Author: Charles Dittmeier

Epiphany 2024

Every year the bishop hosts an Epiphany gathering for lay leaders in the parishes and the sisters and brothers and priests. There are some performances, the bishop’s talk, and then a dinner together. Here are some scenes from this year’s event.

Every Cambodian event starts with a traditional dance. This one was unusual in that the “male” dancers (without skirts) are actually young women.
A student choir performed.
A second dance featured a man and a woman in elaborate bird costumes.
Bishop Olivier is known for his non-traditional clerical clothes made with Cambodian materials and styling.

Another year gone…

This was the scene after our Saturday night Epiphany mass as some of the parishioners packed up the Christmas crib figures for another year. Next week is the Baptism of Jesus so we are finished with our creche at the DK Meeting Centre where we have our Saturday masses. After our Sunday mass tomorrow morning, at St. Joseph Church, their liturgy people will take care of dismantling that crib.

Lightning

[Photo from the Khmer Times]

Asian countries seem to have a real problem with lightning. This past year 84 people were killed by lightning in Cambodia, 59 others were injured, and 107 cattle were killed. This compares to an average of about 30 people per year killed by lightning in the United States with a population of 330 million compared to Cambodia’s 16 million. Of course, though, most of Cambodia’s people spend a good part of their life outdoors.

Coffee and Doughnuts

Before Covid, we had coffee and doughnuts once a month at our St. Joseph Church liturgy on Sunday mornings. Covid put an end to that but on Christmas Day our volunteers resurrected the event. It went well for a first time and we’ll have to make it a regular feature.

Thanks to those who brought back our sharing together!

Hong Kong Trip 2–December, 2023

Day 5

Today I met with friends to say goodbye and then packed up for the return to Cambodia early the next morning.

Jenny Lam and I have known each other for more than twenty years, starting when she worked in the sign language program at Chinese University of Hong Kong. This morning we met to catch up.
Sr. Theresa Chien founded the Canossa School for the Deaf in Hong Kong and was its guiding light through its whole history.

Hong Kong Trip 2–December, 2023

Day 4

Today was the actual celebration for the 50th anniversary of the old Canossa School for the Deaf.

For the mass at 10:30 AM, all former students and staff were invited. I concelebrated with Fr. Lam who is the priest working now with the Catholic deaf community.
Many of the students had not seen Sr. Theresa (L) for more than twenty years.
The dinner after mass was a reunion for most of the students who attended. There were 7 or 8 tables like this one.
After leaving the anniversary celebration, I went to the home of Charlotte and Joseph who married after I left Hong Kong. We had a meal cooked by Joseph and then a delightful evening catching up.
On the way home, I took a wrong turn on some small side street and found myself in a Christmas season festival. The crowd is gathered because snow-making machine is spewing snow into the air.

Hong Kong Trip 2–December, 2023

Day 3

Day 2 was spent mostly in the room where I am staying, catching up on some work. Then on Day 3, December 29th, I went to Macau to see the Catholic deaf people there.

When we arrived, Rebecca met us and got us to St. Joseph Church were some of the Catholic deaf community had gathered.
The parish has always been most gracious to the deaf group, and today they provided us with a wonderful lunch–a great time to be together.
From the church we drove to the Trappistine Monastery were ten Trappist Sisters minister. Sr. Emmanuela warmly welcomed us and showed us around.
The monastery sits on a hilltop and overlooks the four square miles that comprise the whole area of Macau.
Finally was it was time to go home and we took a jetfoil ferry for the one-hour trip to Hong Kong. We had wanted to experience the bus ride across the new bridge, but because of holiday period, the waiting time for a bus was too long. These ferries are powered by two aircraft jet engines.

Hong Kong Trip 2–December, 2023

Day 1

Earlier in December I went to Hong Kong for the 30th anniversary of the pastoral center for people with disabilities that I helped to start. Yesterday I returned to Hong Kong for the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Canossa School for the Deaf. That celebration will be on December 30th.

I took the airport bus into town and when I got off, two really good friends were there to meet me–Peggy and Angel. First we went to the apartment I am using this trip–courtesy of another really good friend, Judy in Taiwan.

Then we went to a phone shop to get a Hong Kong SIM card installed in my phone. That took an hour! After that we ate a delicious meal in a nearby restaurant.

After eating we walked to a grocery store in the Wanchai area, to get something for my breakfast in the morning. Our travel took us past a public area beautifully decorated with Christmas lights and scenes.

Moving time–trucking it

The Maryknoll Cambodia NGO closes down this week, and today we vacated our office building. I was living there and moved to a flat a couple miles away in the Boeung Tum Pun area of Phnom Penh. I still have way too much stuff to move. I’ll have to get rid of a lot of it before my next move but at least for now it’s all in the new place, even if it’s all in boxes still.