June 2009 Archives

Contents

◆Letter from Cambodia ... Ms. Miyuki ASANO

◆Letter from Timor Leste ... Ms. Kuniko SATO

◆Letter from Cambodia ... Ms. Hiroko SHIGETOMI

◆Information ... Management

JLMM anual retreatant was held in Benedict Monastery this year. Ms. Hiroko Shigetomi participated the retreatant and shares her awareness with us.

< Retreatant in Benedict Monastery>
One of the sisters talked about "Jesus' eyes".

As Jesus walked along the shore of Lake Galilee, he saw two fishermen, Simon and his brother Andrew, catching fish with a net. Jesus said to them, "Come with me, and I will teach you to catch men." At once they left their nets and went with him.
(Mark 1, 16-18)

I think that Jesus' eyes must have been warm ones. Jesus had warm eyes even when he looked at a person who had double-crossed him. On the other hand my eyes are with blames and distrust especially when I see the church staff who do bad things. I can not forgive them and do not wish to forgive them. I thought it was impossible to have warm eyes if I remained like that. Then I consulted with a Sister. She said, "Pray for bad persons to change for the better, rather than pray for forgiveness." I thought I could do it and get awareness by praying in that way. It will be nice if I can look at them with warm eyes. In many occasions, I find it difficult to forgive persons though I feel more pain when I do not forgive them. I tend to judge others knowing that I have no right to do it.

< Ordination in Battambang >
There was the Ordination in Battambang for Fr. Chap (54 years old) on 24th May, 2009 in Battambang. He lives in Cambodia for 25 years and handles Khmer like native. The ordination was very impressive.

There was a happening on 23rd May. When I was going out of the church after the Taize, I found my shoes were stolen. Most of people went out and only JLMM staff and I were left there. I was very angry for my shoes stolen and grumbled with dirty words. Then a man talked to me, "I stay overnight here so please ware my shoes to go home. After that you may throw them away as they are old," and handed his shoes to me.

He was a very man who would have an ordination next day. When I was shouting out for my shoes stolen, no one but he stopped and gave me a pair of shoes. I was walking with big shoes and met another Father. He said, "How are you, Hiroko?" and I answered, "I'm not fine because I got my shoes stolen." Then he said, "Oh? I am learning. We must keep our shoes in our bag." (Yes, you are right! Shoes are often stolen in the church.) I told him that Fr. Chap had given me his pair of shoes. He said that Fr. Chap had been wearing them for five years. I decided to return them to Fr. Chap.

I was thinking about Fr. Chap and wondered what I would do if I had been in his position. I would, no doubt, pass by the person without doing anything. Though I lost my shoes, it was very good experience for me and I wanted to become a Christian like Fr. Chap.

Three years have passed since Ms. Kuniko Sato was sent to East Timor. She wrote about changes of the country.

By Ms.Kuniko Sato (Hirabari Church, Nagoya Diocese)

East Timor has a lot of untouched nature.
In Dili, however, constructions for land readjustment and road improvement started all over the place. The city Dili is filled with emission and dust and I can see the air polluted when I come from countryside.
Near the coasts many big cargo vessels are waiting to enter the port and the sea is getting polluted. Compared to Japan, however, the sea is still clean enough for children to swim though it is obviously different from the time I was sent here. If big resort hotels come out, I am afraid that people may throw away the wastes into the sea.
The Ministry of Health does not take countermeasures and the wastes are thrown away into the sea in Dili. PET bottles and plastic food containers are not recycled at all and I always wonder how to put off my mineral water bottles. I often see PET bottles floating on the sea near Dili.
People do not know how to handle trash in Los Palos which is located about five to six hours' drive from Dili. The plastic wrappers of candies are left all over the place. They do not look so bad because the land is spacious with small population but we can see many of them left by children in AFMET clinic. Though there are rubbish bins people do not use them. They are poor and do not really care about the wastes. But when the country has more cars, motorbikes and concrete buildings in the future, there will be more wastes which do not turn to the nature. When children ate only natural fruits like bananas and mangos, it was no problem for them to throw away the skins and seeds. In fact new buds come out from the seeds and the skins turns into manure. Now the people must educate the children to change their custom.
I think people must be responsible for the matters in the modern society. In Japan we are told more strictly to classify the trash in categories these days.
At the beginning I thought it troublesome to practice it here and it might be all right to be done by only those who cared it. But when I saw a huge refuse dump even in the small country, I thought everyone had to care it.

The rain season started in Cambodia and flowers and trees are shining vividly again. It is more likely to rain in the afternoon and I get lazy to go out but when I see the clear blue sky after the rain, I feel my heart washed and getting lively and free from the daily affairs for a while.

By Ms. Miyuki ASANO (Kikuna Church, Yokohama Diocese)

< Being led around ..... >
The second food stall group which started at the end of last year is more or less in operation remaining with a lot of problems. It was a shame that children did not come to the food stall but went to buy cold drink and ice elsewhere during the extremely hot season in March. Roti of the food stall could not sell and two operators went back to the refuge dump. One of the cases was due to the wife's worry and jealousy, "My husband may go to Phnom Penh to enjoy himself after work." I heard that the man sometimes did not come home.
Mr. Kun who did a good job in the training last year went back to the refuge dump saying "I need money." (They can really make good money in the refuge dump!) There were not so many customers at his location as other new comers'. I offered other places but he got tired of troubles with other member. I was a little disappointed as I had expected him as a leader. But I believe his words, "I'll come back next month" and look forward to working with him again.
The intensely hot season was over and Roti business has come back. Running the food stall business is, however, not easy under the hot weather in Cambodia. They have to wait for customers but no one comes during the nap time when the sun beats down. They have no one to talk to but just wait sitting. Sometimes I could not talk to them who were feeling half awake. I think I was being led around by them for these few months. I share with you what was happening.
They come to the office to pick up the food stalls at about seven o'clock in the morning these days. But at the beginning I was often waken up by them at six. I cannot get up and in a bad mood in the morning. I could not smile to them and tried very hard to control my anger.
One time when I asked them, "Please come back by seven as I have to go out this evening." they did not keep the time. After I had left the office I had to go back to the office by their phone call at eight. The other day as they did not come to the office till nine in the morning I went out assuming they would not work on the day but as a matter of fact I had to go back to the office when they called me and said, "I've come to the office but no one is around." There were a lot of other cases of being called and told "Butter is running out," "I forgot to bring Miro," "I lost my knife somewhere," "The gas has finished." I had to wait for them for long time in the office or rushed to come back from outside and at last I got mentally tired. I was frustrated everyday by their lack of morals such as they did not use rubbish bins for trash neither used things with care, they did not come on time and so on.