My name is Mario Jason Castro, a Comboni Missionary Brother. I am the fourth of six children and both my parents supported us by selling livestock meat in the market. My parents dedicated their time working so that we would have a proper education. I got the necessary instructions in our faith, received the sacraments and was given a good education to prepare me for my future.
As time passed, I felt emptiness as if something was missing which left me unsettled for a good period of time. It was during this period when I received a promotional copy of World Mission magazine where at the back page was an invitation for a recollection for young men who are searching and discovering their true calling. I decided to attend the recollection.
Fast forward and here I am in a newly established parish of St. Daniel Comboni in Limay, Bataan, working as a pastoral agent as well as bursar of the community. Prior to this mission work, I was assigned in Uganda for almost 17 years and in Rome, Italy for six years before I was asked to serve in one of our communities in the Philippines. I have been a religious brother for 27 years (and counting).
My initial stage of formation was in the Philippines: postulancy in Quezon City and novitiate in Calamba City, Laguna. Afterwards, I was sent to Nairobi, Kenya for my final stage of formation where we have an International Brothers’ Centre. I finished a Degree in Social Development at Tangaza College. It was there that I received my first mission assignment to Uganda.
MISSION IN UGANDA
My mission work in Uganda was solely in the northern part of the country among the Acholi of Kitgum and Gulu, and Lango Tribe of Lira. I had a break of one year where I was posted in Kampala after witnessing a traumatic event that cost the life of a confrere who was our superior. I decided to return after a year to the same place and continued my work in the printing press of Gulu till I was posted in Lira where I stayed for six years.
I could describe my missionary experience as a journey where a mixture of events of both good and not so good occurred that moulded me as a person and as a religious today. At the same time, I came to know many missionaries who helped me in my missionary life through their good examples, patience and guidance, in particular during my initial years as a young missionary in Uganda.
I was lucky to have collaborated with brothers who have rich experience and highly qualified in their field of expertise needed in the mission and I owe it to them of making my first mission experience enriching and meaningful. The Christian communities that welcomed me and supported me during my missionary work in Uganda have inspired me to face the challenges of working in rebel infested areas.
After experiencing being attacked by thieves posing as rebels, a village elder shared with me that despite all the bad things that are happening in the community, hope is still there since we, the missionaries, are still with them.
ADAPTATION AND FLEXIBILITY
As a religious brother, my ministry depended on the needs of the religious and Christian community in the mission where I am sent, which required adaptation and flexibility. In the process I learned new skills while I was doing my missionary work, which prompted me to be open and patient.
I do believe when God calls, events and circumstances in life that involves relationships with God and with our fellow human beings, can be indicators to where God wants you to be. I am blessed to receive this ‘re-call’ and to the many individuals who supported and guided me through the years. I do feel that I am not alone with this experience of being guided by the Lord to another way of life that can be unsettling since it would be going beyond our comfort zone.
It is an opportunity for personal growth mentally and spiritually. Moreover, it is an invitation to be open to promptings of the Holy Spirit where God will show us the way to a life that we are invited to fulfil and in the process be counted among countless men and women who have dedicated their lives in serving the poor.
