Author: Charles Dittmeier

Jesuit Ordination

We arrived in Battambang about 1:00 PM on Friday for the ordination to be held on Saturday morning. Preparations were in full swing.

At the actual site of the ordination, chairs were set up for a reported 2,000 attendees.
Bishop Olivier went over the texts and different parts of the ceremony with the ministers for the next day.
Bishop Kike took photos of the young women who would perform the traditional welcome dance at the beginning of the ceremony.
Musicians with traditional Cambodian instruments accompanied the dancers for the rehearsal.
On another part of the church grounds, sleeping arrangements were prepared for the hundreds of overnight guests coming from far parts of Cambodia.
Then as night fell a simple meal was offered to those who had worked hard and would be staying overnight.

Jesuit Ordination

Yesterday and today, I was in Battambang at the Catholic center there, to participate in the ordination of Chour Damo as a Jesuit priest. The ordination was today. I went there yesterday because it is a 5+ hours drive from Phnom Penh. Yesterday as workers were preparing food, lodging, the church grounds, and the ordination site, I found Chour Damo together with his younger brother, Chour Darong who is the executive director of Krousar Thmey, an International NGO serving children at risk in Cambodia.

Chour Darong (L) and Chour Damo

Birthday

Today was the birthday of one our deaf staff, Sreytin who is one of our teachers. Here some students cut up fruit for a surprise celebration.
Then the staff and students gathered in the eating area outside to surprise Sreytin.
And there was the mandatory group photo!

The planning begins….

The last full week in September is celebrated annually as Deaf Week, a time for deaf people to celebrate their situation, their life, their culture. We celebrate Deaf Week at DDP but this year we are late getting started. Today we had our first meeting about our activities that will start just about a month from now.

New Lay Missioners

Today two new lay missioners (next to Fr. Charlie) from the Japan Lay Mission Movement came to the English mass at St. Joseph Church with the director of their program (L). They are studying Khmer language now and will eventually serve in Siem Reap and Battambang Provinces. Welcome!

Time to go….

Today we said goodbye to two of our student barbers (L2 and L3) who have finished their training. Their families came to pick them up–and a barber chair and a lot of supplies to help them establish their own business when they get back to their home villages. It is rewarding to see them hopeful and excited on their departure, and we wish them all success!

Where to go?

The last full week of September is always celebrated as Deaf Week, and DDP is looking for a venue for this year’s celebration since we moved from our old large office grounds. Today a planning team visited the Don Bosco Vocational Training School for Girls in Tuol Kork to see their layout.

Our site-checking team, beneath a picture of Don Bosco.
Sr. Amanda is the principal of the school and she explained how we might use their outdoor area at the school for our event.

Ride OF Die?

This motorcycle helmet has a slogan: “Ride of Die” emblazoned on it. Probably somewhere some Hell’s Angels have “Ride OR Die” on their leather jackets, but, hey, this is Cambodia where knock-offs and undeciferable gibberish on clothing is part of the culture. The figure on the moto also looks like a knock-off image from a Super Mario video game.