It is hard to believe in miracles but we FSPs of Pakistan have personally experienced one and we can’t help but sing the wonders of the Lord!
When the Bishop of Faisalabad surprised us with the request to open a book center in his diocese (we had opened a new community in Multan just a short time previously), we were overwhelmed with joy and welcomed his appeal as a gift of Maestra Thecla to our Delegation, which this year is celebrating the Golden Jubilee of our Lahore community.
The whole Delegation, especially our young members, overflowed with joy and apostolic enthusiasm. That enthusiasm increased even more when we received the news that our sisters in Italy were sending us a container filled with all the furnishings of our Pavia and Cosenza book centers, which the Italian Province had recently closed with great regret and suffering. On our part, we saw it as a sign that the seeds of our Pauline presence in the world do not die–they are just transferred elsewhere!
We then embarked on a long battle to get the customs officials to release the container to us. Every day a new bureaucratic problem arose. Pakistanis are accustomed to struggling to meet their needs, so with great determination we spent the next two months knocking on the doors of government offices. Our persistence showed the authorities that we were not going to give up, especially since the goods in question were all clearly marked Donations.
This time of pain and tension finally ended at midnight, 19 November, when the container arrived in the Cathedral precincts, where our new book center is located. We spent the whole night unloading its contents. In the morning we resumed our work in the hope that we would be able to start setting up bookshelves the following day. Our labors were coordinated by Sr. Giovanna Marras, who had arrived from Italy to help us. Thus began a new race against time. Would you believe that the new book center was ready to open its doors in just two days? Believe us–we were there!
The Faisalabad book center has not been officially inaugurated yet, but on the First Sunday of Advent we opened it to the public with the little stock we had. The unexpected influx of people was amazing! We want to thank all of you for your prayers for this new Pauline foundation. Above all we want to thank our Italian Province for all the furnishings and equipment they sent us and especially for loaning us the professional expertise and help of Sr. Giovanna Marras–a great gift! In the name of all the Pakistani people, we ask the Lord to bless and recompense all of you!
The Sisters of Pakistan
