Here is their story of the very first days of mission, sent by Fr Zé Pereira, responsible for the presence, in which he is joined by the Salesian in formation Amós Santiago de Carvalho.
February 6: The heat of these days has reached 40 degrees; we will also collaborate with the parish priest of the parish of Our Lady of the Rosary, where we live, which has 25 rural communities. We intend to have a festive oratory in each of these rural communities with the help of the animators we shall prepare.
February 8: This morning I was in the bakery having a coffee and a guy approached me to polish my shoes. I started a conversation. "Don't you have a father or a mother?" His grandmother had died a few days ago, he's 18 years old, he got together with his girlfriend and he has a three-month-old daughter. The honesty of this boy reminded me of that dialogue between Don Bosco and Bartolomeo Garelli. I gave him a tip, a loaf of bread and some coffee; he left happy and grateful, his name is João Marcos. It is to help these poor children that Don Bosco invited us to Oeiras, in the Piauí sertão. "... Until my last breath it will be for you". And I also remembered the Salesian brother Zé Maria who, in Juazeiro do Norte, created the Shoe Shine Club to help and promote the poor children of Cariri.
February 9: Tomorrow, Amos and I will visit Fr João de Deus, here in Oeiras; during the conversation we will ask him: a window in the program on Radio Cristo Rei, one in the program "Time of Peace" by Fr João Carlos, and another to talk about Don Bosco's charism (With Don Bosco and the Times).
February 10: Today we went to speak with Fr João to ask for his help in acquiring good land so that the Congregation can build a Youth Center in the future. He told us that he will find it for us soon, "because young people deserve to have the Sons of Don Bosco here" and, he added: "It is the hand of God that is blessing us with your presence here". He has been parish priest in Oeiras for 40 years. He created six agricultural schools, a radio station, built the church of the Holy Family, which is now the parish where he works, and countless social projects to help needy families. And he dug many wells and cisterns in the rugged lands of Piauí. He is a giant.
