Testimony of Seminarians “Yaruamal Missionaries”-Brother JOHN ALBEY MUÑOZ and Brother JOSE IVAN CAMPAÑA

Posted: 2nd June 2005

Brother JOHN ALBEY MUÑOZ and Brother JOSE IVAN CAMPAÑA

Phnom Penh(C.S.C): JOHN ALBEY MUÑOZ was born in Colombia in 1971 in a Catholic family. He made his studies in his hometown. After finishing high school in 1991, John decided to join the major seminary of Yarumal missionaries. After one year of philosophical studies he went out of the seminary to have an experience working in a factory. 5 years later John decided to come back to the seminary with more maturity and having realized the call of God for him to become a priest and to serve as a missionary with Yarumal missionaries. John continued hi philosophical studies in the year 1997 and in 1999 he went to the NOVITIATE for one year before his first commitment as a member of the missionary society. From year 2000 to 2003 John studied theology at Bolivariana University in Medellin city of Colombia. For his pastoral experience he was sent by the director to Cambodia. For this purpose he went first of Toronto Canada, to study English.

The 10 months he has been living in Cambodia, John has being learning the Khmer language. Talking with THE MESSENGER’S reports John expressed his joy of having being chosen by God and the Church to come to Cambodia as a missionary. “I thank God for He has called me to become a priest and a Missionary. I feel deep joy to realize that Jesus invites me to share His Body and Blood with many brothers and sisters. It is a joy for me also the fact that my Missionary Society has sent me to Cambodia”, he said.

I discover my vocation for priesthood and missionary life sharing my faith with other young people of my parish. The Sunday celebration of the Eucharist when I was a teenager was for me a source of support and motivation for my missionary life and for my priestly vocation. In those years the contact we used to have with poor people helped me to understand and to hear the call of God to serve him in His Church.

“Concerning my family, they are very happy to know that I will be ordained as a Deacon this coming June. Thanks God I still have my two parents alive. I have four sisters and four brothers. I am the seventh in my family. All of them support me very much in my decision to become a priest and a missionary far away from them” he said.

“The missionary experience in Cambodia during this last year has been very important for the confirmation of my decision. I’ve been learning the Khmer language and culture. As soon as I penetrate into the culture I am discovering the great and endurable values of the Khmer culture. I want to encourage the young people in Cambodia, especially in our Church to continue building their country”. “You are constructing the new history of your own country”, said Deacon John to The Messenger’s reporters.

This coming 5th of June the seminarians, JOSE IVAN CAMPAÑA and JOHN ALBEY MUÑOZ, who belong to the Yarumal Missionary Society will celebrate their ordination as DEACONS, as their last step towards priesthood.

JOSE IVAN, 30, is from Ecuador, South American country. He made his primary and secondary studies in his hometown in Ecuador. Ivan entered the Major Seminary of the Yarumal Missionaries in Cuenca. Ecuador, in 1995 where he did his studies of philosophy. In 1999 he went to Colombia to continue his process of formation at the novitiate in town of Yarumal, the birth town of Yarumal Missionary Society. In the year 2000 Ivan started his theological studies at the Bolivariana University of Medellín, Colombia. After his graduation Jose Ivan was appointed as a member of the team of missionaries of the Scarborough Mission Society. In August 2004 he arrived in Phnom Penh for his pastoral year exposure before his ordination as a priest.

Asked by THE MESSENGER about his decision to become a Catholic Priest and a missionary, Ivan said that his vocation was rooted in the Christian faith experience of his family and hometown, as well. “I felt the call from God to serve the Church as priest and missionary when I was a teenager and was helping in some missionary activities in my parish”. Jose Ivan told THE MESSENGER that in those years the young people attached to this parish program used to visit the poor families of the region, they had small groups of bible and spiritual reflections and they also used to have some social work such visiting the sick, feeding the hungry and helping the poor families to repair their houses. In this context, the missionary vocation of Jose Ivan was born. For this reason he decided to join the seminary of Yarumal Missionaries in Ecuador. “At the beginning, when I talked with my family about my missionary vocation, they didn’t like the idea very much, because they wanted me to be together with them, not too far away. However, as the time was passing by they changed their minds. Now they not only accept but they like very much that I am now committed for life to serve the Church as a priest and missionary, though I will be far away from them most of the time”. Ivan told The Messenger’s reporters that his parents a very deeply rooted in the Christian faith and it is because this faith experience that they can accept with joy to give a son to the church. When Jose Ivan told his parents about the coming ordination as a DEACON they were very happy to hear this news, even they were a little sad because they cannot come to accompany him.

Talking about his mission experience in Cambodia Jose Ivan told THE MESSENGER that during the past 10 months he has been dedicated to study the Khmer language very hard. His pastoral exposure in the Apostolic Prefecture of Kampong Cham has been a very good opportunity to learn about the Khmer culture and to deepen in the Khmer language. “I have learnt a lot from the people I am accompanying nowadays in Kampong Cham. I visit several villages every week. I have many activities with children and I teach some music to young people”.

Article Source: Catholic Social Communication--C.S.C