What is your ministry and why?

My name is Choua "May" Thao. I'm a wife of 36 years, a mother to five children (three boys, two girls and one with multiple disabilities) and a grandmother to 11 grandchildren.

My call to ministry started when I was a child. Before my family migrated to the US, my father was a student of Father Yves Bertrais of the Catholic Church. I remember watching my father helping the needy, the poor and the sick in his hometown back in northern Laos. I understood then that I had a calling to serve God and his people and that has shaped my ministry.

My earliest memories are those of living with the priests and nuns in the capital of Lao (Vientiane). Even then I wanted to help as much as I could with cooking, feeding and distributing clothes, soap and foods to the poor and needy. I was too young to go to school with the other kids so I spent all day with the nuns and their missions. I could see God had a purpose for me, which continues to this day; I believe it is why I'm here.

When we first arrived in this country from Thailand in 1979, we were sponsored by a Catholic Church in Depere, WI. I just admired the devotions and time that the church put into helping my family and I. I knew that was all from God and we were so blessed. I watched and followed those church ladies as they went about helping us; every time they came, they ended the day with reading to us from the Bible. I was so amazed, and even though I have no clue what they were saying, in my heart I knew it was God's words and that's all I wanted to hear.This strengthened my resolve that I would devote myself to God, to serve God and to help his people, especially the less fortunate just like me.

Back in 1998, I was voted "volunteer of the year" by the McKnight Foundation and was a finalist for the "11 WhoKare" award. My call to ministry was always surrounding those in need, and that paved the way for me. I knew I was moving toward the work I was meant to do.

During our Shared Ministry class at Holy Apostles where I would become a Deacon, Rev. Letha, once asked me,· "May what are your ministry and why?" I answered that I wanted to be like Mother Teresa of Culcutta, helping the neediest of God's people. Since 2015, I have volunteered as a Chaplain at St. John's Hospital in Maplewood visiting the Hmong

patients there that's much needed. I visit homeless encampments, bringing clothes and food to them once a week with my two younger children and Rev. WaMeng, his wife and Xyooj Pov Thoj from Holy Apostles. I volunteer at food shelf, school and elderly home.

In answering my call to help the poor, the sick, the vulnerable, I believe that I'm also helping to strengthen my faith. It remains my goal to help children in a third world country, especially with education, so they'll have a better chance at a brighter future.

I thank all those that were there for me and gave me hope. Above all, I thank God for always being there for my family and I.