HONG KONG (SE): Stephania Ling Kwan-wai, a lay missionary from the Hong Kong Catholic Lay Missionary Association, departed for South Sudan on February 20 to provide assistance for the projects of the Missionaries of Charity in the region. After arriving in South Sudan on February 22, she was welcomed by the Salesian Sisters of Gumbo, Juba.
While waiting for the Missionaries of Charity sisters to make arrangements, she has been helping the Salesian sisters in serving students at the St. Bakhita Educational Centre in Tonj.
She was delighted to accompany a former student to a rehabilitation centre in the nearby city of Wau to have her prosthetic leg attached. She also visited the Catholic services in Tonj and Wau, such as schools and a centre for those affected with Hansen’s disease.
Father Timothy Wan Kwok-kwong and Father Dominic Lui Chi-man offered her prayers and blessings during a Mass celebrated on February 20 in her parish of St. Jude’s Church, North Point. During a Mass held at a family member’s house on February 18, vicar general, Father Paul Kam Po-Wai, an association adviser, prayed for her mission.
Ling told the Sunday Examiner on March 6 that one of her duties will be to help the internally-displaced people in Turalei, a large town in the north of South Sudan near the border with Sudan, who are deprived of their homes due to tribal conflicts or the civil war.
South Sudan gained independence from Sudan on 9 July 2011. However, many South Sudanese still work in Sudan, which is a more prosperous country. Although South Sudan is currently a safe place to live, its people are deeply concerned about the civil war that erupted in Sudan in April of last year. This conflict forced more than about 500,000 who had been working in Sudan for a long time to flee back to their homes in South Sudan, only to discover that their homes or family members were gone. These people now must live in camps for internally displaced individuals run by the United Nations or other non-government organisations.
She said her missionary work is full of uncertainties, as she may not know what will happen or what job will be assigned to her the next day. The first challenge she met upon her arrival was that most of the bank notes she brought from Hong Kong were not accepted because they have tiny markings on them, so she was suddenly in financial difficulty and had to live on a tight budget!
Ling said that despite the various challenges, the words from the Bible have supported her: “May it be done to me according to your word” [Luke 1:38] and “the Lord will provide” [Genesis 22:14].
Sharon Kwan Wing-sze, president of the lay missionary association, said that while the association did not organise any commissioning ceremony this time as Ling is still serving at the Diocese of Rumbek where she was formerly assigned in 2019, the members will always remember her service in their prayers and be ready to give support and assistance if needed.
…one of her duties will be to help the internally-displaced people in Turalei, a large town in the north of South Sudan near the border with Sudan, who are deprived of their homes due to tribal conflicts or the civil war.
The association is pleased to note that Ling is now working with Agatha Chai, a Chinese lay missionary from Malaysia and her good friend from her time serving with the sisters of Missionaries of Charity in India. The two will be able to support each other in their mission.
Kwan mentioned that the services of the laity association typically cover two to three years, as a missionary needs time to learn the local language and adapt. However, as an experienced missionary, Ling will renew her service agreement yearly due to the need to care for her aging parents, who are now in their 80s.
She said that the association is, at present, supporting three other missionaries serving in Cambodia.
Ling served at Kolkata, India, from 2012 to 2017, Ethiopia from 2018 to 2019. She started her work in South Sudan soon afterwards, in 2019. Ling returned to Hong Kong from Sudan in July 2022 and wrote a book about her mission to evangelise and raise funds for the students’ centre of the Salesian sisters in Tonj.
Afterwards, she planned a pilgrimage to France and Italy to prepare for another overseas mission, but unfortunately, she got injured in an accident in France. While recuperating in Hong Kong, she spent time in prayer, seeking guidance for her next mission. During her prayers, she was moved deeply by the plight of displaced people and refugees around the world.
