A Good Friend of Mine

In the year 2005, I met a priest who had just to the Salesian Community at Lorenzo Massa Institute. His name was Raúl. At the beginning, he and I did not get on very well. But, not until last year did I realiza how goog this person was. As time went by, we started to get to know each other more in depth. Since we worked together with the children, we spent many hours together playing with the kids, reading, and more importantly, sharing.
He is one of those friends you would miss terribly if they are gone. HE IS A FRIEND OF THE SOUL.
This year, on the 23rd of January, he was sent to Africa. More specifically, Luanda, the Capital city of Angola. For him, this trip was his bigest dream. He told me once that when he was a child he pictured himself in Africa helping those in need. And when he became a priest, he could not stop thinking about this desire of going there. So there he went, with a bag full of dreams and hopes.
As we all know, Africa is an inhospitable land. There is no access to pure water and the food is completely different from ours. But he did no care. And the language is also another impediment because in Loanda they speak Portuguese as the intranational language, but they have three different dialogues. Therefore, he studied Portuguese for a few months until he travelled to this place.
Anyway, I have recently heard news from him, and he says he is very happy. He has been ill for quite a long time with Malaria, but he is ok now. HE IS A CHARACTER INDEED.
From the day he went away, I have missed him terribly. I hope he comes back very soon. All in all, friendship is one of our precious gifts. And I was lucky enough to have had the opportunity to meet this marvellous person!