This article is an extract from MVA/MSOLA Network Letter n° 25
“Come and see” is a stage when a young woman who is interested in religious life comes to stay in our community. Just as Jesus did with his disciples when they asked Him “Master where do you stay,” He told them to “come and see” (John 1: 39).
Here is a testimony shared by young Sphiwe Gervazio who stayed at our house in Lilongwe with three other girls, from 17th to 20th December 2021.
Dear sisters! Receive our greetings from the warm heart of Africa! We are very grateful to God for the warm welcome we received from the sisters, the joy and peace we have experienced, the kindness and openness they showed us during our stay in their community. We came to the sisters and witnessed how they live their religious life. This increased the desire to join the MSOLA family one day!
The sharing from each of the sisters in the community strengthened our relationship with God and built strong roots in our vocation. Each day we learned new things. We understood better the meaning of vocation as a call from God to love and serve Him. We were set aflame with the calling of St. Paul, (Acts 9:1-9), Mathew, Samuel and Mary (Luke 1; 28-38). From their vocation story, we discovered that each person is different and unique in answering God’s call.
We learnt about discernment as the process to discover our vocation and say yes to God’s calling every day. This needs a lot of prayer, seeking guidance from others, exploring through reading about other people’s vocation. We prayed together with the sisters and also had personal time of prayer; this helped me to be in contact with Jesus in silence through meditating on His word.
Each one of us was very touched by the MSOLA Charism and apostolic work, like working against Human Trafficking, creating awareness about Climate Change, taking care of creation and environment, Justice and Peace, working with the refugees and marginalized, children, youth and many other activities. This discovery helped us to open our eyes to see and to take care of God’s creation.
In the evenings where we had recreation with the sisters, various games, watching a video, dancing and singing. It was fun and each one had the occasion to share her skills for recreation. We also were very happy to have a few minutes to chat with the sisters in other countries through an MVA Zoom meeting.
We wish you a Happy New Year! May God bless you abundantly!
Sphiwe Gervazio (Aspirant), Patricia, Catherine and Alefa
