a shelter for women that of-fers temporary residence to migrant workers who may either be recuperating from illness or looking for a new workplace.

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The shelter also welcomes foreign spouses who escaped or were sent away from their homes, and need rest and protection. Unlike many women’s shelters that keep their identity from the public, as an “open shelter” the clients are self-reliant and organize their daily sched-ule. When they need counseling or medical, legal and social support services they are re-ferred to the Exodus Center. Finally, Sister teaches English to the youngest pupils of “Heaven’s Children”. As of October 2009, there were about 680,000 low-skilled migrant workers in the country and around 70,000 were undocumented. While South Korea was one of the first Asian coun-tries to formally recognize the rights of foreign workers, exploitative and discriminatory work practices still prevail. The issues of low wages and unpaid salaries, poor working conditions and ill-treatment by employers are the issues Sr. Yulita Taking (Indo-Flo) helps address as a member of the labor team of Exodus. She par-ticularly handles the cases of Indonesians and

East Timorese. Always mindful of the long- standing conflict between Timor-Leste and In-donesia, Sr. Yulita personally hopes to be an agent of reconciliation for these two countries, even for at least the small group here in Korea. Lastly, Sister’s ministry among migrant workers extends to the weekly Free Clinic Centers, one of which she is in charge. There are now 6,500 Filipino-Korean marriages in Korea. With the surge in international mar-riage, traffickers have been abusing the bro-kered interracial marriage system. Illegal matchmakers spread false information about the spouses or about married life in Korea, causing subsequent problems. During the past decade, when I handled multicultural marriage issues, I (Sr. Rosa Angelica Libron - Phil) was more focused on the plight of the Filipina as a migrant spouse and mother. However, in my ministry now where I accompany about 60 Fili-pino-Korean households, the focus has changed to the family as a whole. From crisis interven-tion, the approach has shifted to the formation

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of a healthy and happy multicultural family. The frequent home visits then are occa-sions for sharing of life’s experiences, indi-vidual or couple’s counseling, and educat-ing the husband about Filipino culture and the Filipina about Korean culture. Every Saturday, around 15 Filipinas come, some with their husbands, to attend the psycho-spiritual integration sessions with group dynamics that I conduct. In Exodus, coun-seling services are available to individuals or groups, and varied cultural and social programs are offered to assist the Filipinas in integrating themselves into the Korean society. And when situations of abuse and exploitation arise, actions are done to pro-mote and protect the rights of the victims. Exodus! As we share life and mission with the people we encounter in the Exodus Mi-grant Center with their modern-day exodus stories, we pray that the migrants and mul-ticultural families will be able to recognize the Lord as the one who delivers them from oppression and leads them through a life-transforming experience into a relationship with God. Sr. Rosa Angelica C. Libron, SSpS

www.aidforwomen.o

For a few years some of the Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters were actively involved in the Aid For Women mission of helping young pregnant women who did not feel that they were able to support their children. Sisters were taking the hot line phone calls to talk to young women, sometimes con-fused about what they were even looking for, to help them in making the right choice. It often took some time out of the night to help others but there was always a lot of joy knowing that one more young person decided to see someone in the Aid for Women office and hopefully will make the right deci-sion. Recently Aid for Women had a fundraising dinner to which some of our sisters were invited. Encouraged by the atmosphere in the room, the inspiring talks and the many other possibilities presented besides responding to the hot line, Sr. Margaret Hansen decided to try to host a baby shower in our convent. This event is preceded by 40 days of praying for life in all its forms and collecting some baby items that will be given to Aid for Women afterwards. In the beginning of October, Aid for Women came to give a presentation at the Convent of Holy Spirit. Susan Bar-rett and Erin Stec gave a background of the non-profit organi-zation and told the community about the work they are doing currently. The most common demographic they help are 18-24 yr. olds that have a household income of $36,000 or less. They explained the numbers of those being helped this year versus those that were helped last year and said the numbers for this year are much higher than last year! Aid for Women offers programs for clients: counsel-ing, pregnancy tests, ultrasound exams, and for those that chose life a mentor program, client bonus program, and refer-rals for medical and community needs. The mentor program pairs the soon to be mother with a volunteer who is there to listen and offer help. The client bonus program provides cli-ents with opportunities to earn monopoly money which they can later use to buy clothes and other items they will need for their child.

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This article is a reflection on the mis-sion experience of a lay volunteer from Germany as she leaves her ministry. Eva Weisser was living with our sisters in Waukegan where she was volunteering.

In order to answer one of my main evaluation questions, “What do you want to put into your suitcase of life as you leave this experience?”, I need to go back to my arrival. In January 2010, I arrived after more than two days of travel because of an airplane problem and my suitcase was left in London. It was freezing and snowing outside. I was tired and exhausted. But the moment I arrived at the Convent of the Holy Spirit, I knew that I was deeply wel-comed and appreciated. This first im-pression never left me even to this mo-ment. I felt at home surrounded by re-ligious women who loved and cared for each other and who helped me to create a space where I could express myself within my talents, skills and my person-ality. During the past ten months we together experienced many moments of joy, laughter, sharing and praying. Liv-ing in community is a challenge with its beautiful and uplifting, supportive and caring sides, but also with the fact of a constant adaptation to new and unknown situations, to dif-ferent expectations and opinions. Community definitely teaches one to rethink one’s own personal needs and challenged me to find the bal-ance between the interests of the community and my own personal in-terests. I must add, even if there were moments of struggle, all in all, there definitely was beauty in this experience. We are put in a situation to challenge ourselves in order to grow and mature person-ally, emotionally and spiritually and to Know more what to expect

from life. The chance to really have time for prayer, Mass and meditation is a blessing because in the normal daily life, we can be easily driven away from our connection with God and our spiritual growth. But this community helped me to stay connected and inspired me in their dedication and faithfulness. During my ministries in the food pantry, soup kitchen, local school and children’s liturgies I had the chance to put to use and to improve my talents and skills. There are lots of inspirations which I can take home, lots of new ideas which have been put like a seed in my heart and my soul. There is a lot that I can learn from my ministries, definitely in order to understand the American social system, the know-how of one part of the society, but even more from the people which I met every day, the people in need, the kids in school, and in the other dedicated volunteers. Each one has taught me les-sons in life, but what I experienced es-pecially in each of the faces and smiles is the message of Jesus saying: I am in every one of you. So this is what it is all about: No matter what we do, no mat-ter how tiny the changes are that we

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bring about, no matter how simple our work might be, if we do it with a dedi-cated heart full of love - it will bear fruit! One thing that my work, espe-cially in the food pantry, taught me was that every step, every job, like putting corn cans on the shelves on a Monday morning, has its importance, has its value, if you do it with a spirit of serving. My year in the United States provided this huge lesson for me, being ready to be there where you are needed and being simple. Sometimes I questioned myself and my ministries, like what could I do more, do I do enough, do I really make a difference, where else could I serve, what else could I learn? In the end of my stay I found peace in knowing that I lived a real mission ex-perience because I might not have changed a lot, but my heart was with what I was doing, with the needy who asked for food and shared about their difficult life experiences. I was with the kids who wanted to know more about Jesus, my community and

my friends. I really believe that God led me to live and work in Waukegan to challenge myself and to give the best I could, to become more simple and through the people I met there more aware of their reality. So what do I put in my suitcase of life? Mission and Life are all about being THERE, in the place, with an open, simple, loving and caring heart. Never forgetting to see Christ in every person and to trust in what we believe. But for sure, I could never have done what I did during this year without the protective hand of God, my sisters in community, my family and my precious friends, who did everything they could to support me. Especially some of them who became role models, mentors for me, mis-sionaries in their own way, without being aware of it. Certainly this mission call will not stop here with the termination of my ministries, but I will continue to grow and develop my ideas of mission and serving in future years. Eva Weisser

Letter writing and re-connecting with Sisters who at one time were part of the Paraclete

Province on Mission Sunday!

October 24, 2010 — Mission Sunday!

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News Notes The relatives of the late Mr. Matthias C. Happ and his wife, Anna, visited the SSpS at the convent in Techny, Ill., this summer. The Happ family were early benefactors of the Sisters, providing help on many occasions, during the beginning years of the U.S. Province in the early 1900’s. Happ family members at that time attended the school where the Holy Spirit Sisters taught, and Mr. Matthias Happ died at St. Therese Hospital. The recent visit included picture-taking and refreshments and was enjoyed by several generations of Happs as well as the Sisters. A weekend-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of St. Joseph Parish in Meridian, Mississippi, that included alumni from the school and several of the Sisters who taught there, took place in September. A new book, African-American Children and Missionary Nuns and Priests in Mississippi, by Ethel E. Young and Jerome Wilson, with a foreward by Sr. Carol Welp, SSpS, is a complement to the earlier Seventy Septembers by Mary Best. It tells of the impact education had on the children of that era and the Sisters’ contribution. Ever aware of social justice issues, the Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters addressed several over the summer. They participated in a prayer gathering at an immigrant detention center in Chicago to draw attention to the problems families deal with due to depor-tation. It is hoped that Comprehensive Immigration Reform will eleviate some of this suffering in this country. They also par-ticipated in the “101 Days of Prayer for Peace in Sudan” sponsored in part by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic Relief Services.

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