FROM JAPAN TO RANDWICK
From the OLSH Randwick Parish Bulletin. A migration and conversion story.
Kaoru Kagami-Chua completed the RCIA program and became a Catholic at the Easter Vigil in April this year.
I was born and raised in Japan and attended an Anglican school from Year 1 to 12. It has a beautiful chapel with a pipe organ and we always visited the chapel during school days. Although my parents weren’t Christian, they attended the school’s Sunday family Mass. One of my earliest school memories was bringing colorfully painted and decorated eggs for Easter when I was in Year 1.
I arrived in Australia to study at UNSW in 1997. After graduating, I went to Singapore to start my career as an Accountant and married my husband, Edmund, there in 2002. We had decided to migrate to Australia as we thought this would be the better place to have a family.
When we arrived in Sydney, we initially lived in Kensington – it was familiar to us from our University days and we later rented an apartment in Randwick. Without having a job, it was not so easy to fi nd a place to rent.
Finding a job wasn’t easy either as neither of us had working experience in Australia. After a few months of endless interviews and visiting recruitment agencies, I secured a position at KPMG, coincidentally the same firm where I worked in Singapore. Long hours and hard work for both of us was needed for building our careers as Accountants.
I still clearly remember when I found out I was expecting. The thought of becoming a mother frightened me more than the joy of starting a family. I asked Edmund if he could also stay at home to look after our baby as I wasn’t confident that I could handle the newborn baby by myself. People, including our parents, were quite surprised by our decision to be both stay-at-home parents. We had a wonderful time watching our daughter, Tessa, grow and spending precious time with her. We still believe we made the best decision.
After one year we both resumed fulltime work. Raising Tessa without any family help was very challenging. We would rush from work to get to the daycare centre in time to pick up Tessa. I felt guilty when Tessa complained that she was always the last one to be picked up! When Tessa was sick (often and normal for a young child) it was not easy to decide who needed to stay at home with her.
Tessa was nearly 7 years old when Alexander was born. People say the second child is easier to manage. I agree to a certain extent, but I often struggled after Alex was born but Tessa is a wonderful sister to Alex and helps me greatly. Tessa is now 10 years old and attends an Anglican school. Having a child and becoming a mother was a very special experience. I had never imagined how hard it is to be a parent, but it is extremely rewarding. The hardest thing I’ve ever done!
Time has passed so quickly since Tessa was born. Many things happened in my life, some good, and some bad. I was just surviving day by day with not having enough time to stop and think where I was going in my life. That was when Edmund and I happened to walk past OLSH. It must have been just after a Sunday Mass. I saw many people, young and old and families gathering outside the church. I did not pay much attention then except for vaguely remembering how amazing it was to see so many people there. The next weekend we saw a similar crowd of people mingling after Mass.
Afterward I started to wonder what it would be like to join such a community. We don’t have family here in and I thought it would be nice if we have somewhere to belong. I become curious about the church so one Sunday I decided to attend the Mass. It was a peaceful time and I felt more relaxed and calm. When I told my friend, a Catholic, that I was occasionally attending the church, she mentioned that I might consider the RCIA. After thinking about it for a while I decided to join the RCIA. It was a wonderful enjoyable and faith filled experience. It also made me think what I value in my life and what I should be focusing on.
Well, this is me and I hope to see many of you at church.
