Verbum Dei Missionaries Singapore 73 Taman Mas Merah Singapore 128195 Tel: 62740251 Email: verbumdeispore@yahoo.com.sg Website: www.verbumdeisingapore.

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Editor Says
Recently, I chanced upon a Facebook posting with a message that said, 'Falling in love is easy, but staying in love is hard.' On that same day, I read a yahoo news article that Ashley Madison, an infamous dating site that facilitate extra-marital affairs could be here in Singapore next year. This infamous website has the slogan on its main page as 'Life is short. Have an affair' Pope Francis in the recent World Youth Day in Brazil addressed the volunteers with these words: 'God calls you to make definitive choices, and he has a plan for each of you: to discover that plan and to respond to your vocation is to move toward personal fulfilment. God calls each of us to be holy, to live his life, but he has a particular path for each one of us. Some are called to holiness through family life in the sacrament of Marriage. Today, there are those who say that marriage is out of fashion. Is it out of fashion? In a culture of relativism and the ephemeral, many preach the importance of "enjoying" the moment. They say that it is not worth making a life-long commitment, make a definitive decision, "for-ever", because we do not know what tomorrow will bring. . I ask you, instead, to be revolutionaries, I ask you to swim against the tide; yes, I am asking you to rebel against this culture that sees everything as temporary and that ultimately believes you are incapable of responsibility, that believes you are incapable of true love. Have the courage to "swim against the tide". And also have the courage to be happy.' (Pope Francis, 28July 2013) We, whether we are single or married; young or old, are called to be revolutionaries- revolutionaries of God's Love! We are here to be witnesses to show that love is possible when we build genuine and honest friendships in which we reach out to one another in trust, kindness and sincerity. We, in our parishes, offices, homes, the streets, must have the courage to "swim against the tide" of temporary culture where life-long commitments of any kind are frowned upon. After 12 years in my missionary life, I am still happily married to Jesus, and looking forward to many more years to come! A good and sound advice from my good friend and spiritual mentor helped me in my commitment to Jesus. She said, 'Faithfulness of today guarantees the one of tomorrow.' Yes, life is short. Have the courage to work for greater faithfulness!

Leticia and Sandra with Bro. Gerard Rummery

How can Catholics witness to being Christian in the

"You are to be My Witnesses" Catholic Education Conference @ Catholic Junior College 13th to 14th September 2013

pluralistic, multi-religious environment in Singapore Catholic Schools? This was the question that keynote speaker, Bro. Gerard Rummery, an Australian La Salle Brother addressed on the first day of the conference to a crowd consisting of teachers, principals, parents and religious. Sr Sandra was invited to be one of the panel members on the second day of the conference.
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Updates: Selling of food at Blessed Sacrament Canteen on 15th September: $2183.80 Fundraising dinner and Auction on 28th September: $159,000 Selling of Prayer Journal (Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer): Ongoing sale To date, we have raised $650,000 since February 2013! Thank you very much for your support!

Selling of food @ BSC canteen

Fundraising Dinner and Auction

Maria Jose giving welcome speech at the start of the dinner

Launching and selling of Prayer for Living Book

Reserve auction in action Live cooking demonstration by Chef Aw

Working hard in the fields

Giving groceries to the needy families Helping prisoners with their livelihood projects

Teaching English to kids

Visiting squatter areas and praying for families

Visiting the home for the aged

Facts about Devy:

Full name: Devy Pranadjaja Age: 30 No of years as a Verbum Dei Missionary: 8 Met the community in: Australia Favourite bible passages: John 17:19; Is 43; Hos 2:14 Love to eat ___________: Sushi (tough one! I like so many things!! Can't I just say, "Love to eat full stop." ? ^_^ But, okay... if I have to choose... Sushi? ) Spoken languages: Indonesian, English, Italian, Spanish (and learning Singlish!) Most memorable moment in missionary life: Too many to choose from - every time I encounter God in a radical way, both in prayer and in the people I meet, in the silent darkness and in the loud festive surrounding: each one of these moments is unforgettable and precious. Thoughts on Singapore: It's a beautiful city/island/country... I love the mix of cultures, and the people are really friendly and welcoming! It feels familiar and "homey" in a way, having visited Singapore many times before with my family... but at the same time, every day offers new experiences and surprises. I love the food, I love the luscious green all around, I love the cheeky sense of humour... I'm looking forward to making Singapore my home and getting to know it better!