Continue From Take My Own Risk....
Around year 2000, our Myanmar Catholic community was very small at that time and we only can gather 1 month 1 time at Bedok convent.
At that time , the mass celebrate by Fr. Lorenzo from MEP (France) who he was stayed in Myanmar before 1965. He was a lecturer in Myanmar Catholic major seminary for few years and he can speak and write in Myanmar language. At that time our community member was less than 50 people. About a year, his health condition was getting bad and he introduce to us with his friend Fr. Joseph Jeannequin.
Who he was also can speak and write Myanmar language and teaching at Myanmar Catholic major seminary for few years. He was staying as assistant priest at Nativity church. Whenever we want to celebrate Myanmar mass, we wait for him at the church and pick him up and send him back by Taxi. Around year 2002, Fr. Joseph Jeannequin was transfer to IHM and he gave us one chapel at the church for us to celebrate the mass.
At the time we are very small group and even the small chapel is not full. And we are very close to each other and help each other at church. We practice singing Saturday before second week of the mass at one of our friends house and after practice we eat together. It was not easy to unite each other because our catholic community was very small and come from all over from our country (Myanmar).
So many difference race and culture yet difference level of work and industry.
And also our people are mostly work permit holder and illegal immigrants as well. So our community was not legally register because of illegal immigrants to give room to survive. A few of us only can meet up for meeting, to connect our friends and update each other for the mass celebration.
One of our friend was very good song writer and always created new song for every month. He play piano very well. And another friend was professional guitarist and for our church was very well organized for Choir section. My cousin and other friend of us are good singing and they always produce very beautiful song.
Our small community even don’t have computer, Overhead Projector and electronic keyboard at the time. For the presentations of hymn, we need to write on transparencies sheets and projects on the wall. I won’t forget those day we need to carry around Overhead Projector for our mass celebration. Every second Sunday of the month we assign to different dioceses group to serve with food by their own plan to our community.
For the feast days, such as Easter and Christmas we do not have place and priest to celebrate. Most of the time, we have visitor priest from around the world and rented some place to celebrate especially Christmas party. We cooked our self-form difference dioceses and intergraded our duty to make it happen smoothly.
And doing entertainments live band, singing competitions and some of the fun games. Doing party was very fun and the most tired part was keeping and cleaning after the party. We need to return everything that we borrow from our friend and send back to their home door to door.
A few of us need to took leave and settle for all this issue. We do happy and enjoying what we are doing for our community. We used to meet up next week end for the successfully finished and celebrated.
To Be Continue.....
GO WELL....(By: PatrickSanLin. MSC 007)
Photos credit: Google Image
