Author: Charles Dittmeier

The Nippon Foundation Visit

Today we at the Deaf Development Programme had a visit from Ms. Ikumi Kawamata (second left) from the Nippon Foundation in Japan.  Here she is with our Sign Language Project staff and her interpreter John (far right).

Still Killing

Today the Phnom Penh Post published this photograph and a short article about a bulldozer which was destroyed by an anti-tank mine in Phnom Penh on the weekend.  It turned out the mine was in a truckload of dirt hauled from one of the provinces to be used in a construction project near this Buddhist wat.  The driver was thrown over the wall and suffered serious injuries but survived.

The last mines were put down forty years ago but they’re still killing and maiming.  We average a casualty every four or five days–after four decades.

First Communion

This evening at the 5:00 PM mass, thirteen of our younger children received their First Communion, always a significant marker in a Catholic child’s spiritual development.  Here one of the boys reads the first reading for this weekend’s liturgy.

Quarterly Meeting

Today we had our quarterly meeting of the priests of the Phnom Penh vicariate.  Cardinal Ling from Laos was with us at the diocese’s pastoral center.

Cardinal Ling explained about the state of the church in Laos. He was imprisoned for three years by anti-Christian forces in the government.
After talking with Cardinal Ling and then after a time of prayer in chapel, our group met with all the pre-school teachers of the diocese who were at the pastoral center for a three-day workshop.
The teachers showed us all the educational toys they made for their students in programs where there is no money to buy such resources.

Boat Ride for Clergy

This morning was the celebration of the Cambodian martyrs under Pol Pot and this evening was a boat ride and dinner on the Mekong River to introduce the Phnom Penh clergy to Cardinal Ling, the archbishop of Vientiane, Laos.

Boarding the river cruise boat at sunset.
Bishop Olivier recognizing Fr. Bob Wynne’s 80th birthday, 50th anniversary of ordination, an impending return to the United States.
A chance for the priests–spread out over the lower half of the country normally–to get together and talk.
The river provides a vantage point for a different view of Phnom Penh.