Trip to North Korea with the Eugene Bell Foundation

 Father Hammond , Maryknoll Local Superior, e-mails an account of his recent trip to North Korea. Besides his duties here in the South, which are  many and varied, he  is always ready to make the exhausting trip to the North with the Eugene Bell Foundation. His first person account follows:

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Health invited a delegation of 5 members of the Eugene Bell Foundation to visit North Korea from September 7-14. This was my 45^th trip to North Korea in 15 years.

The purpose of the trip was to visit 5 Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis Care Centers in North and South Pyongan Provinces, and a Pediatric ward, also in Pyongyang and one in Nampo.

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The following was the schedule.

Schedule of “Eugene Bell” Technical Mission

7-14 September 2010

Date	AM	Activity	PM	Activity	Stay
09/07/10 Tue			15:50 19:00	Arrival Briefing with MoPH	Potonggang Hotel
09/08/10 Wed	10:00	Departure for Shinuiju By Train	14:00	Sonchon MDR TB carecenter, N. Pyongan	Apnokgang Hotel
09/09/10 Thu	15:00	Departure for PY By Train	19:30	Arrive PY Station	Potonggang Hotel
09/10/10 Fri	10:30	Songsan MDR TB carecenter, S. Pyongan	15:30	Pediatric ward, S. Pyongan TB Hospital	Potonggang Hotel
09/11/10 Sat	09:30	Kangso MDR TB carecenter, Nampo			Potonggang Hotel
09/12/10 Sun	13:00	Mass at Polish Embassy	14:00	Ryongsong MDR TB carecenter, PY	Potonggang Hotel
09/13/10 Mon	10:30	Sadong MDR TB carecenter, PY	16:00	Debriefing with MoPH	Potonggang Hotel
09/14/10 Thu	09:00	Departure for Beijing

l  MoPH: Ministry of Public Health         PY: Pyong Yang

After the Mass on Pentecost Sunday, May 23, in the library of the Swiss International Aid Agency in Pyongyang, I met  the Polish Ambassador to the DPRK. He invited me to offer Mass at the Polish Embassy the next time I would be in Pyongyang, so I contacted him on Sunday, September 12, that I would be in Pyongyang. The Ambassador made all the arrangements for a 1 PM Mass at the Polish Embassy. A Mass booklet and hymns were printed for those attending the Mass.

Over 52 people attended the Sunday Mass, including 8 children. An altar, with candles and flowers, was prepared, and I brought the vestments. After Mass all were invited for brunch in the Embassy garden. It was a grace-filled time to be with those that needed spiritual help and to be speaking to such an alert and enthusiastic group of worshippers. They represented over a dozen different nationalities. Everyone seemed reluctant to leave after the Mass so I remained at the Embassy till 6 PM.

The Ambassador hopes that when I return in the last two weeks of October that I will be able to offer Sunday Mass on October 24 for the diplomatic community and UN personnel. Clearly, a deep spiritual hunger had brought these people together under such difficult circumstances, and I felt blessed to be able to minister to them even for such a short time. God willing, I will be able to do this again soon as we are tentatively scheduled to return for another visit in late October.