Father Peter Koh, missionary in Rome

On 1 July 2008 I will complete two years as Treasurer General of CICM. Time flies...and indeed it seems like only yesterday that I took over the responsibility of the financial administration and animation of our missionary congregation.

I was happy to be able to pass by Singapore for a few days in March this year. I gave a talk on Missionary Challenges in Africa and "launched" my book Steps on my Missionary Journey. Thank you so much for your positive feedback, and I do hope you will give a copy of the book to young people who are interested in mission.

Mission can take many forms. Recently an Italian man came to my office. He had raised a substantial sum of money to help a community in Congo build a school. However, he had difficulty transferring the money. He heard that CICM has many missionaries in Congo and asked if we could help him. I contacted our Treasurer in Kasayi (Congo) and after several emails and Skype phone calls we were able to create a channel through which the money would reach the intended beneficiaries without any financial institution taking a cut. The man was so grateful he sent me a note of thanks for my service and my contribution to mission.

Maybe you have not given it a thought and no one has mentioned it to you that what you are doing may also be missionary work. St Teresa of the Child Jesus was a Carmelite nun who never left her monastery. Yet the Church declared her Patroness of the Missions because of her special love of the missions and the prayers and letters she gave in support of missionaries. Her life is a reminder to all of us who feel we can do nothing: it is the little things that keep God's kingdom growing.

Be a missionary where you are!