The Journey from Phnom Penh to Kampot

On January 15, 2026, the journey of the Bokor Church restoration project entered a more concrete phase—as team members began traveling from Phnom Penh to Kampot in preparation for the first working session.

The journey of approximately 150 kilometers was not merely a geographical movement. It marked a transition from initial exchanges to real presence—where people would meet in person, share, and begin shaping a common direction for the project.

Kampot, with its slower pace of life and quiet atmosphere, offered a setting very different from Phnom Penh. The small riverside town, near the Bokor mountain range, carried a sense of gentle separation—like a necessary pause before entering a work that demands focus and reflection.

The team’s destination was Eden Resort—an ecological retreat under the care of the Apostolic Vicariate of Phnom Penh. More than a place of accommodation, it provided a particular atmosphere: peaceful, pure, and closely connected to nature.

The welcome extended to the group was warm and sincere. Bishop Olivier Schmitthäusler was personally present to receive the members with attentive care. The atmosphere was not formal, but rather like a family gathering—where people coming from different places were welcomed as if returning to a shared home.

This reception formed an important spiritual foundation.

Before any formal discussions began, everyone had the opportunity to meet, to share, and to gradually build an initial connection. There was no haste, no pressure—only simple conversations, yet sufficient to foster a quiet consensus about the spirit of the journey ahead.

The first official meeting of the project was scheduled for 3:00 PM that same day.

The time beforehand was therefore not a period of waiting, but one of preparation—not only in terms of content, but also of disposition. Within the calm setting of Eden Resort, each person could take a necessary moment of stillness to reflect on their role in the project, as well as on the meaning of the work about to begin.

In one sense, the journey from Phnom Penh to Kampot is not long.

Yet within the unfolding of the Bokor Church restoration project, it marked a significant shift: from ideas still taking shape to a real process grounded in presence—presence of people, of encounters, and of shared intention.

And from these first steps, a longer journey began to open—
a journey toward Bokor Church, where the structure still stands quietly amid the mountains, waiting to be understood, to be listened to, and to be restored with respect.