In the Church we are all missionariesJosé Antonio and Amalia are a marriage of the Neocatechumenal Way who went on mission in 2011 to Taiwan, after discovering that God was asking them to leave everything behind and take a leap of faith.
With doubts, not knowing the language and a great fear for the future of their children, José Antonio and Amalia decided to trust in God and now, in this interview with Omnes, they share the graces and fruits that their dedication has produced.
How did you discover that you had a missionary vocation?
- We belong to the Neocatechumenal Way where we are continually told of the importance of the proclamation of the Gospel: to bring Christ to all the people of the world so that everyone who welcomes him has the opportunity to be saved, as he has done with us. In this way, every year, in meetings and gatherings, we ask for priests, celibates and families who are freely willing to leave for any part of the world and thus discover our missionary vocation.
What was the key moment in your life when you felt that God was calling you to this path?
- In 2006, at the Pope's meeting with families in Valencia, when we had five children, we felt for the first time that the Lord was calling us to this mission. At that moment we were not able to stand up, thinking that it was madness or a passing feeling. But the call persisted and we saw ourselves chained in the life we had: work, home, family.... but with an emptiness and inner sadness that nothing filled it. It was in 2010, with the Gospel We left for southern Taiwan, in the aboriginal area, when we wanted to touch Christ with our faith and abandoned ourselves to do his will. So, we left in 2011 with eight children and eight suitcases.
How have you balanced your family life and your missionary work?
- All we did was to live among the Chinese but according to what the Church has taught us: eating together around a table with our children, which they do not do because they are always working; celebrating Christmas, in a pagan environment that they do not know what it is, and having to ask permission at school because a Jesus is born who is our Savior, and so we make him known, putting the Nativity Scene at the door of the house for people to visit, ..... simply living day by day.
It is true that we have done what in the Way is called "Popular Mission", that is to say, to announce Jesus Christ and the love of God in the streets and squares, with guitars, songs, experiences, Gospel... Also doing catechesis of Initiation to the Neocatechumenal Way and premarital courses. But perhaps where we have noticed that the missionary work was more fruitful was in our daily life as well as that of our children, especially in the relationship with their classmates and teachers, whom we invited home and they saw how we lived.
What challenges have you faced as a married couple on the mission field and how have you overcome them?
- For us, the main difficulty has been the language. We have found that there is no greater poverty than not understanding anything and not being able to speak a word. Taking our children to the doctor and not being able to express what is wrong with them or understand what they are saying or know what medicine to give them; shopping and feeling cheated so many times; explaining our children's difficulties to their teachers .....
We started without knowing any Chinese, and little by little the Lord opened our ears, we began to understand, to babble words, until we were able to get by.
Another difficulty is trying to understand their culture so different from ours, and for that nothing better than living like them: eating their food, putting our children in their state schools, working in their jobs (resting on Sundays), giving birth in their hospitals, keeping us there when there were torrential rains, typhoons, earthquakes....
How did we overcome it? Evidently by the grace of God and the prayers of our community, as well as those of some of the nuns who also prayed for our family and mission.
How has missionary work strengthened your relationship as a couple?
- Our relationship as a married couple has been very, very strengthened, because we were so lonely, we had so many difficulties around us, that the choice we made was to unite with God and unite with each other. It did not make sense to fight, to argue over silly things that arise on a daily basis and that are just an imposition of reason. The best thing was to give in, humble ourselves, make each other happy and enjoy the little moments. That is what we have passed on to our children. Our marriage took a 180º turn.
What would you say to other couples who feel the desire to get involved in the mission but have doubts or fears?
- We understand perfectly well the fears, fears and doubts, but the experience is that God gives grace and never tries above our strength. Of course it is a life with many sufferings, we are not painting it rosy, but above all there is the power of God who has never left us. Mission and grace is a symbiosis that is fulfilled when we say "yes".
How have you seen God's hand at work in the people you have served during your mission?
- That is such a great gift that the Lord has allowed us to live! One of our daughters was in kindergarten and we became friends with her teacher, a pagan of course. We needed a caregiver to stay with our children while we went to the Eucharist and we asked her. So she started to come into our house, see how we live and start asking questions. She has been baptized and a few months ago she even got married and her husband is now the one who wants to be baptized.
Our children have also brought friends who, seeing how we live, have become more and more attached to our family and wish to have something like this in their lives. There are those who have not been able to break with the traditions of their home, but at least they know another way of life.
But the greatest beneficiaries of the mission have been our family, us as a married couple as we have explained, and our children about whom we have always wondered: have we spoiled our children's lives or will it be a gift that will bear fruit in time? But "the Lord has been great with us and we are glad": our children have learned to live from God, literally, and you don't learn that in school. It is the most important thing we have taught them.
Our bishop, D. Demetrio, told us before leaving and that is what stayed with us: "there is no better school for your children than the mission". But the Lord is also allowing us to see some incredible fruits: our eldest daughter, Maria, is a missionary in Harbin (North China); our fourth son, Jose Antonio, has just entered the Redemptoris Mater Diocesan Missionary Seminary in Vienna; our second daughter, Amalia, wants to get married in a few months and form a Christian family open to life and in her interior she still has the restlessness of the mission (God will speak to them about that...). So, in the face of all the fears we might have for the life of our children, God overflows.
