August 10 marked our One Year Anniversary in Cambodia. We celebrated by splurging on lactose free ice cream with sprinkles, dried fruit, and a banana.
Author: Charles
Summer 2020 General Update
I wanted to give you all a quick update before getting into more specific details. YAMEN Departures: In my last post I shared that Moudy, our volunteer from Indonesia, made it home safely. Last week Jonathan and Victor, our volunteers from Kenya, made it home safely. There were a lot of COVID-19 challenges to navigate…
Home Alone (Well Almost)
For the first time since early March our family is home alone. Well, almost, we do have one returning IVEP participant doing her mandatory two week quarantine in the downstairs bedroom. But, given that she’s in quarantine, we don’t see her except to deliver meals. It was a blessing to have a full house during…
Some old friends are moving in
Difficult times are also opportunities for people to come together to find solutions and build up community. COVID-19 has presented many challenges to MCC’s operations around the world. I wanted to share one of the most straightforward actions we’re taking in response – some old ‘Friends’ will be subleasing a room at the MCC Cambodia…
Holding Grief, Holding Hope
The last weeks have been sad ones for me. I haven’t been able to talk publicly on why until now. MCC is, like the rest of the world, weathering the economic impact of COVID-19. This has forced MCC to make significant program changes. It’s important to note that MCC is celebrating its 100th anniversary this…
Clivia Dione Avila
In March, Cambodia banned entry of foreigners from Italy, Germany, Spain, France and United States to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Our new Connecting Peoples Coordinator, Clivia, was in Pennsylvania for orientation and flew to Cambodia arriving just six hours before the travel ban went into effect. Clivia is a fourth generation Mennonite from Honduras….
COVID-19: First Project
In March, MCC Cambodia partnered with 11 local churches to provide food relief to 150 poor households (approximately 600 people) as our first COVID-19 specific project. The primary goal of this small scale initiative was to provide these households with enough nonperishable food to enable them to shelter safely in place during a three week…
Kampuchea Testimony to the Power of Life
In December 2019, Fred Kauffman suddenly passed away from a heart attack. We wanted to do something to commemorate Fred and, as I went through his writings, I thought that Testimony to the Power of Life held a powerful message for Easter 2020 – which is the 30th Anniversary of Christianity being legalized in Cambodia….
COVID-19: Because they feed the poor
In my last post on COVID-19, I suggested that perhaps we are in our positions for such a time as this. I ended that post by sharing photos of generosity from North America that I’d seen on social media. “Blessed are those who are generous, because they feed the poor.” Proverbs 22:9 (NLT) Since then…
Lotus Imagery in Hanoi
The national flower of Việt Nam is the lotus. On my trip to Hanoi the first weekend in January there was lotus imagery everywhere. But what special meaning does the lotus hold for the Vietnamese? What can be more beautiful than the lotus in the pond? Green leaves, white flowers, yellow stamen. Yellow stamen, white…