Where have I been?

I look back at my life since I went home to Australia in mid-July and it just seems that life has been hectic with one big thing after another.

I go to Australia for three weeks for Provincial Chapter and then with my family. I return home to Bangkok, I catch up with my work and then it is off to the Philippines for Intermediate General Chapter of the Order. I return home to Bangkok, I catch up with my work and then it is the visit of Alejandro and Luciano on their way home to Rome. Then there was the Asia-Oceania Church Meeting on the Pastoral Care of those on the Street, followed by off to Phuket to visit my great friends holidaying there form Echuca. Now life seems to be returning to normal before I go off again to Rome and Madrid for a meeting and some work. This seems to be my life.

In the midst of it all, I can lose sense of what it is all really about and what are the central messages for me coming out from my various activities.

The visit of Alejandro and Luciano was a very positive one. For me, their visit was more worthwhile and productive than my going to the Order's Chapter as these two men of the Order's leadership came here, saw me and my work, came to understand what I do and saw the value of what I do. They went away not just affirming me but understanding me and what I am on about. That sort of established relationship is invaluable and can only happen through personal interchange.

The international Church meeting here in Bangkok on Pastoral Care covered the issues surrounding the trafficking in women and children, the homeless and the sex trade. It was a great opportunity. I heard and met Shay Cullen from Olongopo in the Philippines. He has worked there for 40 years on behalf of children and it was something to connect with a hero as just a fellow human being doing good. Archbishop Charles Bo of Yangon was my discussion group leader. He was a very friendly man and so easy to talk with. I interviewed him for UCAN, as I also interviewed a Pakistani woman who is a leader in the area of women's issues and rights in the Church there. She was a very gracious woman who spoke of the great suffering of Christian women in Pakistan. Then there were the two Sisters from Australia and New Zealand. They were just great characters doing great work on the edge in their own way. It was an all round healthy and life giving experience of Church given by the Asian Bishops' Conferences. For my reports, you can research UCAN in its October 2010 archives - www.ucanews.com

Then there was Phuket and Norm and Denise. What can I say? They were the same as ever, living and enjoying life in their own inimitable way and as happy as ever to share it with me.

Now life in Bangkok seems to come back to normal. But is normal ever a state in a Bangkok? Is life just a series of non-connected events that make for a hectic and tiring schedule? Yesterday was All Saints in the Thai Church. It made me think of two past characters in my life - the open hearted Dorothea and the eccentric Bruce. They have given me so much and helped to make me who I am. As I go along in this hectic life, Sr Dottie and Bruce tell me that all is interconnected and has a purpose in making me who I am and making life a more whole picture.