Dec 22., 2019 / Soul Food, Updates and Activities
A Call To Share
“A little kindness goes a long way.” When you’re on the receiving end of kindness you would know how true this statement is. But this is also what a Singaporean volunteer in Cambodia realised—she gave and she received more.
It was a privilege to journey with the 38 volunteers from ACTS Singapore, for one week, in Kampong Thom,
Cambodia. They were diverse in age and experience, some of them were doctors and medical students, a few in Secondary school, but basically generous and willing people. ACTS offered free check-up, basic medical care and medicines, health education to public school kids, and manual labor in the parish (they put up a children’s playground and posts for the new church!) At sundown, the end of each work-day, they would gather for prayer, reflection and sharing. Even when they were exhausted and longed for a shower! It was a tough challenge for me, not all of them were Catholics, not even believers, and on top of that, we had to grapple with the question: “Why does God allow suffering?” I capitalised on the common desire that brought them together— A call to share (A.C.T.S.) And most importantly, I trusted that in spite of, and even sometimes through, my limitations the Holy Spirit would work.
A turning point in the sharing, I think, was when someone shared that “there’s no KPI (key performance index) in volunteer work.” It was what led the group to reflect on their motivations for doing what they do. It’s true, that in a performance-driven society, kindness can simply be utilitarian. What can turn kindness into compassion is our faith. Jesus’ teachings, in words and example, and his Spirit in each one of us, enable us to listen and to suffer with the other, to give wholeheartedly and not because we will be evaluated, to heal even when we ourselves are hurting. I almost forgot to mention, the group also did the dishes, pots 
and pans included, after our every meal.
On our last session, when I asked the group who was the God they encountered in Kampong Thom, they said God is a God who is “awesome,” “in control,” “unconditional love,” and “can be found even in the most unlikely places.” One even said that he saw God in the person of a volunteer who was a self-professed non-believer. One volunteer, named Ignatius, shared “God is in everything.” Talk about living up to his name!
I say Amen to all of the above. During the day, since our session was not until 5:00 PM, some days I went with the group to the areas to join the Education team, and some days I helped out in the kitchen. The children in the school were lavish in their hugs and attention. When we were playing “London Bridge” they would deliberately slow down so they’d end up being caught in our arms. While we were at rest from play, they snuggled up to us and chatted in Khmer, as if we were locals. The same with the cook in the parish, whom I was very fond of. She laughed at my slowness in cutting vegetables and my inability to start the fire on the wood stove, but all with affection, so I knew she wasn’t cursing me. She would show me some food to taste, explain something in Khmer, and if I hesitated she shoved it into my mouth. So full of tough love, ain’t she? I witnessed God in the church staff, too, who aside from overseeing the activities in all five parishes, had to do translation work for the Medical team.
I am utterly grateful to God for the opportunities he has given me through this ministry of spiritual 
accompaniment. God has brought me to places I never thought I’d reach, and led me to know many faces of selfless service and compassion, the many faces of Jesus. This is perhaps what Jesus said about a “hundredfold” of “brothers, sisters, father, mother, children or land” in Matthew 19. But what I am grateful most is being able to witness to the encounter between God and human, that beautiful moment when the love God communicates is perceived and received by God’s beloved. Priceless.
Truly, when we share, even of whatever little that we have, it is we who receive more.
~ Sr. Yna Oñate, rc
More photos of the ACTS mission: https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNOVVpj1zu4-EbHFXLn-BtToVBtmhlaxdNZP2MZQN6Kkt-71oWKwvtnNOQqJWCdKQ?key=SzZvemlfcjdaOFZYekliajJrd2tTWFZscTVpQl9n
