After our visit to the Cambodian Embassy to submit Caleb’s Visa application we visited the Sanam Rat park in Bangkok, Thailand. It’s a large park with a lot to see including ponds and a small lake, fountains, a beautiful conference pavilion, botanical gardens, and water monitor lizards. Charlotte was – as aways – thrilled just…
Author: Charles
Visiting Oudong in 2008 and 2023
Oudong was the capital of Cambodia for almost 250 years until it was moved to Phnom Penh by King Norodom in 1866. Oudong was largely abandoned after the capital was moved but the monasteries, pagodas, and stupas remained in use. Only some 21 miles northwest of Phnom Penh, Oudong with it’s ancient structures and beautiful…
Anabaptist World: Following Jesus in Confronting the Climate Crisis
On September 19th at 7PM (EST), Anabaptist World is hosting a discussion on Following Jesus in Confronting the Climate Crisis. The discussion will be held on Facebook Live and Youtube Live. We highlight columnist Sarah Augustine, a Pueblo (Tewa) woman, lives with her family in White Swan, Washington. She is the Executive Director of the…
Getting around Bangkok
By population, Bangkok is the 33th largest city in the world with around 10,890,660 people living in the metropolitan region as of 2019. To put this in perspective, the entire population of the country of Cambodia is 16.5 million. Bangkok has roughly five times the number of residents as Phnom Penh. It was interesting to…
Meng Srean’s Interethnic Peacebuilding Journey
Meng Srean is an alumni of local partner Women Peace Maker‘s MCC supported interethnic peacebuilding project, “An Encounter with the Other Side”. In June 2023, she had dinner with MCC US Board of Directors during a Learning Tour to Cambodia and shared about her personal peacebuilding journey. Recorded by Sabrina Gilmore, SALT participant. When MENG…
Caleb Visa Run to Bangkok 2023
In August, Caleb’s US Passport was issued and he was officially acknowledged as a US citizen. However, technically, Caleb was in Cambodia illegally because he is a foreign national without a Cambodian visa. As is in the case in many countries, Cambodian visas can only be renewed – not issued – inside the country. So…
ក្រូចថ្លុង | Pomelo
Pomelo is a large citrus fruit native to Southeast Asia that bears more than a passing resemblance to Grapefruit. However, Pomelo has a light green skin, pale yellow flesh, and – often – a thick layer of pith. It’s citrus flavor is gentle and mild, without the acidity that I usually expect from citrus. Pomelo…
MCC U.S. Board Learning Tour 2023
In June 2023, the MCC U.S. Board of Directors spent eight days in Cambodia for a Learning Tour. There were 26 visitors in all, including Board members and MCC staff. We were quite a crowd when the MCC Cambodia team met up with them. On Sunday morning, the Learning Tour split up into two groups…
Please welcome Esther, Harleysville area friends
A few months ago I shared that Esther, a young Cambodian woman, would be volunteering at the Mennonite Heritage Center in Harleysville, Pennsylvania through MCC’s IVEP program. I’m happy to share that she received her visa, attended orientation at the MCC office in Akron, and is now in the Souderton area. For our friends in…
Worship Guides from MCC Peace and Justice Ministries
I wanted to share two new worship guides from MCC U.S. National Peace and Justice Ministries. These are intended for fall church services or personal/family prayer time. Each contains prayers, song suggestions, Bible readings, and informative reflections. Climate Action for Peace: International Day of PeaceThis year, MCC’s Peace Sunday packet centers on the theme of Climate Action…