Giving to Receive

By Elizabeth Etta

Last sunday being the day of Pentecost coincided with the moving day. I found this significant because just as the spirit prompted the disciples to move and to proclaim the good news and preach about Jesus, so also was our mission to move and to reach out to others as Christ would want us to.

I was very much looking forward to my second moving day. It was great to see how everyone was passionate about sorting things and lending a helping hand with the overwhelming amount of donations.

During the lunch, Fr. Victor asked that people should go and introduce themselves to someone they haven't met before. An older Singaporean couple who were extremely nice and whom I had never met before, approached me and talked to me which was very nice of them. It felt like being part of God's family, how everyone filled into St.Joseph's hall for the lunch and just talking and getting to know other parishioners.

Fr. Victor has now been serving as a priest for forty years and I remember him mentioning that during his speech at lunch. I couldn't help but rejoice in my heart at the blessing he is to St. Augustine's. Now as we have been studying the word with Jeff Cavins, forty years is quite a significant number. It took forty years for Israel to make it to the promise land, forty years in which Saul and later David ruled Israel. The number forty is quite significant. I happen to find myself in the midst of a church whose parish priest celebrated forty years, and couldn't help but imagine what this means not only for Fr. Victor's walk with the Lord, but the impact that it has on us individually. I feel God's blessing on our church this year.

Heading out to the homes was quite an adventure. I had the privilege of having my sister and Rui on the journey. Rui and I had a discussion about my Christian beliefs as I didn't even realize she wasn't Catholic at first until she mentioned it. I would like to thank the Holy Spirit for the knowledge in that moment of answering a question that she said she had not understood before. Anyway, one of the best parts of moving day for me is the friendships that we build with each other as we participate in a common cause to help others.

Things went quite well in my opinion as we went to each home and met the people before giving them what we brought. They were all very receptive and thankful for the things that we brought them.

One of the most significant moments for me was during the third last visit of the day. Mario and I knocked on the door of one of the refugees, Sami. It took a while before the door was opened. He had no idea who we were and where we came from but after we tried our best to explain who we were and where we were from, he was warm and invited us in. Sami invited everyone to have a seat then asked if he should get us tea or coffee. We all politely declined. Sami is from Lebanon/Syria and came to Australia in 2003 as a result of the war in which he lost his family and friends. Sami asked us if we knew anything about the war in Syria and Lebanon at the moment. Many of us were silent. Sami went on to explain how he came to Australia, the struggles he was facing here and the possibility that he could be facing deportation back to Lebanon as he was going to court soon.

He was also saddened by the fact that his prospects here in Australia were not as great as he would have expected it. In that moment, I felt compassion. I realize that sometimes it is much more than giving the material things. Some of the refugees are used to not having much. They want to feel human, they want to feel that they are no different from us even though their circumstances are different, they want to be heard and listened to, rather than felt sorry for.  We spent a bit more time with Sami, and he introduced us to his beloved dog who was very clever and entertained us with a few tricks.

As we prepared to leave, I somewhat was grateful at that moment because I noticed a joyousness in Sami that was absent prior to our visit. He was grateful for our visit, for our talk with him and for the things we brought him.

At the end of the day, though it was a long and exhausting one, I felt truly blessed to have been part of the moving day group and all these encounters with the refugees and asylum seekers leave me feeling humbled and blessed.

To conclude, it is fitting to end with this scripture verse "Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God"  Hebrew 13:16