English 
I’m Sister Paula Kumagai. I used to live in the state of São Paulo. In 1969 I was sent to Maués in the state of Amazonas. Maués belongs to the Diocese of Parintins, which at the time had Bishop Arcângelo Cerqua as its bishop. I stayed in Maués until the end of 1969. With the opening of our house in Manaus, I went to Manaus where I worked for 9 years as a nurse in the parish outpatient clinic, which had an agreement with the Health Department.
For two years I accompanied the communities on the roads. It was a great experience for me to get to know the reality of those simple people. What made me sad was seeing those people in a situation of poverty, without medical or religious assistance.
In 1979 I returned to Maués to take up a job at the Fr Giorgio Frizzini Recovery Home and accompany the communities in the interior along the rivers. This house was designed to treat people with tuberculosis who came from the countryside and from the gold mines.
It was a very difficult time because many of these patients couldn’t resist the tuberculosis and died. They often had no relatives and were buried as indigents. It was all very sad. In addition to my work at the rehabilitation centre, at weekends I went to the countryside, visiting families and celebrating the Word of God in the riverside communities.
In the city, I also had a great experience with the Basic Ecclesial Communities (CEBS), where we celebrated the Word of God in small communities and held various workshops and craft and manual activities, among other things.
During this period, we needed to open a house in Maués for students belonging to the Sateré-Mawé ethnic group. For me it was a very rich experience to be able to help in the human and Christian formation of these young people. I lived with them and there was a Sateré couple who collaborated with me in forming the small group of girls. I was increasingly enriched by this experience of meeting different cultures, mine as a Japanese-Brazilian raised in the interior of the state of São Paulo and theirs, Sateré-Mawé. I learnt the value and challenges of building unity in diversity. When something happened, we sat down together and talked a lot. We realised that there was a difference in the way we understood the world and lived our daily lives.
The experience I had in Maués made me realise that it’s worth giving our lives to God and the people. I realised that we can do much more when we join forces and put into practice the gifts and talents we have received from God, so that we can bring people to know the beauty of the Gospel.
Our community in Maués was closed on 31 December 2010. I continued to stay in the students’ house for a few more days. I returned to Manaus in January 2011, where I currently live in our community in Cidade Nova. I thank God for having helped me with his grace to be faithful to my missionary vocation until the very end. I return the affection of many people who have helped me to live the missionary life, who have walked alongside me. All of this was made possible by God’s mercy.
Sr. Paula Kumagai, Manaus, North Brazil.
