Hoat Bui Van is one of the first two students of Vietnamese origin to be trained in Pamplona. Something for which he feels very grateful.

""I dream of becoming a priest, but I still have to finish the two undergraduate courses and complete a year of pastoral duties before receiving diaconate ordination.

I am the third of five brothers, including another seminarian and a Dominican sister. A rare occurrence, considering that the number of Christians in Vietnam is less than 10% of the population.

I remember that at school I shared a desk with friends of other religions, most of them Buddhists, and with others who did not profess any faith. However, this did not intimidate my beliefs; on the contrary, I always had the desire to become a priest, as some of my uncles, my father's brothers, already were.

They served as a reference for me, as well as the Vietnamese Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan, who was imprisoned for 13 years. My parents were very devoted to him because with his life he showed a testimony of hope.

Once I finished my university studies, I took the entrance exam for the Seminary. It was then that the bishop of my diocese offered me to study at the University of Navarra. I have been there ever since, at the Bidasoa International Seminary, where I am learning to lead a life of prayer."

"I thank you very much for your generous help and prayers with me. May God grant you abundant health and blessings.

I always keep them in my daily prayers".