MISSIONER NEWSLETTER – Advent 2024

Thu Tam (T.T.) Hoang, Cambodia

“What stirs my heart the most are the poor fishermen villages and floating villages along the Tonle Sap river and lake,” says new missioner Thu Tam (T.T.) Hoang. “Many of the people who live on the water are stateless, with no citizenship status. They have lived in this condition for several generations. Most were born in Cambodia but have Vietnamese ethnicity. Many cannot work legally.”

CAMBODIA—It is amazing how time flies. I have been in Cambodia for eight months now—minus one month of emergency leave. My enthusiasm has not wavered in spite of the many challenges that I have encountered.

I was only in Cambodia for about a month when I received a call from my brothers to come home immediately because my mom was not doing well. I booked a flight to leave the next day but it was delayed several times and I was stuck in Taipei for over 24 hours, during which time my mom passed.

It was very disappointing for me since I did not have a chance to say goodbye to her. But I trust God’s plans. Who knows? It may have been harder for my mom had I been there.

I am thankful for my parents, for their hard work to raise me and my three siblings, especially since we were among the first wave of Vietnamese refugees arriving in the U.S. in 1975. It was much harder then, with minimal assistance due to the lack of infrastructure to resettle refugees.

My parents built our future from their two empty hands. Their example of hard work and determination was a model for us to follow. I am grateful—just grateful! This gratefulness is the grace God has planted in my heart that bloomed and flowered into my passion to be sent forth in his mission to “bring good news to the afflicted, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives ….” Such a monumental task that he has invited me to—a task that takes much humility, with results that are not always physically seen but seen with the heart!

It feels like I have been here longer than several months. So much has happened in a short time, and I have been taking it all in, every bit of it—learning Khmer, eating Khmer food, experiencing Khmer New Year with water gun fights and cultural dances and customs, participating in Masses and holiday celebrations, visiting many floating villages of stateless people along the Tonle Sap river and lake, and visiting many missions run by the Sisters of Providence, Salesians, Jesuit Services Cambodia, and Missionaries of Charity. I have also visited the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, the Killing Fields, and the famous Angkor Wat to understand more of Khmer history.

With the help of Maryknoll lay missioners and priests, I have made many connections—with the above-mentioned as well as the Sisters Adorers, Daughters of Charity, and Sisters of the Good Shepherd. I visit these religious communities often to pray, socialize, and volunteer when I can. They all have been very generous with me, providing me with many opportunities to observe and interact with the people they serve. I am so humbled by these experiences.

Thanks to many foreigners and international organizations giving them basic staples of rice and cooking oil, the fishermen can survive through the several months of hardship each year.

However, of all the activities and missions I have encountered, what stirs my heart the most are the poor fishermen villages and floating villages along the Tonle Sap river and lake. Many of the people who live on the water are stateless, with no citizenship status. They have lived in this condition for several generations. Most were born in Cambodia but have Vietnamese ethnicity; thus, gaining citizenship is not easy for them. Many cannot work legally and their children cannot attend school past third or fourth grade.

In addition, the rainy season here causes so much flooding that fishing is not possible and is even forbidden to attempt. So, for about half the year, the fishermen are jobless and hungry.   

Thanks to many foreigners and international organizations giving them basic staples of rice and cooking oil, the fishermen can survive through the several months of hardship each year. I have been very fortunate to join in helping with the basic needs of these people.

I came here with the desire to work with victims of trafficking, but I am drawn to this stateless population that is also in such dire need of help. There are several religious orders working with this population to provide basic services and education. However, the need is much greater than the assistance available, leaving many families unemployed and impoverished and many children illiterate and vulnerable to trafficking.

As I celebrated my first birthday in Cambodia, I gazed at a photo, sent from a friend of mine, of the comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas and I wondered: Where is God leading me to now, as I am moving into my next phase of discerning my permanent mission here in Cambodia? I heard his whisper: “The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few … Go on your way.” (Luke 10:2-3)

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