Mission Begins with a SMILE
Maryknoll Lay Missioner, Coralis Salvador, tells the stories behind the smiles she sees regularly in mission along the border of USA and Mexico in El Paso, Texas.
The Costs of War in Tanzania
Mike Lattanzi in Tanzania recently walked by a funeral of a local man killed from a bomb during the Iran war.
The Most Precious Gifts
Maryknoll Lay Missioner, Juan Gomez, reflects on his experiences as a chaplain and in a world full of consumerism, his patients only want life.
Sewing Hope
Jana Schiemenz, reflects on the willingness and ease of students at the Huruma School to assist one another without judgment.
Joy is a Choice
Maryknoll Lay Missioner, Joanne Miya, reflects on the privilege she has witnessing joy in numerous encounters while in Tanzania.
Bond & Rocha Summer 2026 Update
Maryknoll Lay Missioners, Kathy Bond and Flavio Focha, provide details about the upcoming EcoRetreat in Monrovia, CA they’ll be facilitating.
My SMILE Moments in Mission
Julie Lawler discusses the healing power pottery had recently with a group of DDP students in Cambodia, and the smiles that it created.
Finding Grace… or is it Grace Finding Me?
Maryknoll Lay Missioner, Susanne Beentjes, reflects on how grace can be found if you’re looking, even on those “bad days.”
Children of Prayer, Children of Peace
Rick Dixon, shares the beauty he recently witnessed while leading a prayerful retreat with children in El Salvador.
God is Good
Rich Tarro, shares a reflection of helping a family receive solar energy, and while not perfect, is still very good.
Joy Matters
Maryknoll Lay Missioner, Theresa Glaser, shares her recent experience visiting a Kenyan family’s home and the joy she witnessed.
Maryknoll Monarch Initiative celebrates their 1st Anniversary
The Maryknoll Monarch Initiative recently celebrated their first anniversary.
Making All Things New
Josh Sisolak reflects on the experiences of the first disciples after the death and resurrection of Jesus, and the similarities he has seen as a Maryknoll lay missioner.
Nonviolence Prevention in Cambodia’s Deaf Community
Julie Lawler shares how naming the realities in Cambodia helped her recognize additional prevention techniques to support nonviolent living in her deaf ministry.
Mission Begins with a SMILE
Maryknoll Lay Missioner, Coralis Salvador, tells the stories behind the smiles she sees regularly in mission along the border of USA and Mexico in El Paso, Texas.
The Costs of War in Tanzania
Mike Lattanzi in Tanzania recently walked by a funeral of a local man killed from a bomb during the Iran war.
The Most Precious Gifts
Maryknoll Lay Missioner, Juan Gomez, reflects on his experiences as a chaplain and in a world full of consumerism, his patients only want life.
Sewing Hope
Jana Schiemenz, reflects on the willingness and ease of students at the Huruma School to assist one another without judgment.
Joy is a Choice
Maryknoll Lay Missioner, Joanne Miya, reflects on the privilege she has witnessing joy in numerous encounters while in Tanzania.
Bond & Rocha Summer 2026 Update
Maryknoll Lay Missioners, Kathy Bond and Flavio Focha, provide details about the upcoming EcoRetreat in Monrovia, CA they’ll be facilitating.
My SMILE Moments in Mission
Julie Lawler discusses the healing power pottery had recently with a group of DDP students in Cambodia, and the smiles that it created.
Finding Grace… or is it Grace Finding Me?
Maryknoll Lay Missioner, Susanne Beentjes, reflects on how grace can be found if you’re looking, even on those “bad days.”
Children of Prayer, Children of Peace
Rick Dixon, shares the beauty he recently witnessed while leading a prayerful retreat with children in El Salvador.
God is Good
Rich Tarro, shares a reflection of helping a family receive solar energy, and while not perfect, is still very good.
Joy Matters
Maryknoll Lay Missioner, Theresa Glaser, shares her recent experience visiting a Kenyan family’s home and the joy she witnessed.
Maryknoll Monarch Initiative celebrates their 1st Anniversary
The Maryknoll Monarch Initiative recently celebrated their first anniversary.
Making All Things New
Josh Sisolak reflects on the experiences of the first disciples after the death and resurrection of Jesus, and the similarities he has seen as a Maryknoll lay missioner.
Nonviolence Prevention in Cambodia’s Deaf Community
Julie Lawler shares how naming the realities in Cambodia helped her recognize additional prevention techniques to support nonviolent living in her deaf ministry.
Trapped by False Promises
Migrants seeking safety and opportunity often encounter exploitation hidden behind false promises. Through the work of Maryknoll Lay Missioner Heidi Cerneka, survivors are finding protection, dignity, and hope.
Hope is Alive in Lebanon
Coralis Salvador, shares her recent experience while on assignment in Lebanon at the Arrupe Migrant Center in Beirut.
Angela’s Plight
With a year’s time, a widow mourns the loss of her husband, gives birth to their fifth child, loses her middle son and is powerless when it comes to treating an illness that ultimately kills her oldest son. Miraculously, she and her children have found HOPE.
Preaching Hope. Living Peace
Gabe Hurrish reflects on his 8 years in South Sudan and how lucky he was to not be surrounded by media during that time.
The Echoes of Suffering
As the Cambodian government cracks down on ‘forced scamming’ operations, traumatized victims of human trafficking are left wandering the streets. TT Hoang tells the story of 10 Indonesians she helped return to their home country.
Matter of Life and Death
Hang Tran, reflects on Jesus’ friendship with Lazarus, and his sister’s response to his death.
Everyday Mission
Listening to a recent podcast, Sarah Bueter recognizes the work of her father back home in Indiana was an example of mission all along.
Facing Reality
New lay missioner, Jana Schiemenz, returns to Tanzania and begins to meet the people she will be walking with in her new ministries: a neighborhood special needs school, and a parish that serves those with mental illness.
Sweet Transformation
Maryknoll Lay Missioner, Theresa Glaser, offers an update and reflection on her work at the St. John Bosco Rehabilitation Center in Kenya. This recently included the transformation of a dilapidated room into a a new library.
Our Lady of Lebanon, the Pope, and the Power of Music During War
Maryknoll Lay Missioner, Dee Dungy, is serving in Lebanon as a special assignment. She shares her experiences assisting the migrants fleeing war, the recent conflict, and how Pope Leo XIV’s visit a few months ago impacted the area.
Easter Gift
This sacred season of Easter reminds us that hope is alive, and through faith and service, lives are renewed each day.
Peace & Love, even in Challenges
Joanne Miya reflects on recent developments in her mission. Filled with new challenges, she continually finds peace, love, and joy in her work, and with those she encounters.
Going Forward
After a series of delays in getting into Brazil with the appropriate visa, new Lay Missioner, James Pawlowicz, arrives and shares his happenings that first week.
Witness Brazil
Maryknoll Lay Missioners, Kathy & Flavio, are looking forward to celebrating 50 years of Maryknoll’s presence in Brazil this July, and they hope you will join them.
A Mother’s Unconditional Love
Maryknoll Lay Missioner, Juan Gomez, shares a reflection of the unconditional love expressed by Juanita to her epileptic son and his multiple seizures a day.
A New Chapter in a Familiar Story
After 6 years in Tanzania, Susanne Beentjes thought she knew the area and culture. With her new outlook through the lens of MKLM, she’s experiencing it in a whole new way.
You Are Not Alone
Veteran Lay Missioner, Joe Loney, recently got to observe the ministries of one of our newest lay missioners, Wilber Montoya. He shares a beautiful reflection of his observations with us here.
A small village, a wider world
From Ordinary Time to extraordinary resilience, missioner Sarah Bueter reflects on what it means to live alongside a community in El Salvador shaped by memory, faith, and unfinished hope.
A life shaped by mission and friendship
An early co-director of Maryknoll Lay Missioners, Chuck Lathrop helped guide the organization through its earliest years while carrying a lifelong commitment to mission across continents. He is remembered with gratitude by family, friends, and missioners around the world.
Catholic search party finds migrant remains in desert
Maryknoll Lay Missioner Heidi Cerneka, an immigration lawyer at the border, joined Jesuits and other volunteers on a sobering mission.
An elder’s mission to form good men
As he balances graduate studies by Zoom, missioner Francis Wayne continues his mission in Kenya—walking alongside incarcerated youth and men in recovery, offering steady presence, practical skills, and hope rooted in dignity and community.
Learning to see possibility
At the Home of Hope in Cambodia, small, patient acts of accompaniment help young people with developmental challenges discover new confidence, connection, and joy.
A shared “yes” to mission
Maryknoll Lay Missioners sent forth eight new missioners to serve in communities across the Americas and Africa.
A missioner’s long legacy of faith and service
A refugee turned missioner and beloved community leader, Son Nguyen devoted his life to others—from Houston’s Vietnamese Catholic community to vulnerable children and families in Bolivia. He is remembered for his courage, kindness, and the love he poured into every act.
Dignity restored through community
Through parish accompaniment and shared meals, Maryknoll lay missioners Filo Siles and Joe Loney are helping older adults in Cochabamba reclaim belonging and hope amid the challenges of aging.
A new chapter opens for a mission—and for the missioner
As Uzima Centre enters a time of leadership transition, Maryknoll lay missioner Joanne Miya reflects on positive change—from expanded apprenticeships and nonviolence education to new spiritual accompaniment at the Lake House of Prayer—while trusting the next generation to carry the work forward.
Out of ruin, a place to call home
After heavy rains worsened the condition of a fragile mud house in Mombasa, a widow and her children found themselves facing the loss of their home. With support from the HOPE Project, what began as collapse became a fresh beginning on solid ground.
Dust trails toward the heart of God
From mountain villages to dense urban neighborhoods in El Salvador, Maryknoll lay missioner Rick Dixon accompanies children whose courage and joy reveal God’s glory in the everyday. Through broken-down buses, makeshift libraries, and a growing circle of young “librarians,” he witnesses a community stitching together learning, belonging, and hope—one small hand at a time.
At a crossroads on the border: Challenges faced, next steps emerging
Amid a shifting border landscape, Maryknoll lay missioner Coralis Salvador reports on court accompaniment, shelter realities, and the groups who joined the Encuentro Project this year—anchored by a renewed sense of call and calm discernment.
Pilot program for vulnerable families in Bolivia reports dramatic results
In the Cochabamba suburb of Tiquipaya, a new program is offering families a path out of poverty, instability, and domestic violence. Led by Maryknoll lay missioner Louise Locke and a local psychologist, the center has already shown remarkable impact: children gaining confidence and skills, parents strengthening relationships, and one family in particular breaking a long-entrenched cycle of violence. With a growing waiting list, the program now hopes to expand so more families can find safety, support, and a dignified future.
A culture of peace broadens its reach
With Project AFYA reaching more than 5,000 students in Brazil and EcoRetreats now being replicated in the United States, missioners Kathy Bond and Flavio Rocha report a year marked by expansion and impact. Their ministries continue to reduce school violence, strengthen emotional resilience, and inspire communities to reconnect with creation.
Put hope into action with your gift
At Advent’s threshold, we step forward as Pilgrims of Hope. With your matched Giving Tuesday gift, you help send new missioner candidates into places shadowed by poverty, displacement, and injustice as well as support missioners already serving around the world.
Through the long rain, hope remains
In Kenya’s season of unrelenting cold and rain, Maryknoll lay missioner Theresa Glaser reflects on the stark contrast between her own simple circumstances and those of her students’ families. At the St. John Bosco Rehabilitation Center, she sees how warmth, learning, and faith can change young lives—and how gratitude can rise even from the mud.
Maryknoll Lay Missioners prepares to commission newest class for global service
At the upcoming Covenant & Sending Ceremony on Dec. 6 in El Paso, Texas, Maryknoll Lay Missioners will send forth eight candidates training to serve marginalized communities around the world.
Bread of Life
From bustling basketball courts to quiet daily rhythm at Lake House of Prayer, Stephen and Loyce Veryser’s ministry in Tanzania bridges the physical and the spiritual. This fall, as they celebrate new beginnings—a completed basketball court, a renewed retreat center—they remind us that faith, like sport, flourishes through community, perseverance, and grace.
Stories of hope by the sea
On a radiant Mission Sunday in Cambodia, a lay missioner pauses by the water to reflect on faith, privilege, and purpose. Between sips of coffee and conversations with two young fruit vendors, she finds that the truest stories of hope often begin in the simplest exchanges—by the sea, beneath the sun, and within the human heart.
