Church – Page 2 – Welcome to Cambodia, and…..

October in Buddhist Cambodia

Every two months I write a column about life and ministry in Cambodia for The Record, the newspaper for the Catholic diocese of Louisville, Kentucky. The latest column mentioned Pchum Ben, the Buddhist festival of the dead that we are experiencing this week.

For some reason one of the paragraphs of the published version of the article appears to be corrupted so rather than give the link to the newspaper, I’m trying to make a link that will send you my original copy I sent to The Record. See if you can click on this link below:

The-Record-Article-32-Sep2024 Download

A Different Look

This is the hall at St. Jude Thaddeus School we use for mass on Saturday night. This photo was on Sunday morning when the hall had been transformed into the site for the foundation day celebration for the school.

Farewell, Brother Tony….

A group of laity and church people, continuing a Maryknoll tradition of gathering every Wednesday, get together every week for liturgy and a meal together. Today was the last day that Bro. Tony Burrows (3rd left) will be with us. He returns to work in Australia on Friday.

Post-Maryknoll

For almost thirty years, the Maryknoll INGO met every Wednesday. Now that Maryknoll Cambodia is no longer operating in Cambodia, some of those who used to meet continue to do so.

Gathered today for mass and a dinner were Maria, Beth, Julie, and Kila. Good people.

New Church Progress

Here is a collage of photos from the new St. Joseph Church a few days ago when the regional director of Couples for Christ met there with Bishop Olivier. Fr. Chatsirey (blue shirt) showed them the progress inside and outside the ongoing construction.

New Church: It’s coming….

The detail work inside the new church is continuing but they are also getting serious now about the landscaping and drainage.

Job Coaching 3

Today was the final day of the job coaching training. Kevin Cook presented a lot of good material in these three days. Now the challenge for all the Caritas Cambodia projects is to utilize that information in strengthening our support of appropriate employment for people with disabilities.

The group discussions throughout the training were short and focused and everyone participated.

Many, the director of a large autism school, reflected on how they could implement Kevin’s ideas.

At the end of this third day, Kim Ratana, the Caritas Cambodia director, presented certificates to all who participated.

Job Coaching 2

Kim Ratana, the director of Caritas Cambodia, offers some comments on the training the Caritas projects are undergoing.

Job Coaching

Caritas Cambodia has organized a training on job coaching for this week, inviting all the Caritas projects that involve people with disabilities. Mr. Kevin Cook, an American now resident in Thailand, is teaching the theory and practice of successfully finding appropriate employment for people with physical and intellectual disabilities.

The training was originally scheduled for five days but then the government threw a wrench in the works by declaring yesterday a holiday on three days’ notice which necessitated shortening the time with Kevin to three days.

The style of the training involves a lot of interaction and discussion in the table groups and then quick summaries of their thought and ideas.

A commitment

Today Sr. Bernadette Pheng Sreymom professed her perpetual vows as a Salesian sister. The ceremony was in Kampong Cham, her home province, and many people from Phnom Penh and other provinces came to show their support and appreciation.