Charles Dittmeier – Page 52 – Welcome to Cambodia, and…..

Christmas is over…

The church’s Christmas season officially ended last Sunday but we at Maryknoll just took down our decorations today, before our weekly Wednesday meeting. Here (L-R) are Sr. Helene, Hang Tran, Julie Lawler, and Sr. Mary.

Human Trafficking Awareness Day

An interesting perspective

People see former Pope Benedict XVI in various ways, some having a positive appreciation of his work and writings, others having a negative view of his time as pope. Fr. Bill Grimm, a Maryknoll priest based in Japan, has an interesting perspective:

The End of an Era

Epiphany 2023

There is a tradition in Phnom Penh of the bishop inviting pastoral workers and parish representatives to a gathering at the pastoral center on Epiphany Sunday. In the past it was a time for the pastoral workers to catch up with each other and for the bishop to disseminate news but now it has become an occasion more for socializing and recognizing different offices in the diocese.

All the Maryknollers arrived in the Maryknoll Mental Health van.

Every Cambodia event features at least one traditional dance.

One of the diocesan agency groups receiving the bishop’s thanks and appreciation.

A choir of teenage youth sang twice during the evening.

The younger set participated, too. Here children dance and sing to Jingle Bells.

At the end of the program, Santa Claus arrived and distributed gifts of rice and cookies and booklets to all who had come.

Kitchen Furniture

This is a picture of a corner of our kitchen at the Maryknoll office. It’s rather basic. Notice the wooden stool at the bottom. The lady who cooks twice a week sits on that while cutting and slicing all the vegetables and meats on the floor. There is a counter she could stand at but Cambodian women normally sit on the floor–or a stool–while working in the kitchen.

It’s the way we do it….

Cambodia has been too much focused on survival for the last half century, and discipline, order, and the rule of law sidelined. That is seen in the increasingly problematic traffic where there is no order. If you can do it, you have right of way.

Very Welcome Visitors!

Today I had a wonderful visit from three new friends who share a common background with me. During part of the time I was in Hong Kong, they were in Macau, working with the Lutheran School for the Deaf, and we have many friends in common. (L-R: Mrs. and Mr. Bush, Charlie, Thomas Dunseth)

Back on the block…

Fr. Hung Nguyen was an associate priest with me starting in 2001 and then he returned to his diocese of Seattle. Now he is looking at possible Asian mission again and today he and I met with Bishop Olivier to discuss the possibility of Hung’s working with the English community here. I hope so!

Turning a page?

Right before Christmas, Prime Minister Hun Sen made a surprise visit to the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh, a gesture widely interpreted as an indication that the Cambodian government wishes to improve ties with the United States.

[Photo from the Khmer Times]

Apologies

Ugh… For the post immediately below this one, I was trying a new feature in WordPress that called for media and text together. In the editing stage, it looked NOTHING like the final published result with such large type! That’s the last time I’ll use that!