Thank you, François!

And also François' gratitude

Thank you, François!

Thank you, François!

Thank you for the three-year presence in our community.

You were available for many services within and around the house.

Thank you for your smile, kindness, generosity and creativity!

Thank you for your attention to the details in our life.

Thank you for updating us with daily news headlines and to be aware of what is happening.

Thank you for your attention to the environment, trees, plants, and animals.

Thank you for your witness as Salesian of Don Bosco among us.

I want to thank you in a special way for your service to SAFCAM.

It was always good to work together and to share about ongoing formation.

I have learned a lot from your educative and pastoral experience.

You were clever and quick in the preparation of workshops.

You went fast in managing our SAFCAM Website.

SAFCAM has been launched thanks to your precious help.

At the same time, you were always longing for explicit pastoral activities.

You wanted to be with the young, to be present in their midst.

You were always longing for that specific Salesian life, to listen and to share with the young.

Nevertheless, thank you for your patience and sacrifice these years.

Thank you for your good service to our Region of Africa-Madagascar.

We will miss you, but you are not so far and we know: you will be “online”.

We wish you a good service in your home-country and in your AFM-Province.

May you enjoy again your Salesian Mission among young people!

With you, we pray for new vocations in AFM.

We pray for a revival of the Salesian Mission in the countries of AFM.

May God bless you abundantly in your apostolate!

Thank you for all and always “welcome”!

 

Nairobi, 2nd November, 2021.                                     Camiel

 

François himself expressed his gratitude too. 

Let us take some “bits and pieces” from his writing…

 

Dear Confreres

Just wish to express my gratitude in writing too.

I thank God for these 3 years at DBYES as part of of this DBYES community and in a small way to initiate SAFCAM with Don Camillo!

It has been a privilege to be part of this project for three years, and has probably also been the easiest time of my whole 46 years of Salesian profession – it has been stress-free and so relaxed.

It has been a great sabbatical and a chance for my own formation updating, probably of much more value than the little contribution I tried to make. I leave with plenty of digital resources which I will be able to use in my future ministry.

However, I believe I will be more useful in the critically under-staffed vice-province of AFM than continuing to serve in this capacity – a task which many other confreres would be more qualified than I.

I am very grateful for the chance this experience afforded me by the Rector Major and CIVAM, and will treasure the memories of these 3 years.

From the start to the end I felt very much at home in this DBYES community.

I thank each confrere of the DBYES community and for plenty other wonders of life here at DBYES…

I also thank the staff who made life so easy for me…

I am going to miss the relaxed pleasant atmosphere within the community and the local environment.

Where I am going to I will need to spend much more time on daily chores – washing up, laundry, cooking, shopping, …  within the community life, and a lot of stressful personnel management in our projects at the Salesian Institute of Cape Town.

Please pray for me and I assure you of my continued union in prayer with you.

In union of prayer and solidarity in the mission of Don Bosco, God bless!

François