Thanksgiving in Cambodia

For all those concerned, I did not starve on Thanksgiving here. It wasn't exactly the same as home, but it was great nonetheless.

On Thanksgiving day, we went over to the pastor's house for breakfast. His wife, Jenny, is a fellow American, so we had some time with her and helped prep a little for their dinner. She invited a few Cambodians over to eat with her that evening.

Brittany and I had our own little celebration by the light of a cell phone up on our roof. We had six Cambodian friends join us to eat chicken, rice and soup...with watermelon and baby oranges for dessert. Not the traditional meal you think of when Thanksgiving is mentioned, but we are getting used to things not really being what we are necessarily used to.

On Black Friday, I did get up at the crack of dawn, but not because I wanted to catch all the good sales. Our Cambodian roommates just get up that early! And they are happy to get up at that time...almost every day. So at 5:30 when they were having a very loud sing-along and making breakfast, I wanted to be sleeping since there was no store to rush to. (I didn't actually make it out of bed until 8.) We had a amazing Thanksgiving lunch over at another American pastor's house with many other ex-pats (which just means people who are living here that are not Cambodian). Most were American, but there were a couple Canadians and Austrailians in there too. That was a bit more like home...with stuffing (at the first bite, I almost burst into tears of joy!), cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, rolls, and pumpkin pie. Notice I did not say anything about turkey. Chicken works as a good substitute for turkey here, but I have to admit, I missed the turkey a little. Our neighbors across the street have a turkey running around their property. We hear it "gobbling" almost every day and as Thanksgiving approached, we wanted to ask them if they would consider letting us "have" the bird. We didn't ask, though. We ate chicken instead, and it was good. We stayed all afternoon playing games and enjoying the fellowship.

And as of today, I am used to the Christmas season "offically" starting...getting out the tree and decorating...all that fun stuff. It's a little different here, but I am looking forward to it.

Our Class in Action...

Last week was a big week for our missions class...

On Wednesday night, we were in charge of the mid-week church service. Two of the students shared their testimonies and one gave a short message about the love of God.

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And on Thursday, we had our first "outing" as a class.

We split them into groups of two and gave each team $2. They had to pray and ask how to use the money, whether it was giving it to a beggar, buying a meal for someone, or meeting some other need that they were aware of...and they had to talk to the people that they were led to about their faith and share a little of their testimony.

This was the first time for most to speak in public or to approach someone they don't know to talk about God. I am happy to say that all went great. I am so proud of the way they all meet challenges even if they are nervous or it throws them out of their comfort zone. I love each one of them so much!



Front: Phoeurn ("Pu-in"), Thida ("Tee-dah"), Vin ("Win"), Brittany and Richard
Middle: Seyha
Back: Sothea ("So-tia"), Dee, Titi and Me

Flood Update

Yes, folks, it is still flooded here in Phnom Penh Thmey...especially on our road. It's only 1/4 of a mile from my house to the church and that is the worst part! The water at some points has reached past my knees. Traffic is mostly on foot now since the small motorcycles get water in the engines and the cars don't try forging the river unless they are 4x4 vehicles. About halfway between the church and my house is a mattress factory. Up until last week, the trucks were still going back and forth like normal. But with the water as high as it is now, they have come up with some creative ways to keep business going without risking their trucks being weighed down too much by the mattress.



They rigged a raft out of barrels and they float the mattress down to the end of the street and then load the trucks up.

And yesterday, I saw this alternate mode of transportation.



You have to look closely, but what you are seeing is an bathtub boat. I am not sure if they are transporting goods from one end of the street to the other or if it is just to keep dry, but I wish I had a spare bathtub to use myself.

In the province

Last week was the Water Festival here in Cambodia. It is a week-long holiday that brings tons of people to the city of Phnom Penh. So what does that mean for us? We leave the city for the quiet of the province.

We went with the Pastor's family to his home about 30 minutes outside the city and it was such a great experience. The village was such a peaceful place...dirt roads with little traffic...quaint houses...rice fields on every side with the most amazing color green...beautiful smiles from all the people...

We are slightly a novelty when it comes to the color of our skin so as we walk through the village, people shout "Hello" to us. We do attract a little attention to ourselves...as well as make ourselves and everyone around us laugh...when we use rice fields as our backdrop for a impromptu photo shoot...



This is Brittany and I jumping...













This is Naro (left...Cambodian...we were staying with his family) and Eddie (right...another missionary from Nigeria)...they jump MUCH higher than we do...






We are back in Phnom Penh now and have classes again this week. The students will be speaking in a church service on Wednesday, giving a short message and testimonies. Please be praying as this will be the first time for many of them to do something like this.

Wedding

No, I wasn't kidding...I really do wear the rubber boots, even if I am dressed up...

This was last weekend for our friends' wedding - Vuth and Neth (pronounced night). I was so excited to be here to share in this day with them. Neth has been living in the dorm with us for the last two months and it has been great to get to know here a little more. She doesn't speak English (other than some very basic words) and I speak about as much Khmer (which tells you how much English she speaks!) so it makes communication interesting. But we always find a way to say things, through smiles, other facial expressions and lots of actions and pointing.

Weddings in Cambodia are different than in America. They have their ceremony first thing in the morning (around 8) and it tends to last about 2 hours. Everyone goes home and comes back at 4 pm for the reception. There's food, music, and dancing. They LOVE to dance. And for anyone that knows me well...you will be shocked to hear that I don't just sit in the chair and watch. There is no level of skill for dancing in me whatsoever, but I get up and do it anyway. I can almost imagine the shocked faces and laughs that some of you are trying to hold back right now. ;-) Thankfully, though, there are no pictures of that, so you are left to you imagination (I am not sure which is worse).

I am again fighting with blogspot to post pictures. Obviously sometimes it works and sometimes it makes the picture larger than the actual page. I don't understand. Oh well.

The Beginning

Last Tuesday was the start of our missions class, which is called Harvesters. 

I've been here in Cambodia for 8 weeks, preparing and waiting for this to happen.  And when it did, something inside of was leaping for joy.  We have 12 students, all ready to learn and be changed and share God's love with others.  

We meet on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, and the first couple classes were introduction, laying foundation on what the class is going to be and what it means to be a disciple.  One of the threads that ties it all together is the character of God.  Each class time, we are discussing one specific characteristic, using verses that they read and meditated on prior to meeting.  The first class time, we did an example on God as our friend.  A few people stood to share what the verses meant to them.  One guy stood and nearly preached a sermon.  He had main points and everything!  I was so excited to hear him share because I hang out and goof off with these guys all the time.  And I love it.  But what I love more is to hear their hearts, to hear what God is speaking to them, to hear their passion coming out.  And this was just the first class.  

Please be praying for the students as they continue to learn.  And for me as I continue to learn while I am teaching.  I am coming to a realization of the enormity of what I am doing...how much God has entrusted me with to be a teacher for these students and live my life alongside them as we learn about Him together. 

Birthdays...Cambodia style

I have never been happier being so messy!

I would not really classify myself as the type of person that enjoys getting messy, but this is how they celebrate birthdays here in Cambodia (or at least how my friends do it).  It was Kim's birthday (the one on the right with the blue and white jacket...and somehow the least messy!).  The cake was cut and passed out, but everyone one only got a couple bites before we bagan slathering frosting on each other's faces...and in my case, chunked in my hair too.  It's a strange joy to be so messy with such great friends.

The four girls...Thida (bottom middle), Bopha (bottom right), Kim and Srey Pich (top right)...are in their last year of high school.  Mala (top right in white) works with the church as the accountant, English teacher, and soon to be the translator for our missions class.  The guys on the left, Seyha (bottom with his face completely covered) and Titi (top left) are both preparing to start university next week, by the blessing of scholarships they recently received.  They will also be students in our missions class.

We have just a few days before the class starts and we are very excited on how it is all coming together.  Please be praying for Brittany and I as we finish all the last minute preparations.  And please pray for the students as well.

By the way, I am not sure why the picture came up so large, nor can I figure out how to make it smaller.  One would think you would just click the "small" option on the picture upload page...if it were only that easy.  Bear with me (and good ol' blogspot)...

By the light of a cell phone...

One thing is certain...Cambodia is HOT! 

I thought that I was sufficiently prepared being from Florida, experiencing the heat and humidity there.  Well, I was wrong!  There are some days that I feel like it is a little difficult to breath because the heat and humidity is so thick!  The major difference between here and America is that there, I would go from my air conditioned house to my air conditioned car to my air conditioned work.  I didn't do much outside when it was dreadfully hot there.  But here you have no option...

Because of this fact (which I do not by any means want to sound like I am complaining), we have been "forced" to eat on the roof every night for dinner.  The sun goes down and there is a little respite from the scorching heat, but it is still hot.  We hope for a little wind while we dine up there...by the light of our cell phones since there is no electricity.  The best part about it though is the friends that invite over to eat with us.  There are a couple regulars and we love to share this meal with them.  We end up sitting on the roof for hours talking about some pretty great things.  I have been so touched the last few days by the conversations I've had, amazed that God has blessed me with such an amazing group of friends here.  And while I am away from my family in America, these people have become my Cambodian family.  

A Brief Reflection...

One of the great things about having countries so close together is that it makes it easy to travel...

I am going to Thailand for a week to visit Bangkok and Ratchaburi (about 2 hours from Bangkok), which is where I went for an outreach during the summer of 2007.  I am so excited to see the couple that hosted that trip for me and hopefully some of the students that I became friends with.  There is something amazing about getting to go back to a place where I

 have been on a missions trip before...seeing the changes in people and knowing that for a short time, God used me in their lives.

This is a lesson that I have learned on a personal basis...seeing others that I have affected.  But the most recent "twist" to this lesson is the importance of me telling another person the way that they impacted my life.

One of the main ministries that I worked with while here in Cambodia in January and February was in Sen Sok, a village about 5 miles out of town.  We partnered with Vuth (pronounced Whut) as he was starting a church plant.  We helped with renovations on the building, seeing the start of new English classes, prayer walking through the village and stopping at houses to talk to people.  It was on one of those house visitation days that God really touched my heart and asked if I would be willing to come back to Cambodia.  People asked questions about God and who He really is...not the typical response when trying to share the Gospel.  As I saw the hunger in their spirits to understand truth (whether or not they were fully aware that that was what was happening), I knew that there was something God was asking of me...was I willing to come back and not only answer those questions, but was I willing to come back and impart what I know of missions to the Khmer Christians so they can be fully equipped to answer...even better than I can.

Well, I came back and am in the process of figuring out what that "impartation of knowledge" looks like.  But I was taking to Vuth a few days ago about his ministry in the village and was sad to hear that for the time being, there is no longer a church out there.  The reasons have nothing to do with dedication to God or spreading the Word.  As we talked, something in my heart knew that I needed to encourage him in his decision to step down for now.  He knows he made the right decision, but I felt the urge to quiet the lies being whispered to his heart that he had failed.  I shared my story with so many people back in America of how working with hi was a huge part of my decision to come back to Cambodia.  I believe that God used Vuth and the Sen Sok village to show me what He wanted for my life.  And my heart is at such peace being here because I know this is right.  But I had never actually told him.

It was such an honor to encourage him in his ministry and knowing that even if he didn't see immediate results in the village as he had hoped, my life and heart were impacted beyond what I could have ever imagined  He is part of my testimony.

Who has left a lasting impression on your heart, knowing that God has used them to bring you to where you are today?  Have you ever told them?  You should try it...because it is God that receives the glory through your words.

It worked!

I got it to work!  I am so happy!  It took a couple extra steps, but I am now able to upload pictures.  

I will put more on here in the next few days, but this is one that I took within the first day or so of being back and thought it was great.

Someone carved my name into a tree at the church after I left in February...

I can't tell you how much the people here mean to me...how happy my heart is to be here with them and following what I have been called to do...and it warms my heart to know that they love me and missed me too...and that I have a special place here, immortalized in a tree...