| Christmas Day is not a public holiday in Cambodia. Indeed, the largest majority of the population would have no idea what Christmas is all about unless they believe it's some festival celebrating some old fat bearded man in a red and white suit. Some of the explicitly Christian NGOs, e.g., World Vision, give their staff the day off, but most NGOs--Maryknoll among them--observe December 25th as another work day. But that doesn't mean that Maryknoll doesn't celebrate Christmas. After work on Christmas Day, we all gather at the Maryknoll office for a turkey dinner. | |
| The main table inside was loaded with turkey, dressing, salads, and several national dishes from Ghana, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka. Outside the dessert table carried another delicious assortment of good things to eat. |  |
| This small group--from Australia, Beligium, and the United States opted to eat outside. |  |
| Ronise Barreras is a new staff member of Charlie Dittmeier's Deaf Development Programme, working as a supervisor in a hostel for young deaf people from the provinces studying job training in Phnom Penh. Her she jokes with Brother Francis, a Marist brother from Ghana. |  |
| Myriam and Jean-François catch up with Fr. John Barth (center) who just returned from the United States yesterday. |  |
| A small group eats and discusses inside. |  |
| Fr. Ed McGovern in a group with members of the larger Maryknoll community from the Philippines, Peru, and Guatemala. |  |
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