Charles Dittmeier – Page 225 – Welcome to Cambodia, and…..

Another Change of Seasons

Pomelos are for sale on the street now, a sign of the changing seasons when the trees, weather, etc., all remain the same. Pomelos, with color and texture and appearance of a grapefruit–but with a much better taste, IMHO, are one of my favorite fruits.

Notable Quotes

Another Farewell

This evening Maryknoll Cambodia said goodbye to Sami Scott, a Maryknoll Lay Missioner who has been with us for ten years. She is transferring to a new Maryknoll mission in Haiti.

At the airport (L to R): A friend, Op Siphal, Len Montiel, Sami, Regina Pellicore, Ann Sherman

Cambodia Elections 2018

We just finished the second weekend of the campaigning period leading up to the general elections next Sunday. A lot of the activity at the start of this final week was centered on stages set up around the city. Click here to see some of the venues along the riverfront.

Topics: Trinkets

Every Sunday there are a couple people who put down a tarp on a riverside sidewalk and then arrange a display of trinkets for people to peruse and buy. They may make a little money but they also provide a drop-in center for people to come and admire and chat and enjoy a Sunday morning. Click here to see some Sunday photos.

Graduation 2018

Today the three Salesian Sisters technical schools for girls had their graduation, for a little over 100 young women. Two of the schools are in Phnom Penh where one focuses on office skills and the other provides training in cooking, sewing, etc. The third school is Battambang and it provides more of the technical skills like cooking.

Before the ceremony, these young women–like graduates everywhere–got pictures of their friends whom they never see again.

Then it was time to march into the auditorium for the 24th graduation ceremony for the Salesian Sisters’ training programs for young women from poor areas.

After an opening report on the school year, the first year students sang a song of farewell to their old sister students graduating from the second year.

Speaking Truth When Trump Won’t

Jim Wallis is one of the strongest, clearest, and most authentic Christian voices speaking out now about the travesty that is the current president and his Republican administration. Wallis is the director and main voice of the Sojourners movement that is now promoting a Reclaiming Jesus campaign to counter the abuse of Christianity by Trump administration officials.

Here is a quote about Trump’s Helsinki lies and the walk-back lies put forward by him and Sarah Huckabee Sanders:

“…it very much appears that Republicans in Congress will take Trump’s half-hearted walk-backs and word games as good enough to leave the matter there. We will now see what the Republican leaders will say about the breaking New York Times story last night, that before his inauguration, Trump was shown intelligence indicating that Russian cyberattacks were personally ordered, by Putin, to sway the election. Trump was briefed. He knew, and has been trying to cover up that evidence since the beginning of his presidency.”

~ Jim Wallis, Sojourners

Motorcycle Loads #249

“Well, how else can I get my refrigerator home? You want me to walk down the street with it?”

Notable Quotes

“When our days become dreary with low-hovering clouds of despair, and when our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, let us remember that there is a creative force in this universe, working to pull down the gigantic mountains of evil, a power that is able to make a way out of no way and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows. Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice. ”

~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

Farewell to Sami

Sami Scott, a Maryknoll Lay Missioner, is finishing her term in Cambodia and moving to a new mission in Haiti. Today was her last time to be with the Cambodia Mission Team for their weekly Wednesday gathering, and at the end of mass we presented a small gift to Sami.