Jesus Farm – St. Ignatius Parish

 

 What Happened Before 2016

 

A NEW DIRECTION IN JESUS FARM:  2016 Onwards

As years passed, a project run by a non-governmental organization locally headed by Mr. Reynaldo Diez, our former farm manager, launched a program to build houses for the very poor near the Jesus Farm.  People make a monthly amortization on their house and lot from the income they get from gardening around their houses.  To this day, this good project creates a village around the farm.  More and more other farm owners people begin to build houses nearby.  The Jesus Farm has thus become a center of community activities, seminars, prayer, and worship for children and adults.  Thus, while farm operation still awaits to be revived, the farm is taking on a role of being a center of community activities.  So here are the directions we are facing: 

  • to build a church that can accommodate a hundred people (children and adults) for Sunday services
  • to renovate an existing center to be a temporary place for mass and where a priest, volunteers and guests can stay and manage the activities
  • to hold formation program for families, youth and children especially on life skills, peace, non-violence, and skills programs that will benefit the youth. 
  • to open put up a kindergarten school for children
  • to create an ecology and forest park that will allow for meditation and prayer.  

Present Activities (2022):  

Jesus Farm is now also called St. Ignatius Parish, as it was registered and approved by the Ministry of Cults and Religion in Cambodia.  These are the activities in this budding community:

  • Regular Sunday Masses in Khmer at 2:00pm (with children from nearby village of Piak Snaeng Chas also participating; total attandance varies from 50-80 persons, number of those receiving communion is about 22)
  • 2 Separate Catechism Classes for children and teen-agers.
  • Formation Meetings of Families
  • Summer Camp for Children during vacation time from school.
  • Sports activities:  Football and Volleyball
  • Rice Soup Program for Children on Sundays
  • Regarding the Farm:
    • some portions of the farm are leased to villagers to plant cassava so that the fields will not turn to untamed bushland. 
    • Care of Fruit trees and harvesting in season.