First In-Person Meeting with Fr. Martino, Founder of One Body Village

Father Martino Nguyen Ba-Thong arrived late Monday evening for one of his regular visits to One Body Village. We met with him at 8:30 AM Tuesday morning for our first in-person meeting since taking on this opportunity.

Prior to this meeting, all of our interactions with him and the rest of the OBV board have been either through phone or email. It's actually quite amazing how we've been able to build trust and coordinate everything that has transpired so far without actually meeting face-to-face. We didn't know them, and they certainly didn't know us, so clear communication aside, both sides had to rely on trust and luck that we all carried the best intentions for one another.

For having just arrived after a rather long flight, Fr. Martino was as fiery and as enthusiastic sitting across from us as we remembered him being on his late night conference calls. His demeanor and body language added an extra layer of exuberance that I wouldn't have normally associated with a man of the cloth.

I was particularly surprised at just how young he was. With all the work that has been accomplished with OBV, I somehow got the impression that he would've been in his 50's.


After a quick round of greetings, we got down to business.

Much of the hour long conversation revolved around the various ways we could contribute to OBV. Since Thuy's work as a doctor is the primary need in this arrangement and I will be looking for a full-time job, Fr. Martino made it clear that there were plenty of ways Thuy could be of value to OBV, even if we only wound up staying here for six months.

Thuy was offered the chance to implement a free web-based medical records system that will help improve the continuity of care, to work one day a week at a local free clinic and see patients who are otherwise unable to afford regular medical care, and to accompany Fr. Martino and other OBV staff on mission trips to the other OBV houses in Cambodia and Singapore.

Much to our surprise, the Singapore OBV house takes care of 59 girls, the most out of the two other OBV houses in Cambodia and Vietnam.

I have the option of joining them for all or part of these mission trips depending on my job situation. At the very least, I'll be able to allocate my weekends to teaching Krav to the young girls at the OBV house, and possibly my weekday nights to the OBV adult women employed at the three OBV-owned retail shops around the city.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Fr. Martino asked us to shadow him on a trip to a village on the outskirts of the city. He referred to this outing as a "case," a potential opportunity to rescue a group of girls planned for trafficking to China.

He made it clear that even he doesn't know what to expect on this trip. Perhaps that's usually the case with these sorts of meetings. I can't imagine how one would effectively prepare for this sort of meeting like one would when entering into a negotiation with a vendor or potential client back in the States.

We'll let you all know how that goes.