Teachers here in Thailand are addressed as “Kruu”. The word comes from the Pali language, meaning “knowledgeable, true and without blemish”. In the Thai social hierarchy of respect, a teacher has the same status as a parent. It is the responsibility of the teacher to be a parent to the children; I guess this is true in every culture and nation.

I feel privileged to work as a teacher here. My colleagues are very welcoming and are eager to extend their help and guidance despite the difficulties in communication, for most of them do not speak English. All documents and instructions in the school are in the Thai language and script which is difficult to learn. I’m slowly learning to speak and read Thai.

I teach kindergarten, primary and secondary level. It is really a tough load, but I really enjoy it. I like being with the students even if there are times when they are not that interested. For some Thai students, learning english is a bit of a burden. They often complain and comment that it is a very difficult language. It maybe that they feel secure in their own land and there is no need for them to venture out of their comfort zone. The opposite is true for the Burmese student. These students really try their best to learn English in the hope that they can have a better future by settling in another country.

As the academic year ends, I really hope that my presence in the school has made a difference to the lives of the students.

Ian John Magarao

Most of the people we live with, both Burmese and Thai, are Buddhist. There are also some Muslims here.There are very few Catholics here, either in Thailand or in Burma.

We are a Marist Religious community, a Catholic missionary community. Often we seem to locals like a non-government organisation (NGO) and much of our work does harmonize with theirs – health care, education, a “community centre”, and so on. But essentially we are different from the typical NGO in that our communal and individual motivation comes solely from the Gospel and the Tradition of the Catholic Church. We are a religious community rather than an NGO.

How do we live as missionaries among Buddhists who are generally wonderfully tolerant of Christians but often do not seem much interested in Jesus Christ or the Gospel? The belief in Thailand seems to be that all religions are good because they all help people to live good lives. To be Thai (or Burmese) is to be Buddhist. But if you are a Christian, that’s fine, too. Live and let live!

Catholic missionaries have been in Thailand for a many centuries but there are very few Catholics here. Catholic missionaries would be known mainly for the institutions that have been built to serve the needs of the people, especially schools and hospitals. All this generous work over the centuries has built up a lot of good will.

But I believe that what will finally win the hearts of the people is friendship borne of working together to build the “reign of God”…a reign of healing and justice and peace. This is the essence of “dialogue” between religions … Christian and Buddhist and Muslim working together to build the “reign of God”. The rest is in the work of the Spirit.

The key to mission in this Buddhist land seems to be “dialogue” – not so much by words but by actions.

I am reminded of a saying attributed to St. Francis of Assisi which runs along the lines of: “preach always… if necessary, use words”.

We hope to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ by what we do for the people here even though we almost never have the opportunity to mention the name of Jesus. If our work is genuine and generous we hope that sooner or later some people may ask us why we are making these efforts. It may take many years or even generations before this question is asked. But if or when someone finally asks us why we do these good works then and only then can we respectfully share our motivation and our faith.

In the meantime, we ourselves just keep living the Gospel as fully as we can. The most important and first “conversion” is our own. We become as involved in the lives of the poor as much as can. And we share in their experience, responding as compassionately as we can. We hope to be an experience of the “Good News” for the people even though this is not the time to express the good news in explicit words. The Spirit will guide us and the people to whom we are sent.

It can be difficult to keep going sometimes. Most people have no idea what a “priest” or a “religious” or a “lay missionary” might be. Most have never met a Christian. We ourselves can lose our own way. That is why it is important that we have a strong community and personal prayer life. As a Marist community we try to start each day with one hour together in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. We also celebrate the Eucharist together every morning. This can be a challenge too as we seldom have people from “outside” to come and celebrate with us. It can be “heavy going”. But if we are faithful to the prayer life personally and communally we sustain our own motivation for mission, for dialogue with others.

Fr John Larsen