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Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)If you remember well, last year, the Secretary of Homeland Security announced the option of allowing certain people who came to the United States as children and meet several key guidelines to request consideration of deferred action for a period of two years, subject to renewal, and would then be eligible for work authorization.While talks about a Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) stall, many young immigrants have found great hope in this option.A great friend of mine, who is undocumented, for the last 10 years has fought relentlessly for an...
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What makes a missionary
What makes a missionaryThere is a saying that goes, the clothes don’t make the man, the man makes the clothes.  We are more than what we wear, our identity, our dignity comes from who we are, not what we wear.   With missionaries, there is a similar saying.  Traveling does not make a missionary, but a missionary does some traveling.   Before I left, many people wanted to send me off with good wishes and said “have a good trip”, but I was not leaving to take a “trip”. I know what they wanted to say but my leaving was more than a trip.  This was mission....
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God has been so kind to me
God has been so kind to meSo it’s the beginning of my mission and before I settle into life in Indonesia, I am stopping in Japan to meet the English Camp director, Br Sid Ching, C.M.F., with whom I will be working with for the first two months of my year mission.  Having worked in the travel/airline industry for 10 years prior to joining the Claretians, I was ready for a long flight and I chose to fly on Christmas partly by the request of Claretian brothers in Japan and partly because traditionally, the flights are nearly empty on Christmas.  Imagine my surprise when the plane was...
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Preparing to go on mission
Preparing to go on missionIn the old days, going on mission was simpler…you got a letter from your provincial and that night you packed your bag (usually just one bag) and the next day you were given a ticket (typically by boat not by plane) to your new home.  Today, the call to mission is quite different. Certainly, I got a letter just like missionaries did before, but what it said and how it said it was completely new.  First of all, the letter only came after having had several conversations with my director/superior and provincial.  My mission destination was not a...
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2013 and Immigration Reform
After the Election of President Obama in November of 2012, it was clear that the Hispanic vote played a decisive role in his election. And in recognition of that support, it is expected that the interests of this community be tended to and prioritized, among which is immigration reform.In the last month of 2012, immigrant support groups are shedding light on the issue by showing the effects a broken immigration system has on individuals, families, and communities. According to Color Lines Magazine, since July 2010 there have been “nearly 205,000 deportations of parents with U.S. citizen kids...
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I have some packing to do
I have some packing to do Nama Saya Ray, which means “my name is Ray” in Indonesian.  I am Claretian Missionary seminarian presently living in Chicago, IL and have been chosen to go on mission to Indonesia for the next year. I would like to invite you to join me on this mission, through this blog, as I share the experiences of missionary life from the moment I got the call-invitation (this month) to the moment I come home in January 2014. The thought that keeps running through my head at this moment is, “How did I get here?” How did I get to a point that I am preparing to leave my home...
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