DIVINE WORD MISSIONARY FR. JOSEPH CHAU NGUYEN, SVD
“I want to give back to God – this is my message.”
Biography
Fr. Joseph Chau Nguyen, SVD, was born and raised in Dong Nai, Vietnam, one of 12 children. In 1991, he left Vietnam through the Orderly Departure Program (ODP) ministered by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). After living in a transition camp in the Philippines, he came to Philadelphia in 1993. He became a seminarian at Divine Word College in 1995, graduating in 2002. His Cross-Cultural Training Program was spent in the Southern Province, helping victims of Hurricane Katrina. Fr. Joseph was ordained on May 24, 2008, at Techny, Illinois. He currently serves as Vocation Director for the U.S. South Central Region.
My vocation began during the time I lived in the transition camp in the Philippines in 1991-92. At that time, I saw many poor Filipinos living around the mountainsides. I was very touched because these homeless people did not have enough food to eat, they did not have much education and they did not know much about God. They changed my life.
Feeling very blessed and lucky, I thought that in my own future I would like to devote my time to serving the poor. I nurtured my hope of becoming a missionary and began my discernment process. Fortunately, I met two missionaries, Fr. Joseph Vu Dao, SVD, and Fr. Joseph Trong, SVD, who worked in the Philippines. They not only worked with Vietnamese refugees, but they also worked with all their hearts with the poor Filipinos. I was touched by their dedication to serve others, especially those from another culture. They both introduced me to the Divine Word Missionaries. They advised me to nurture my vocation through prayer.
Finally, in 1993, I came to the U.S. I continued to talk to other Catholic religious. One day I ran across an article about Divine Word College seminary in Epworth, Iowa. I entered DWC as a student in 1995, happy to have a chance to learn to become a missionary. After graduation in 2002, I spent a year in the Novitiate and then a year in the Southern Province as part of my Cross-Cultural Training Program (CTP), helping evacuees of Hurricane Katrina. I was ordained on May 24, 2008.
While in the Novitiate, I learned magic tricks as a hobby and often perform for special events at Divine Word College and in other settings. These performances help me to open doors, reaching children and young people – and capturing their interest and attention. It helps me in my work as a missionary.
Now I am learning and working as I go from parish to parish, serving as Vocation Director for the South Central Region. Challenges for me include the lack of structured community prayer life, since prayer is the foundation of my spiritual life and continues to nurture my vocation. I enjoy my ministry with its rewards of being with others who share their lives with me. I have chosen to leave other things behind and follow God. I want to give back to God.
The missionary is a person who brings hope, happiness, peace and good news of God. I follow Jesus’ footsteps to carry His mission to other people and cultures – to serve, care for and love one another as Jesus has done for me. Printed on my ordination card is my motto: “Here I am, Lord (1Sam:3).”
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