Hello. My name is Marie Louise; I am 24 years old and I come from France. I have been a nurse for over a year now. I grew up in a Catholic family, where faith is very important. Also, we all like to travel to discover new landscapes and cultures […] very quickly, I had this desire to help others, hence the choice to become a nurse. During my studies, this desire grew in me during the time of the covid 19. So I helped in an association for the renovation of heritage in France because it seemed important to me to help first in France before going abroad. Then I got my diploma. I worked for a year, and I discovered the MEP (foreign missions of Paris), which sent me here in Thailand. I needed to go with a Catholic organization that could guide me in my faith and spiritual life. I also wanted to go as a nurse because it is the most beautiful job in the world, in which I am fulfilled, and through which my skills can be used beyond the borders. Now it has been one month since I arrived in Bangkok to have one year experience with the Xaverian Missionaries who work in the slum areas of Bangkok! It's the right timing for me because I'm alone, without children, without rent to pay, and even if I leave for a year, I know that when I come back, I won't have any trouble finding a job because France is short of nurses. My mission is to be a nurse in the slums but also to be present. We visit different slums daily; we bring food and spend time with people who are alone, sick, or in need. We sometimes hear tragic stories, we go to unhealthy houses, and we see misery that I cannot describe to you. However, what I remember the most is the welcome that these people give us, the smiles we see, the laughter, their gratitude, and the life that emanates from these places. I do a few dressings when we meet people who don't get treatment; for example, I took the time to go and see a lady to redo her bandages, and on the way back, I stopped to give another dressing to a lady I knew, who was lying on the pavement. The conditions could be more optimal, and the hygiene is not as good as in a hospital, but I adapt myself and do my best. In addition, I am a nurse for the seriously sick and wounded in the house. This task has also helped me find my place here. The mission is also at home, in khlong toei. We always have people coming and going; it's a living house. We must learn to live in the rhythm of the Xaverian community, to deal with the characters of each one, to find our place, and to be present without being invasive. So it's a real challenge, but I had no trouble to integrate the new community and feel at home. The Xaverians give us a beautiful testimony of life. It is amazing to leave one's country (for more than a year, not like me), and to abandon oneself to the Lord by choosing this life in the heart of the shanty town, sharing the misery and the daily life of the inhabitants. They allow us to have an everyday prayer life, and we can find one of the fathers in the house at any time of the day if we need them. To conclude, it is too early to give you a conclusion of my mission as it is just starting. But I am delighted and grateful to be here. I can help as a nurse, I live in contact with the slum dwellers, and I have a tremendous faith life thanks to the community that welcomes us. So the few things that were important at the beginning of my mission are here. I will have the joy and the chance to give you an end-of-mission report in 11 months... with better English, I hope, and the same joy that I have today. Please pray for all the members of this community of Khlong Toei, for the people living in the slum, and for the priests who allow us all to live our faith fully. And remember to give thanks for their sacrifice and their mission.
