Father Raul Tabaranza shares his journey as a vocation promoter with the young people

It has been almost three years now that I have been doing Vocation Promotion here in South Africa. When I have one-on-one encounters with candidates, I always find two or three who question me about leaving their homes and leaving South Africa and about what would happen to them on a mission far from home. 

Others already feel grief just at the thought of leaving home and family and hardly getting to see them. It is very true that, despite the joy of dreaming of becoming a missionary, this elation is accompanied by an incredible sadness at the mere thought of rarely being home. 

Parents may have different concerns regarding their son or daughter entering religious life. They have hopes and dreams and various expectations. But witnessing their son or daughter’s strong desire for this life is already a big consolation for them, even though separation is always painful.

 But this is just the beginning. Leaving an incapacitated mother and old father was for me personally a heavy emotional burden on my formative journey. Initially, it scared me a lot. Separation from one’s family causes suffering, but as I matured, I could eventually see it as a blessing. If we are truly called, God will equip us. 

A missionary will always find a home in the mission and live as a family with other missionaries. We learn to let go of our dreams and work together for the common good, and above all, we learn to settle into the place we have been given. Our diversity is of great value, as local believers observe. We practice hospitality, and people feel comfortable and welcome.

The mission is a home where one regains energy, and where discouragement and negativities are tackled together. It is a home where you act together as a team, in collaborative ministry and where you utilise your unique talents for the common good. There our hearts find rest, as we wrestle with the demands of the mission together. 

A perfect home cannot be found, but wherever a missionary goes, his home will always be an aid and not an obstacle to his mission.