Beth with new friends

At Nur Abadi

Art activities

I am Beth Sulleza, a novice from the Philippine District. I am here in Indonesia for my Novitiate. Life for me, these past months, has been rich. Being in the novitiate in a country not my own: with new people, culture, language and food, presented experiences that challenged me, moments of feeling insecure, new experiences that sometimes cause me to struggle and moments of feeling alone and missing the comforts I used to have. However, I have likewise been blessed with moments of joy, of newness that brings new life, moments of discovery (of myself, of life, of Jesus and of the Society), and moments that brought me to a more intimate experience of the God who calls me: a deeper awareness of His movement and presence in my life and in this world, and a deeper knowledge of the Beth that God has set his eye on. These experiences have, I believe, led me to be more in touch with my own poverty yet it has also opened me to the gifts I have been blessed with and has helped me see more clearly my real treasure and source of life. Living in Indonesia with a (very) international community has made me experience the gift of internationality/diversity of the Society which has been present even during the time of its foundation. My formation is enriched by the lives of the Sisters who themselves have been formed by different cultures. I think this diversity enriches our spirituality and I am blessed to experience this in the early stage of my formation.

I feel that the challenge and the gift of being an international community is that it leads us to stretch our hearts and help us to grow in: 1) openness - to accept the ‘other’ and to constantly be open to see the beauty in what is different from us, 2) humility – to be small so as to give space for others in our hearts, to accept that what is ours and what has been proven to work for us is not necessarily the best and that it may not work in other situations and to constantly learn from the ‘other’, and 3) faithfulness – to who we really are: to be flexible and open to learn new things from other people, to adapt to changes and new situations yet remaining true to our real identity because in the end this is the gift we bring to the Society and to the world.

My experience in my ministry captures this experience of diversity. Every Tuesday, I go to Nur Abadi, a small school for mentally handicapped and hearing/speech impaired children. Being with the children in Nur Abadi and giving them art activities has not only been one of my sources of joy but their lives also show me how I can respond to the reality of diversity. The children teach me and continue to encourage to me to be free – to express who I really am, not to be afraid of being different. What matters most is that I am rooted in what truly gives me life (seeing God in His Creation and experiencing His Beauty), to nourish myself of it and not to deny others of this gift by keeping it to myself. Gera (my mistress of novices) told me: “my deepest grace meets the deepest need of humanity.” The children also teach me the importance of living fully in the present moment. This has increased my awareness of the things happening around me and inside me and both guide me how to properly respond to each situation. Lastly they teach me how to ‘let be’ of others and of myself. They encourage me to not live by my ‘shoulds’ but to simply accept, in honesty and humility, the reality and to trust in the Love who is in control of everything. The children accompany me in my journey and they show me the face of God whose love transcends everything.

See Beth's art work in Creative Space