Hi, Elísio! Could you please introduce yourself…
I am Elísio, from the St Callistus Caravario Vice-Province in Timor-Leste (TLS). I was born in Baguia, Timor-Leste, on 17 August 1997. In my family there are six children: I have two sisters and three brothers, and I am the fourth. I am very grateful to God for blessing me with God-fearing parents. When I was two years old I was adopted by my uncles, I was the only child for them. I was touched by the faith of the testimony of life. When I was studying at the Salesian high school, I was attracted to the Salesian lifestyle. That's why I decided to join the Salesian Congregation. This year is my last year of practical training.
What inspired you to choose to become a missionary?
During my formation, from the aspirantate to the postnovitiate, I had a great opportunity because I lived with the missionaries in my country. Their lives have been of great inspiration, especially their qualities such as humility, industriousness and generosity in helping others. Being a missionary is a vocation, but God uses these ordinary people to do his will. The life of testimony of the missionaries in my country has inspired me to become a missionary since the novitiate. In the postnovitiate I spoke with my Rector and began to join the "Cagliero 11" group to attend missionary formation regularly.
Are you happy with where you are going? Do you have any fears or concerns about the new place, culture and people?
In practical training I continued to discern my missionary vocation and, with the permission of my PDMA, the Provincial Delegate for Missionary Animation, I wrote my letter of candidacy to the Rector Major. In the end, they decided to send me to an Eastern European country, Romania, belonging to the Salesian Province of North-East Italy (INE). This country has its cultural diversity and its limitations, but I am happy to be part of its people.
How did your family members, friends and confreres react when you told them about your missionary vocation?
My family, especially my father, does not agree with my decision, but I have always told him that "this is what God calls me to do". I pray every day for him, that God will open his heart to welcome and understand what I have decided.
What are your plans and dreams for your missionary life?
I hope to be able to carry forward the virtues of the missionaries who inspired me in my life and in my mission land , especially to spread the values of the gospel.
Do you have some great missionary role models in mind whose lifestyle you want to follow?
All the missionaries of my country are unique and their lives are a stimulus for me: this is why I want to follow their virtues, such as humility, industriousness and generosity in helping others in my mission land.
What is your message to young people about missionary choice and vocation?
For those who want to become missionaries, especially for my confreres in my home Vice-Province: do not worry about saying "yes" to God's call to be missionaries! Remember that "when we give more, we will receive more".
