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…
Fresno Pacific University Visit 2023
In July, we hosted a group from Fresno Pacific University in California. Fresno Pacific is a Mennonite Brethren University. The group spent most of it’s time in Vietnam but came through Cambodia for a week and ended with a few days in Thailand. The lead Professor for the group was Dr. Ken Friesen who was…
What is Seek?
Seek is a new cohort discipleship program from Mennonite Central Committee that had it’s first pilot earlier this year in Israel/Palestine. The second pilot is planned for next year in Cambodia. It is a 6 month discipleship program meant to engage Anabaptist youth (ages 18-20) with the core tenants of Anabaptist faith, MCC, and the global…
Grocery Shopping at Boeung Tumpun Market
Last week, I read a Times magazine article which shared that 25% of all dollars spent on groceries in the US are spent at Walmart. This made me realize that it’s been awhile since I last posted about shopping at our local market – two years – and I thought I’d share some more about…