232 His Mission, Our Mission “It’s the most challenging thing to do to work directly with confreres from other cultures, because we don’t always have the same understanding or the same feeling for something but I always try to be attentive and really put myself in their position and see things from their perspective,” he said. Education ministry After serving in Australia, Bro. Ron was relocated to Thailand where he joined two SVD confreres. Bro. Damien Lunders SVD looked after the HIV/AIDS awareness and outreach center. Today, he’s in his 80s and still dedicated to this important work. Bro. Ron said 20 years ago, people in Thailand often rejected family members who were positive for HIV and left them with nowhere to live. Over time and through careful education, that stigma has decreased significantly. Today, the center primarily works with children who are unable to stay with their families because of financial or other reasons. Meanwhile, Bro. Ron worked in education with Bro. James Wilkins SVD until his fellow educator died about 10 years ago. At first, Bro. Ron taught English at a public high school that served about 1,500 students. After 15 years, the number of students at the school reached 4,000 and the average class size swelled to more than 50 students. Bro. Ron accepted a new position as the head of the English department at a different public school that had a total enrollment of just 130 students. The new pace was much different and more enjoyable. “In all the years that I’ve been teaching, I’ve never had any discipline problems, never had to yell at a
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