Meeting Day #2

16 January 2013

 

The exodus began en masse today. The Maryknoll priests and brothers, sisters, and lay missioners all had meetings but almost everyone else headed north to Bangkok and points beyond.

 

Vans leaving the retreat center
The priests, sisters, and brothers in Southeast Asia seldom have opportunities to meet together so after the retreat and the Maryknoll Asia South meeting, those groups stayed another day to meet in their separate "charism" groups. The others departed after breakfast in two vans heading for Bangkok where they will catch flights to various countries.
A sung farewell
Ed McGovern (center), formerly of Maryknoll Cambodia and now a member of the General Council in New York loves the old show tunes from the musicals of the 30s, 40s, and 50s, and is known to spontaneously break into song at the least provocation. Today the departure of friends and colleagues was enough to trigger a rendition of the 1930s "You'll Never Know How Much I'll Miss You."
Juana Encalada
Here Juana Encalada pauses at the door to the room being used all day by the Maryknoll Sisters for their meetings. The retreat center is well planned and has various rooms that can be used by visiting groups in addition to the major rooms like the large meeting room and the chapel.
The lay missioners meeting
The Maryknoll Lay Missioners meet regularly in Cambodia but because they were all together today with Margo Cambier, the Director of Missions for MKLM, they, too, met this morning to get an update on the state of the Maryknoll Lay Missioners and to select the regional coordinator.
Bangkok Buddhist temple
Charlie Dittmeier had to return to Bangkok at lunch time to be available for a meeting in Nonthaburi, outside of Bangkok, tomorrow. He will take a water taxi there and went to the nearby wat, where the dock is located, to check the times. This huge pig was wandering around the temple!
Supper on the street
Bangkok is known for the food available on the street. Charlie is establishing a tradition of eating pad thai at this little street stall near the Maryknoll office. The woman is very nice and pleasant and the meal cost $1.10.

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