The activities today varied quite a bit from the more usual routine of visiting several schools, and I got to see some of the countryside and places of interest.
Our first stop for the morning was a Servite College located about 45 minutes outside of Perth. I spoke to a large assembly there.We hurried back to Perth for morning tea with Bishop Don Sproxton at the diocesan administration center. I was surprised that we were joined by Archbishop Costelloe, the vicar general, the finance officer, and another priest for a discussion about Cambodia and the deaf ministry. Here Deacon Paul Reid talks to the center receptionist.Charlie Dittmeier in King’s Park with Perth and the Swan River in the background. The panorama picture above is from King’s Park.The war memorial honors all the Australian men and women who fought in the World Wars and in later conflicts such as Vietnam ad Afghanistan.To make sure that I saw at least some of the touristy spots, Paul drove me west to Fremantle on the coast, about fifteen kilometers along the Swan River, and we ate lunch there.The 19th century buildings in Perth were beautiful and there were even more in Fremantle, beautiful examples of an architecture from another era.Our last stop of the day, in late afternoon, was at the Emmanuel Center serving people with disabilities in Perth. Fr. Paul Pitzen (L) runs the center with Barbara Harris (R). I visited them 32 years ago in the same center!In honor of my return visit after so many years, the center organized a Cambodia night with special food and my talk about Cambodia and the deaf community there.The Emmanuel Center really went all out for this event, researching Cambodian recipes and preparing typical Khmer dishes for the deaf group to taste.
