Here are a few mission tales from Maryknoll members in Thailand:

MICHAEL BASSANO, M.M.
JOHN BEECHING, M.M.
JAMES CAMPION, M.M.A.F.
MEG GALLAGHER, M.M.
KELLY O’BRIEN, M.M.A.F.
PHYLLIS O’TOOLE, M.M.

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MICHAEL BASSANO, M.M.
Maryknoll Priest
Hometown: Binghamton, NY
Missions: Chile, Thailand 

MISSION TALE

            Ahdong was the first village elder that I met in the Akha village of Huay Ya Sai. When I first arrived in the north of Thailand, I was immediately sent to this village for the annual celebration of the Feast of the Assumption of Mary in August 2000. It was my first time ever visiting an Akha village up in the mountains, where there were over 300 families. Ahdong and his family (his son, Aja, who speaks Thai, his wife and two children) welcomed me into their bamboo thatched-roof home. Ahdong spoke no Thai or English, and I could not speak Akha, yet we communicated through kindly gestures and smiles. We would sit and just repeat our names to each other. In silence we would look at each other, then he would say “Michael,” and I would respond saying “Ahdong.” It was a special communication that went beyond words as we felt comfortable and at home being with each other. Ahdong even taught me the Akha version of the “Lord Have Mercy” that we would sing at the liturgy in the chapel.

            Ahdong became my special friend and guide, introducing me to the Akha way of life and culture. Every time I went to his village, Ahdong greeted me with a beautiful smile (and few teeth!), spoke my name and then embraced me. It was a special joy for me to be with this 66-year-old Akha elder when he received the Sacrament of Confirmation at Easter (2001). Ahdong and his family are poor farmers, living off the mountainous landscape planting rice and vegetables as a way of life as most Akha people do.

            Recently Ahdong had a verbal quarrel with is daughter-in-law. Afterwards, when he was alone, Ahdong took his life, hanging himself from one of the wooden beams in the house. I was deeply saddened by his death. I had lost both a special friend and a guide. I shall miss him dearly, and I shall always remember him as I continue to live among the Akha people, ever grateful to Ahdong for introducing me to the Akha way of life and culture in the village of Huay Ya Sai.  

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JOHN BEECHING, M.M.
Maryknoll Brother
Missions: Chile, Middle East, Thailand 

MISSION TALE

We are not just “missioners” but are in mission in ways that are particular to our call to be priest, sister, lay person or brother. Being a Brother has always shaped my being in mission. At times it has seemed a bit lonely – there just aren’t too many of us around. It is perhaps a bit difficult to explain, but when I met up with the Buddhist monks, I felt an immediate kinship – it was like finding family again. And I think that has something to do with a common call to a brotherhood. … I suppose if someone were to ask me to describe my mission ministry in Thailand, I might merely say – I’m a co-pilgrim with a small band of Buddhist monks. 

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JAMES CAMPION, M.M.A.F.
Maryknoll Lay Missioner
Home state: Wisconsin 

MISSION TALE

I recently visited five young adults in Chiangmai from various tribes in Burma refugee camps on both sides of the borders of Thailand, Laos, Burma, Bangladesh and India. They are part of an 18-month project to promote democratization and collaboration among young tribals from Burma. They asked me to help them start a newsletter. I am not starting a project but assisting them to do so at their own initiative, the role I prefer. It also involves my interest in interreligious dialogue, since the participants are Buddhist, Christian, Muslim and animist. 

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MEG GALLAGHER, M.M.
Maryknoll Sister
Education: M.A. political science

MISSION TALE

            Ms. Nun (not her real name) came to us from Japan, having lived there for five years as a commercial sex worker. Her background revealed that, as a young female, she was brought to Bangkok by her aunt, who very soon introduced her to a tea house and subsequent activities. She had been deprived of formal education, leading to a poor self-image and making her easily manipulated by others. After some time with us at our center here, she felt she was ready to start a new life and a new focus. The reality, however, proved more difficult than she anticipated, and very soon she became involved with a married man and carried his child. She returned to us for help. Not being equipped for pre-natal or post-natal care, we asked our friends, the Good Shepherd Sisters, to take her into their program in Din Daeng (Bangkok). She carried the child to term, gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, is now taking a hair grooming course, and is almost ready to begin her new life with her child. She is extremely happy, and she carries the proof that everyone can change for the better, supported and shown love by others.

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KELLY O’BRIEN, M.M.A.F.
Maryknoll Lay Missioner
Hometown: Geneva, IA
Missions: Thailand
Education: B.A. religious studies 

MISSION TALE

This is a story from when I was a Jesuit Volunteer (U.S.), but this is the story that best illustrates what lies at the heart of my ministry.

I worked for an employment program for women refugees who were mainly from the Sudan. One particular Sudanese woman who I had been helping was in a pretty difficult position. Her husband had been beating her, essentially probably trying to kill her. She fled from him with her infant son. He wanted her to come back to him, and her community was telling her that she could not go to church unless she was back with her husband. She wanted to go to live with a relative, and we agreed to help her. She called me one day on the telephone and was crying. She was talking about all of her problems and didn't know what she was going to do. I tried to calm her down. I told her that we all loved her and were going to help her however we could help her. Some days later, as she was preparing to go to live with her relative, she came to talk to me. She wanted to tell me thank you because the day that she called me on the phone she had wanted to kill herself.

She was probably my most important teacher about the value of being present to others, the importance of our care for them, and the fact that we never know the positive or negative effect we can have on someone even with simple gestures.

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PHYLLIS O’TOOLE, M.M.
Maryknoll Sister
Hometown: St. Paul, MN
Missions: Bolivia, Nicaragua, El Salvador, New York, Thailand
Education: M.A. social work
Master’s in catechetics and pastoral ministry
B.S. education 

MISSION TALE

Jai Mi, new to Ban Jik, lived at first on the floor. Three years ago she had fallen and broken her leg. In rehab she evidently fell again. Enough for her. That was the last time she had walked. While she lived on the floor, she often crawled to the door of the women's dorm and looked out. Maybe someone would notice her and greet her, even talk with her. However, when the floods came they moved her onto the top of her bed, and then she couldn't go anywhere. Her entire world shrank to her bed in the middle of the women's dorm. All her bodily functions took place on that bed.  In the hot weather it was hard on everyone. Mi wasn't popular. She complained that one woman, who was supposed to help her, beat her instead. Mi had grown up in Bangkok, so she wasn't conversant in Isan. I was her only friend, and she was the only person at Ban Jik that I could really converse with. Mercifully, at the end of her probation at Ban Jik, it was seen that she was living in an intolerable situation. Her niece came and took her home to Khon Khen. 

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