I was born in a Catholic family and ever since I was little, I grew up learning about the Catholic faith. It was considered an honor to have someone entering a holy order from a family, and my mother has always wished that one of us would become a nun. However, I thought that it was another world to me, and I would never be able to become one of them.
When I was in my junior high, two ladies came to visit us selling fabrics. They were carrying them on their back, and somehow it made me an impression. “ I also would like to do that kind of work .” I was very much attracted to them and even now their figure is in my mind.
I was growing up and began to think about my future. Our house was in the country, far away from everywhere. It was a very hot day when my mother suddenly called me:
“Tokino, come down stairs and meet the Sisters who came to visit from far away “.
First, I replied that I do not want to meet them, since I am not going to be a nun anyway. But as my mother insisted, I had to go down.
That was my first encounter with the Daughters of St. Paul and it was like destiny.
I was quite tense, and could not speak to them. Later, I walked 2 hours to go visit the Sisters, and there they told me about the religious life, and their work. I was very much moved by their talk about “ visiting people in their home to preach Christianity”.
I realized how wonderful it is to visit people telling them about the wonder and the presence of God.
When I told my mother about my decision to enter the convent, she said “ When you started to work, you could never stay in a same place. You probably were meant to become a nun” That was her permission, and a week later, I entered the convent.
40 years have passed since then, I have been working in my apostolate in diffusion section. I still remember those two ladies with their load on the back whom I saw years ago.
I realize that God had prepared a way for my life, and even now, I wish to go on walking on this way.