With Diego Acosta Chávez
Diego Acosta had to spend 15 days in quarantine when his flight from Mexico landed in Milwaukee (USA) in October 2020, right in the middle of the pandemic.
Diego came to the US to study English but, “my plan is not to stay here for long,” he said.
In fact, Diego made his first vows in Salamanca (Mexico) and after the philosophy studies in Guadalajara, he has been assigned to Taiwan for the study of Mandarin and then Theology.
“I’m not afraid of studying a new language, I have always had the dream to live my mission in Asia,” Diego said. “I feel like my dreams are becoming real.”
Before joining the Xaverians, Diego was a lawyer, in Mexico, and he decided to leave everything behind to join the Xaverian family.
Diego Acosta before traveling to the US
“My vocation was born during my studies to become a lawyer,” said Diego. “I joined some meetings with the Xaverians and I felt that that was my place.”
However, Diego didn’t leave everything behind overnight. “In the beginning, I was living in the missionary community while still working as a lawyer,” he said.
But at a certain point, “I had to choose whether to continue with my career as a lawyer or to join this new path,” shared Diego.
Diego made his choice when he realized that being a lawyer was not enough for him. “I was looking for something different, a family and a community,” he shared in the interview.
Diego in Wisconsin
Diego met the family he was looking for in the Xaverian Missionaries, and now he is going to Taiwan where he will live with other missionaries from many different countries.
“This will be my first experience living in a community with such a cultural diversity,” Diego said. “And also, all of us will have to study a new language, Chinese.”
However, due to the pandemic foreign nationals are not permitted to enter Taiwan.
For this reason, Diego’s future is uncertain. “Maybe I’ll start my theology here in the States, or I have to go back to my country,” Diego commented.
COVID-19 pandemic put many Xaverians in a long “waiting list.” And now that things are starting to get back to normal in some countries while others are still fighting against the virus, that’s creating new challenges among our brethren around the globe.
The start of this training in Taiwan has been delayed not just for Diego but also for the other missionaries who are going to join him there.
“But this pandemic has taught me many things,” Diego said. “I learned to trust in God and in His plans for us!”
BIO
Pietro Rossini is a Xaverian Missionary and an ESL student at Framingham State University (MA). In fall 2021, he will start a Master of Science in Journalism at Boston University (MA). His dream is to collect and share stories of humanity around the globe making the world a single family.
