Father Lester's Letters October 21, 2005 Dear Family and Friends, When I sent my first email to Fr. Couture, over a year ago, notifying him that I was assigned to his district, he wrote back, "Welcome to the most exciting district of the SSPX." At the time I didn't take him literally, but now I know that this is indeed the case. Over the past two months, since I was reassigned to Singapore, I have been to Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, India, and back to the Philippines. Some places more than once. All this travel has been both to take the mass to the people and to do my duties as District Bursar. Here is a picture of me playing with some children whose homes were destroyed by the tsunami     The flag at the main camp of the Tamil Tigers: In Sri Lanka I visited families whose homes were wrecked by the tsunami. I also led a pilgrimage into the area controlled by the Tamil Tigers, who are responsible for many kidnappings, bombings of buses and the airport, and most recently the assassination of a foreign minister. They stopped us at a checkpoint and when they saw me they said they needed to search everyone else, but I could just stay on the bus. They even called me "Father" - our customs agents could learn a thing or two from these terrorists! Thanks be to God we all got through without a scratch. I can now attest to the fact that God is so very generous in granting His graces in these mission lands. The laws in Malaysia prohibit proselytizing and conversion from Islam, and allow a man to have several wives. There are similar laws in India, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia. It is almost impossible to build a church in Singapore because of the laws here. Tribes in some countries are always at war, even killing priests who try to make peace, which happened recently in northern India. Prostitution is rampant in most of these countries. Yet through all these moral and political difficulties the Catholic Faith is held so strongly in some places, that they would surely die for their Faith. And this may become a reality, because as the West is becoming more ecumenical, the East is becoming much more extreme, especially in the Muslim countries. And where the Catholic church is accepted, there is always more peace and you can see joy and hope in the eyes of the people, even in Sri Lanka where the Catholic fishermen were struck so harshly by the tsunami. They still smile much more than the Muslims or Buddhists or Hindus. And after the tsunami they even built shrines to thank Our Lady and the Saints for sparing them from worse tragedies! Traveling throughout Asia is very interesting for another reason: One night I may be sleeping on a plush bed in the equivalent of an upscale New York city apartment, and the next night I may spend on a bamboo mat in a nipa hut! One night in a sealed and airconditioned room, the next under a mosquito net, wishing the fan were closer! Tomorrow I am off to Sri Lanka again. Please pray for my mission there. God Bless You and Your Families, Fr. Joseph Lester back to Singapore page