When You Can't Laugh It's Time to Leave

John has enjoyed telling people that he will have to behave himself in East Timor. Why? Because there are five nuns already living there. He says they will help me keep him in line and out of trouble.

When he told that to Bill and Eileen, regional coordinators for East Timor, they laughed and laughed. Their response was that the nuns wouldn't make John behave, they would corrupt him even more!

Sister Susan is here at Maryknoll raising funds. I think she will be here for another month. We met her after Mass on Sunday. Bill and Eileen are right! She is an ornery one. She reminds me of John's dad with a twinkle in her eye and a quick laugh. In fact we were standing in the back of the Sister's Chapel when we started talking and were laughing so much and so hard that we had to move out so as to not distract others inside still praying. Who knows what kind of mischief she and John will be able to cook up together. As we parted we were talking about the importance of laughter. She said, When you can't laugh any longer it's time to leave." We are looking forward to visiting with her more when she returns from a trip to Washington.

We met another Sister who will be returning to East Timor in a year, Sister Dora. We remember her from the Discernment Weekend last summer. Although she might be tiny, she too has a great sense of humor and quick smile. I think we will be joining like minds. That could be a dangerous thing!

Tonight (Sunday) was the beginning of our orientation. We started with a tour of Ossining. Joe R. pointed out grocery stores, ATMs, video rentals, pizza shops, delis, reasonable restaurants, post office, train station, churches, walking paths and of course Sing Sing, the notorious prison. That will be a great help as we will need to get out to get groceries and supplies in the next day or two.

There are an even dozen of us in the Class of 2009, nine lay missioners and three Sisters. We had a chance to visit during a social hour and then cookout where everyone was expected to lend a hand. That is going to be the theme as we form a missioner community. That seems to be the term used by the nuns and lay missioners for groups of people who live and work together.

It's not just John and I going to East Timor, there are three of us going in January. Minh (pronounced Ming) is also a candidate. Her story is fascinating. She was born in Vietnam. Tonight she was telling wonderful stories about her childhood in a suburb of Saigon. Two of her brothers were able to get out before the fall of Saigon in 1975. The rest of her family couldn't leave until they were sponsored by her brothers and other relatives already living here. Because her father had worked for the Americans during the war she wasn't allowed to go t college or have a job. To survive she learned to cut hair and sold donuts as a street vendor. In 1988 her brothers and other relatives living in the United States were able to sponsor the rest of the family so they could come to America. Because she and her sister were over the age of 21, they were separated from the rest of their family and sent to the Philippines for English training and cultural adjustment. They were there for six months before being allowed to rejoin their families. She hated it there and was so homesick for her family. She decided to keep herself busy and started working with a youth group in the refugee camp. Since she has been in the US in 1989 she has been able to go to college and receive a degree. She has served an English tutor in her parish and as youth minister in another parish. She is a quiet calming presence in contrast to our louder more boisterous personalities. We will be a great team. She has already taught me a better way to cook corn on the cob! We have already learned so much for her.