Catholic missioners hear, respond to the call to help world's needy

Published: 2006-10-24

SAN DIEGO (CNS) -- As far back as she can remember, Tiffany Kingham has dreamed of becoming a missionary. Her dream comes true for two years as she will go to Guwahati, India, working with Snehalaya (House of Love), a program sponsored by the Salesian Lay Missioners. She will live and work with 29 Indian street children, providing group counseling, English lessons and arts and crafts activities. Since earning a degree in social work from James Madison University in Virginia, Kingham has served one year among abused children in the West Indies, four years in Ghana and two years at a clinic for refugees along the border of Thailand and Burma. Kingham told The Southern Cross, newspaper of the Diocese of San Diego, that her strong Catholic faith is "the core of who I am and what I do and why I do it." She sees her missionary work as "a response to God's call." But more and more, she said, it seems like that call is to a lifetime of service. The ministry of missioners like Kingham and others is celebrated each year on World Mission Sunday. This year's church observance was Oct. 22.

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