Imagine a large room full of people from nations all over the world. In so many scenarios it would be a recipe for disaster. I mean, I worked in academia, often with only 2-3 nations represented, and sometimes only 1 and oh, boy there are debates that will haunt my memory for a life time.
Well, today I sat in a room with people from 37 nations represented. THIRTY SEVEN. That’s a lot of places. A lot of cultures. A lot of languages. Without a doubt, a lot of opinions.
We could have argued.
We could have had a debate about which nation was the best, whose leader was the most influential, whose military was the most powerful, whose people were the best educated.
We could have argued about what kind of food was best.
We could even have had a discussion about which ministry in Phnom Penh was doing the most meaningful work.
We might have disagreed about our cultures,
Our languages,
Our families,
Our foods,
Our songs,
Our jobs,
Our children,
Even our denominations.
But there was one thing we all agreed on as we all sang out in one voice in church.
OUR GOD is greater
OUR GOD is stronger
OUR GOD is higher than any other
OUR GOD is healer
Awesome in power, OUR GOD.
OUR GOD.
ONE GOD. Many people. One God.
You know the song. It continues: “And if our God is for us, than who could ever stop us, and if our God is with us, then what can stand against us?”
Wow.
It was so powerful. It was quite moving to think about people from 37 nations of this great earth made by our awesome God singing about nothing being able to stand against us. There is something about worshiping in a roomful of people from all over the world that I hope I never get used to. I hope it never becomes “normal.” I hope it remains an awesome, powerful, moving force and a constant reminder that if OUR GOD, our ONE God is for us, then who can EVER stop us?
Church was great today.
I hope yours was too.
PS - since I'm using his song, I should give Chris Tomlin some attention and credit here. I dont think he made this video but it's his song and voice and lyrics. And its a great video of the song with lyrics. Watch it and worship for a minute with us!
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Friday, July 8, 2011
This and That - 10 Random Thoughts
I haven't posted in a bit because I haven't had one big, cohesive thought in a while. But here's a few little random thoughts:
1 - White coffee is AHH-MAZING! It's this mix of espresso and condensed milk (and who knows what else but no sugar!) and it's changed my life. Oh, it's so good! You can order it at any cafe for just $1.50, or they have this instant variety at the grocery store that I tried today which I must admit was also very good. And I'm a bit of a coffee snob so I don't usually like instant anything! Stephen doesn't like that I drink coffee everyday. Well, he doesn't like that I'm addicted to a drug called caffeine, but oh, it's so good...
2 - I miss iced tea. They don't have it here and I don't know how to make it. When I get a mailing address I would request a million bags of iced tea. To satisfy my caffeine addiction of course.
3 - I'm tired of the baths. I was worried I'd never get a bath here - just take showers all the time, but it's quite the opposite. Here at the house we are staying in (just a few more days of house sitting!) there is just a tub with a shower handle. Problem is, the handle is too short to reach my hair when I stand up so I end up squatting on my knees trying to wash my hair. Annoying. And who wants to take a cold bath? And why would you take a hot one in this weather? Ever?
4 - My kids are scared of roaches. My kids. Yes. Them. I just jump and scream from the giant pests to fit in with them and make them feel better. We do this a few times a day. Its great. Sigh.
5 - Geckos are good. They kill mosquitos. They'd kill roaches, too, but the roaches are as big as they are! And a gecko on the ceiling over the bed in the shadow of a nightlight equals screaming children. Joy.
6 - The people here are easy to fall in love with. They smile even more than Texans do. And the ones who speak English are happy to try to talk to me. The ones that don't know English just talk anyway. I am so anxious to learn Khmer to talk with them. I love them. They kiss my children a lot. Weird at first but I love it now.
7 - Monsoons, which happen daily, are quite frustrating, but they only last a short while and leave the plants lush, green, and beautiful... and often filled with fresh fruit!
8 - I thought all the ex-pats I met here would be missionaries trying to reach the Khmer people. WRONG. I've met people from all over the world, but most are business executives wives and are absolutely not Christians. They work for tobacco companies, food companies, clothing companies, Coca-Cola, Banking and Investment firms, and other businesses who see that Phnom Penh is a growing economy. They have a lot more money than me and think it's strange we would come here for no salary. I am anxious to teach them about Jesus, too!
9 - We all had a bout of the stomach bug that hits when you travel. That was no fun. But we're all better now. Khmer food is really good. We aren't sure what made us sick as we all got it at different times.
10 - Still looking for an apartment. We need to spend more money than we were originally told, but God is good. He will provide. We have seen a very broad range of places to live. And here, everything is negotiable. EVERYthing. It's so crazy! When we do find a place I'll be sure to post photos. We're looking for a more Western type place to make the kids more at home (less bugs, too!). Say a prayer we find it soon.
And that's enough rambling for now. I will post more soon. I'm working on some ministry spotlights here AND a history of Cambodia that I promise you'll love. I just can't post it until I'm done.
Sending love to all!
1 - White coffee is AHH-MAZING! It's this mix of espresso and condensed milk (and who knows what else but no sugar!) and it's changed my life. Oh, it's so good! You can order it at any cafe for just $1.50, or they have this instant variety at the grocery store that I tried today which I must admit was also very good. And I'm a bit of a coffee snob so I don't usually like instant anything! Stephen doesn't like that I drink coffee everyday. Well, he doesn't like that I'm addicted to a drug called caffeine, but oh, it's so good...
2 - I miss iced tea. They don't have it here and I don't know how to make it. When I get a mailing address I would request a million bags of iced tea. To satisfy my caffeine addiction of course.
3 - I'm tired of the baths. I was worried I'd never get a bath here - just take showers all the time, but it's quite the opposite. Here at the house we are staying in (just a few more days of house sitting!) there is just a tub with a shower handle. Problem is, the handle is too short to reach my hair when I stand up so I end up squatting on my knees trying to wash my hair. Annoying. And who wants to take a cold bath? And why would you take a hot one in this weather? Ever?
4 - My kids are scared of roaches. My kids. Yes. Them. I just jump and scream from the giant pests to fit in with them and make them feel better. We do this a few times a day. Its great. Sigh.
5 - Geckos are good. They kill mosquitos. They'd kill roaches, too, but the roaches are as big as they are! And a gecko on the ceiling over the bed in the shadow of a nightlight equals screaming children. Joy.
6 - The people here are easy to fall in love with. They smile even more than Texans do. And the ones who speak English are happy to try to talk to me. The ones that don't know English just talk anyway. I am so anxious to learn Khmer to talk with them. I love them. They kiss my children a lot. Weird at first but I love it now.
7 - Monsoons, which happen daily, are quite frustrating, but they only last a short while and leave the plants lush, green, and beautiful... and often filled with fresh fruit!
8 - I thought all the ex-pats I met here would be missionaries trying to reach the Khmer people. WRONG. I've met people from all over the world, but most are business executives wives and are absolutely not Christians. They work for tobacco companies, food companies, clothing companies, Coca-Cola, Banking and Investment firms, and other businesses who see that Phnom Penh is a growing economy. They have a lot more money than me and think it's strange we would come here for no salary. I am anxious to teach them about Jesus, too!
9 - We all had a bout of the stomach bug that hits when you travel. That was no fun. But we're all better now. Khmer food is really good. We aren't sure what made us sick as we all got it at different times.
10 - Still looking for an apartment. We need to spend more money than we were originally told, but God is good. He will provide. We have seen a very broad range of places to live. And here, everything is negotiable. EVERYthing. It's so crazy! When we do find a place I'll be sure to post photos. We're looking for a more Western type place to make the kids more at home (less bugs, too!). Say a prayer we find it soon.
And that's enough rambling for now. I will post more soon. I'm working on some ministry spotlights here AND a history of Cambodia that I promise you'll love. I just can't post it until I'm done.
Sending love to all!
Monday, July 4, 2011
A Timely Reminder
Well, we are still looking for a church to call home during our stay in Cambodia. We’ve enjoyed both churches we have visited. This past week we went to an Anglican church…. A first for us! The church had a guest speaker, named Timothee Paton, a missionary here in Cambodia for over 10 years. It was a great message and also a chance for us to hear about the mission organization he runs here on the streets of Phnom Penh. I’ll spotlight his ministry on another day but I just found his talk so exciting that I had to share.
First off, for those that don’t know, Cambodia is a Buddhist nation. Most of the locals here at least claim to be Buddhist and many of them actively practice the strictest form of it, Theravada Buddhism. There are temples (“wats”) throughout the city where Buddhists can become monks for a short or long length of time. These monks are distinguishable around the city because they wear bright orange (usually orange, anyway) robes. They are working to earn good “karma” to cover up the sins of their past. They can do this for years or as little as a couple months. I’m still learning about their faith, and I’m finding it fascinating that they basically are hopeless, believing that they will never be good enough to enter Nirvana (Heaven) no matter what they do. How sad to live that way! That’s where all these Christian organizations are helpful. We show them that there is an answer and they can be forgiven. There are hundreds of missionaries in Cambodia sharing that message.
So church was basically filled with missionaries. The English service was, anyway. They had a Khmer service first which probably had a different crowd, but the crowd we saw was made up of missionaries.
So how do you preach to a congregation of missionaries? That must be a unique situation. Tim Paton did a great job. His message was powerful and his testimony even more so. Here’s what I got from it… the message the Holy Spirit gave to me, anyway. I'm not sure what anyone else in the room actually heard.
The sermon was from 1 Kings 17, about Elijah. God told Elijah to leave everything and go live in a ravine. He said he would drink from the brook and that the ravens would feed him every day. So, Elijah obeyed. I have to be honest… I’m pretty sure I couldn’t be that faithful. But Elijah was. And God is. God did just as he said. For many years Elijah lived there and every morning and night the ravens would bring him bread and meat. The message: God is with you always. The pastor pointed out that God doesn’t just call you to go someplace (like Cambodia!) and then shout from the sky “Good luck!” No, instead He goes there ahead of us. And then He goes there with us. And He provides for every need while we are there. I mean, honestly, can any of us look back and see a time when our needs were not met? Real needs? In the next section of the chapter Elijah meets a widow who is heading home to cook her last meal for her and her son, and then die. That’s what she says. Have we ever been so desperate that we were headed to cook our last meal and die? If we were, and someone asked for some of that meal, would we share it? And yet, she chooses to faithfully serve Elijah some water and bread. And guess what – she doesn’t die. No, instead God is there with her. He never lets her oil run dry or her flour disappear, no matter how much she uses. How amazing is that? It’s a real miracle. One of so many miracles in the Bible.
And it was a reminder I totally needed. As we started our search for apartments, I was feeling a bit discouraged because we realized that we needed a little more money than we had been prepared for. Well, God showed me through this story that I don’t need more money. I just need a little more faith. Ok, maybe more than a little. Maybe a lot more faith. We came here in faith and all our needs will be met. There is no question of that. God will provide because He’s right here with us.
The pastor spoke about several missionary examples throughout the past and throughout regions of the world who stepped out in true faith… going to a place they were called without raising any support. Just living on blind faith! A lot of missions organizations won’t even ALLOW that these days. But it was truly inspiring! I realize that worrying about one hundred extra dollars is so petty when God has provided so much! Instead I should focus more on why I’m here.
Tim has seen so much in his years in Cambodia. In a couple days, after I talk to him some more, I’ll tell you more about his ministry that has helped reduce the number of kids sleeping on the street at night from TWENTY THOUSAND to under ONE thousand in less than 12 years. His testimony of the things he has seen and heard over this past decade was moving. When he came here there was just a handful of churches in Cambodia, all of them in the big city of Phnom Penh. Now, churches are spreading throughout every region of Cambodia and the people are changing because of it. A nation is changing because of it. People’s lives are changing as they go from hopeless to filled with HOPE.
And how many years did I spend sitting in a nice, air conditioned, friendly church while these people were seeking answers to life’s most basic question…. “Why am I here?”
I am excited to give them the answer to that question. God is with me and with my family, and He will provide for our physical needs so we can minister to the spiritual needs of others. What a great reason to be here!
But Cambodia is a big place. This EARTH is a big place. Maybe God is talking to YOU about serving Him overseas?
No matter where we are, God is with us. Serve Him from your country, from your city, in your workplace, in your home. And He will ALWAYS provide for our needs.
I hope you enjoyed hearing about the message as much as I did.
It was a great reminder for me.
First off, for those that don’t know, Cambodia is a Buddhist nation. Most of the locals here at least claim to be Buddhist and many of them actively practice the strictest form of it, Theravada Buddhism. There are temples (“wats”) throughout the city where Buddhists can become monks for a short or long length of time. These monks are distinguishable around the city because they wear bright orange (usually orange, anyway) robes. They are working to earn good “karma” to cover up the sins of their past. They can do this for years or as little as a couple months. I’m still learning about their faith, and I’m finding it fascinating that they basically are hopeless, believing that they will never be good enough to enter Nirvana (Heaven) no matter what they do. How sad to live that way! That’s where all these Christian organizations are helpful. We show them that there is an answer and they can be forgiven. There are hundreds of missionaries in Cambodia sharing that message.
So church was basically filled with missionaries. The English service was, anyway. They had a Khmer service first which probably had a different crowd, but the crowd we saw was made up of missionaries.
So how do you preach to a congregation of missionaries? That must be a unique situation. Tim Paton did a great job. His message was powerful and his testimony even more so. Here’s what I got from it… the message the Holy Spirit gave to me, anyway. I'm not sure what anyone else in the room actually heard.
The sermon was from 1 Kings 17, about Elijah. God told Elijah to leave everything and go live in a ravine. He said he would drink from the brook and that the ravens would feed him every day. So, Elijah obeyed. I have to be honest… I’m pretty sure I couldn’t be that faithful. But Elijah was. And God is. God did just as he said. For many years Elijah lived there and every morning and night the ravens would bring him bread and meat. The message: God is with you always. The pastor pointed out that God doesn’t just call you to go someplace (like Cambodia!) and then shout from the sky “Good luck!” No, instead He goes there ahead of us. And then He goes there with us. And He provides for every need while we are there. I mean, honestly, can any of us look back and see a time when our needs were not met? Real needs? In the next section of the chapter Elijah meets a widow who is heading home to cook her last meal for her and her son, and then die. That’s what she says. Have we ever been so desperate that we were headed to cook our last meal and die? If we were, and someone asked for some of that meal, would we share it? And yet, she chooses to faithfully serve Elijah some water and bread. And guess what – she doesn’t die. No, instead God is there with her. He never lets her oil run dry or her flour disappear, no matter how much she uses. How amazing is that? It’s a real miracle. One of so many miracles in the Bible.
And it was a reminder I totally needed. As we started our search for apartments, I was feeling a bit discouraged because we realized that we needed a little more money than we had been prepared for. Well, God showed me through this story that I don’t need more money. I just need a little more faith. Ok, maybe more than a little. Maybe a lot more faith. We came here in faith and all our needs will be met. There is no question of that. God will provide because He’s right here with us.
The pastor spoke about several missionary examples throughout the past and throughout regions of the world who stepped out in true faith… going to a place they were called without raising any support. Just living on blind faith! A lot of missions organizations won’t even ALLOW that these days. But it was truly inspiring! I realize that worrying about one hundred extra dollars is so petty when God has provided so much! Instead I should focus more on why I’m here.
Tim has seen so much in his years in Cambodia. In a couple days, after I talk to him some more, I’ll tell you more about his ministry that has helped reduce the number of kids sleeping on the street at night from TWENTY THOUSAND to under ONE thousand in less than 12 years. His testimony of the things he has seen and heard over this past decade was moving. When he came here there was just a handful of churches in Cambodia, all of them in the big city of Phnom Penh. Now, churches are spreading throughout every region of Cambodia and the people are changing because of it. A nation is changing because of it. People’s lives are changing as they go from hopeless to filled with HOPE.
And how many years did I spend sitting in a nice, air conditioned, friendly church while these people were seeking answers to life’s most basic question…. “Why am I here?”
I am excited to give them the answer to that question. God is with me and with my family, and He will provide for our physical needs so we can minister to the spiritual needs of others. What a great reason to be here!
But Cambodia is a big place. This EARTH is a big place. Maybe God is talking to YOU about serving Him overseas?
No matter where we are, God is with us. Serve Him from your country, from your city, in your workplace, in your home. And He will ALWAYS provide for our needs.
I hope you enjoyed hearing about the message as much as I did.
It was a great reminder for me.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
A Day at the Market
Before we left NC, I read this book called "From Buddha to Jesus"... all about the natural open door that Buddhism has into Christianity with tips on how to witness to a Buddhist as a Christian. I'll put a book review of it on here sometime soon. It left me wanting to share and spread the Word. I have never been great at evangelism but this got me really excited! I couldn't wait to talk to a Buddhist in Cambodia! Well, what I didn't realize was that learning the language might have been more important than the religion. A lot more important. I mean, we can get by without speaking Khmer (pronounced ka-my) but I could never witness to the people without knowing a little. So, I've been practicing. And I'm getting better every day.
I figured the local market would be a great place to practice - even if about all I can say so far is "Hi, my name is Kim" and "How are you today?" and "Goodbye." Oh, and of course I can say "I am from America, where are you from?" but hardly ever understand the response! And I can say "thank you," but not "you're welcome." Good think is I need to say the former much more anyway!
Anyway, we went to the market today where I could practice a little and photograph a lot of exciting things! It was pretty incredible. You can really get ANYthing you are looking for there, I'm sure, but finding your way around could be tough. Good thing is that everything was in sections... material/textiles, clothing, jewelry, electronics, food, etc... So once we learn the sections we can find things more easily.
Here are some photos from the market:
Home items - everything from paintings to pots and pans to trash bags!
And a HUGE electronics section
Yep, those are iPhones below. I might have to get one...
That's fried tarantula in the center - supposedly a special treat in Cambodia that we "have to try." We'll see... I don't HAVE TO do anything! :)
I figured the local market would be a great place to practice - even if about all I can say so far is "Hi, my name is Kim" and "How are you today?" and "Goodbye." Oh, and of course I can say "I am from America, where are you from?" but hardly ever understand the response! And I can say "thank you," but not "you're welcome." Good think is I need to say the former much more anyway!
Anyway, we went to the market today where I could practice a little and photograph a lot of exciting things! It was pretty incredible. You can really get ANYthing you are looking for there, I'm sure, but finding your way around could be tough. Good thing is that everything was in sections... material/textiles, clothing, jewelry, electronics, food, etc... So once we learn the sections we can find things more easily.
Here are some photos from the market:
Inside they had EVERYthing...
Nice fabrics
Jewelry
Toys that definitely captured the minds of my boys!
Home items - everything from paintings to pots and pans to trash bags!
And a HUGE electronics section
Yep, those are iPhones below. I might have to get one...
And then we found the food section:
And then you can take the food over here and have it cooked for you, or you can order food prepared at these stations for lunch.
That's fried tarantula in the center - supposedly a special treat in Cambodia that we "have to try." We'll see... I don't HAVE TO do anything! :)
Oh, and lastly, Stephen wanted me to let you all know that in Asia EVERYthing transforms into a giant fighting robot... Even Thomas the Train!
Yes, so funny, right?
Well, I didn't buy much, but I got some fun snapshots (and that's all they are - not edited or anything) and got to practice my language, too. Maybe next time I can share Jesus with someone! Or the next time... For now I'll keep practicing Khmer!
Hope you enjoyed the photos as much as I did!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Well, as we are finally starting to settle, we are also starting to miss our family and friends. The boys constantly mention their friends back in NC and talk about finding friends here and re-naming them to make them the same as our NC friends. As much as I explain to them that you can’t change their names, they still insist. It’s cute. But they really are lonely. They are. Not me. Right? If I say it enough will it be true? Haha!
See, ever since Stephen went to work, after being on military leave for MONTHS before we came here I’ve had to re-learn what its like to have my kids around me all day. ALL DAY LONG. It’s only been 3 days but it feels like much longer. And doing it in a new place that we don’t really know yet is even more difficult! So, we put our brave faces on and went out into the city, just the 3 of us, determined to meet some other kids, and by default, some moms, too.
We started close to home, at a restaurant here called Fresco. It’s a cute little European type of place with fancy sandwiches and salads and great coffee and smoothies. We’d heard it had a kids play area so I figured there would be, well, kids there! At 10am, not being able to contain the excitement any longer, we walked over. Great restaurant. Great coffee. Great play area. But nobody else was there. Oh, well, it’s only 10am, I decided. Of course people aren’t here for lunch at 10am! So we waited. I got the boys a smoothie and found myself quite thankful that at least they have each other.
Look at their precious faces…
And we waited some more. At 1130 we got lunch thinking my next BFF was going to walk in any moment. But to no avail. No other moms with kids came in and my kids were tired of the place by then, so we left. We headed back to the house for a nap and some cool air. That evening two ladies from Stephen’s office invited us to dinner and we had a really great time. I love hearing how God brings people to IJM. They all have stories similar to ours.
I went to bed happy, convinced that I’d try something new tomorrow and it would be much more successful. It couldn’t be worse, right?
Wrong.
It started off ok, fun actually. We walked to a park here that the international school uses. It’s not much to brag about but the kids had a great time. Again, we were hoping to meet some people and didn't, but the kids had fun.
Here are some photos:
And then we decided, since we were right next to a real live market, which I’ve been DYING to see, that we’d check it out. Oh, that was exciting for sure, but kind of scary, too. It’s like a maze in there and I thought I’d never find my way out. I wanted to take pictures so badly but I was afraid to let go of either kid’s hand! It was hot, smelly, and crowded. But it was really cool. There were a million fruits, vegetables, and kinds of rice. And there was meat just hanging which the kids thought was really cool. The clothing aisles displayed brand names from the US with slightly different lettering – it was clear they were errors from manufacturing here in Cambodia, but still kind of cool. I promise when we go to the gigantic market this weekend with my husband I’ll take pictures. It’s really cool.
Anyway, when we finally found our way out of the maze, a tuk tuk driver offered us a ride. It was only 0.75 miles back to the house but we’d been playing and walking for hours I took it. Well, that’s where the day took a turn for the worst.
See they have this cultural difference from us in that they can’t say NO. So, when you ask them to do something, even if they don’t understand you they will just say yes and then not do it! So, I told him where we were going and he nodded. It’s numbers, so you don’t have to know English to find it. Just to be safe though, I gestured (not pointed, because they are insulted by pointing here) the right direction. Well, he took off the other way. “That’s ok, I guess he’s going to turn at the next block” I thought to myself. Well, he didn’t. And I kept telling him to turn around but he just kept driving. He ignored me! I was just sure I was being kidnapped or something but finally he just stopped and let us off. He thought he was in the right place but it was WAY wrong. I got off, paid him, and waited for another driver, because now we were way far from the house. This time I was picky about my driver and made sure to wait for one who understood me or even spoke English. I mean, I knew where to go, I just wanted him to listen. It was the first time anything like that had happened – usually the drivers are really great. Like this one… he got us back and we came inside, me wondering if we’d ever go out again!
And I have to admit I posted a pretty desperate plea for friends on the online network I am a member of. I just asked if anyone knew of playgroups meeting this summer, or Bible studies, or anything. I’m finding most things are closed for the summer. I guess it was more desperate than it sounded, because I got several responses. I put the kids down for a nap, might have studied my eyelids a bit, too, and then got up to see quite a few responses already to my posting. I now have a date for Saturday with a mom and a couple playgroup options for next week!
So, I’m thankful for that.
And I better go because the monsoon outside is terrible today and I’m afraid I’ll lose everything I typed here if we lose power!
Prayer request – that we meet some wonderful friends soon!
See, ever since Stephen went to work, after being on military leave for MONTHS before we came here I’ve had to re-learn what its like to have my kids around me all day. ALL DAY LONG. It’s only been 3 days but it feels like much longer. And doing it in a new place that we don’t really know yet is even more difficult! So, we put our brave faces on and went out into the city, just the 3 of us, determined to meet some other kids, and by default, some moms, too.
We started close to home, at a restaurant here called Fresco. It’s a cute little European type of place with fancy sandwiches and salads and great coffee and smoothies. We’d heard it had a kids play area so I figured there would be, well, kids there! At 10am, not being able to contain the excitement any longer, we walked over. Great restaurant. Great coffee. Great play area. But nobody else was there. Oh, well, it’s only 10am, I decided. Of course people aren’t here for lunch at 10am! So we waited. I got the boys a smoothie and found myself quite thankful that at least they have each other.
Look at their precious faces…
And we waited some more. At 1130 we got lunch thinking my next BFF was going to walk in any moment. But to no avail. No other moms with kids came in and my kids were tired of the place by then, so we left. We headed back to the house for a nap and some cool air. That evening two ladies from Stephen’s office invited us to dinner and we had a really great time. I love hearing how God brings people to IJM. They all have stories similar to ours.
I went to bed happy, convinced that I’d try something new tomorrow and it would be much more successful. It couldn’t be worse, right?
Wrong.
It started off ok, fun actually. We walked to a park here that the international school uses. It’s not much to brag about but the kids had a great time. Again, we were hoping to meet some people and didn't, but the kids had fun.
Here are some photos:
And then we decided, since we were right next to a real live market, which I’ve been DYING to see, that we’d check it out. Oh, that was exciting for sure, but kind of scary, too. It’s like a maze in there and I thought I’d never find my way out. I wanted to take pictures so badly but I was afraid to let go of either kid’s hand! It was hot, smelly, and crowded. But it was really cool. There were a million fruits, vegetables, and kinds of rice. And there was meat just hanging which the kids thought was really cool. The clothing aisles displayed brand names from the US with slightly different lettering – it was clear they were errors from manufacturing here in Cambodia, but still kind of cool. I promise when we go to the gigantic market this weekend with my husband I’ll take pictures. It’s really cool.
Anyway, when we finally found our way out of the maze, a tuk tuk driver offered us a ride. It was only 0.75 miles back to the house but we’d been playing and walking for hours I took it. Well, that’s where the day took a turn for the worst.
See they have this cultural difference from us in that they can’t say NO. So, when you ask them to do something, even if they don’t understand you they will just say yes and then not do it! So, I told him where we were going and he nodded. It’s numbers, so you don’t have to know English to find it. Just to be safe though, I gestured (not pointed, because they are insulted by pointing here) the right direction. Well, he took off the other way. “That’s ok, I guess he’s going to turn at the next block” I thought to myself. Well, he didn’t. And I kept telling him to turn around but he just kept driving. He ignored me! I was just sure I was being kidnapped or something but finally he just stopped and let us off. He thought he was in the right place but it was WAY wrong. I got off, paid him, and waited for another driver, because now we were way far from the house. This time I was picky about my driver and made sure to wait for one who understood me or even spoke English. I mean, I knew where to go, I just wanted him to listen. It was the first time anything like that had happened – usually the drivers are really great. Like this one… he got us back and we came inside, me wondering if we’d ever go out again!
And I have to admit I posted a pretty desperate plea for friends on the online network I am a member of. I just asked if anyone knew of playgroups meeting this summer, or Bible studies, or anything. I’m finding most things are closed for the summer. I guess it was more desperate than it sounded, because I got several responses. I put the kids down for a nap, might have studied my eyelids a bit, too, and then got up to see quite a few responses already to my posting. I now have a date for Saturday with a mom and a couple playgroup options for next week!
So, I’m thankful for that.
And I better go because the monsoon outside is terrible today and I’m afraid I’ll lose everything I typed here if we lose power!
Prayer request – that we meet some wonderful friends soon!
Monday, June 27, 2011
A Day of "Firsts"
Well, today was stephen’s first day of work at IJM. I found myself wondering just what I would do with these crazy boys all day… to venture out or not to? It turned out to be a great day.
I had a lot of “firsts” today. Some good, and some not so good, but at the end of the day it all turned out ok. Here’s a glimpse of some of my “firsts” today.
FIRST monsoon…
We’ve been here 4 days and not seen any rain. I thought that was unusual because we were told it’s rainy season so it rains every day. In fact, we actually thought that it rained every day even in dry season, just not monsoon rain! Well, no rain until today. But today made up for it for sure! It was WET. Heavy downpours cause the city to change quite dramatically. For one thing, it cools off a little. It’s warm rain, not cool rain like we usually get back home, but being soaked does cool you off. Actually, we never got soaked. See, as soon as the rain started the Khmer (Cambodian) locals started pulling out umbrellas and ponchos as if out of nowhere! Everyone just moved along as if it were no big deal, and as if the umbrella actually did any good, haha. It was a monsoon!!! It only lasted an hour and a half or so and then just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. The streets were busy again and everything was back to normal chaos. It was quite a memorable experience.
FIRST Vietnamese meal…
I went to Stephen’s office today, on his first day (another first I’ll get to) and they were having a farewell lunch for a couple great ladies in the IJM office. It was a Vietnamese dish but I can’t remember the name of it. Not like I could spell it even if I could remember! But it was white noodles, some sort of spring roll type thing filled with potatoes, a beef mix to add on the noodles, and a fish soup to add to the noodles too. I have to admit I wasn’t really excited to try it but I was a trooper and I did. And I loved it! It was very flavorful and tasty. The dessert was strangely different and good. It looked like little dumplings in soup (Oh, I wish I’d had my camera!) but was sweet. They were made from coconuts and had a bean of some sort inside. We put the dumplings in the bowl and added coconut milk to the dish to eat. It was great. I’m looking forward to a Khmer (Cambodian) dish for dinner tonight.
FIRST visit to the doctor…
This one wasn’t quite as exciting but definitely educational for me. Little Hulk here (he’s in my lap as I type) was fine one minute and went to play and came back with dried blood all over his face, coming from his ear. I wasn’t convinced it was anything serious because he was acting fine, but when we went to Stephen’s office he fell asleep into a deep sleep and woke up saying his ear really hurt and so did his eye. I was a little worried so we went to see an American doctor at an international clinic here. The doctor was great. He was quite friendly and great with kids. He looked in and said, as he suspected before looking, that no, it wasn’t a burst eardrum (thank you!!!) but instead a cut. It was quite deep and pretty far back in there… too far for stubby fingers to go in. He says it’ll heal just fine and we have nothing to worry about. I don’t know about that, doc… I’m worried about what he stuck in there and that he may do it again. Now I’m on a mad search to find the blood covered toy that he decided to stick up there. Oh, his eye is fine, too. It’s just dry. Oh, and I’m super thankful for medical insurance. It was $20 for the doctor visit. However, at this rate (only day 4 here) we’ll never be able to afford doctor visits if my kids don’t stop doing silly things like that!
And my last first is to end on a happy note…
FIRST visit to IJM office…
This was great. Every day IJM’s staff starts with a half hour of time for its staff to say a prayer, read their Bible, whatever they feel led to do on their own. This is their “stillness” time and I think it’s incredibly important. Then at mid day just before lunch, they gather in one place to pray together. The whole staff, which is probably 40 or so here at this office, gathered to pray and we were invited to join them on this, Stephen’s first day. So, we did, and I was impressed. Everyone was so sweet and welcoming and I saw the faces from all over the world who fight together against human trafficking. At prayer time they focused on their clients and cases to pray for and had a short devotional reading time. Can you imagine what the corporate world would be like if everyone stopped to pray TOGETHER once a day? Wow. That could, well, change the world. I am so grateful to God for bringing us here and to IJM for welcoming my family in addition to Stephen. For those who would like to join in, that’s near midnight for you in central USA time zone. What power we can have praying together! Please continue to pray for these cases and issues here in Cambodia. Great work is being done!
And I’m ready for another day of more “firsts” tomorrow. I’ll make sure I don’t forget my camera this time! That’s probably the first time I’ve ever forgotten it, too!
Thanks for reading along and joining me in this adventure !
I had a lot of “firsts” today. Some good, and some not so good, but at the end of the day it all turned out ok. Here’s a glimpse of some of my “firsts” today.
FIRST monsoon…
We’ve been here 4 days and not seen any rain. I thought that was unusual because we were told it’s rainy season so it rains every day. In fact, we actually thought that it rained every day even in dry season, just not monsoon rain! Well, no rain until today. But today made up for it for sure! It was WET. Heavy downpours cause the city to change quite dramatically. For one thing, it cools off a little. It’s warm rain, not cool rain like we usually get back home, but being soaked does cool you off. Actually, we never got soaked. See, as soon as the rain started the Khmer (Cambodian) locals started pulling out umbrellas and ponchos as if out of nowhere! Everyone just moved along as if it were no big deal, and as if the umbrella actually did any good, haha. It was a monsoon!!! It only lasted an hour and a half or so and then just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. The streets were busy again and everything was back to normal chaos. It was quite a memorable experience.
FIRST Vietnamese meal…
I went to Stephen’s office today, on his first day (another first I’ll get to) and they were having a farewell lunch for a couple great ladies in the IJM office. It was a Vietnamese dish but I can’t remember the name of it. Not like I could spell it even if I could remember! But it was white noodles, some sort of spring roll type thing filled with potatoes, a beef mix to add on the noodles, and a fish soup to add to the noodles too. I have to admit I wasn’t really excited to try it but I was a trooper and I did. And I loved it! It was very flavorful and tasty. The dessert was strangely different and good. It looked like little dumplings in soup (Oh, I wish I’d had my camera!) but was sweet. They were made from coconuts and had a bean of some sort inside. We put the dumplings in the bowl and added coconut milk to the dish to eat. It was great. I’m looking forward to a Khmer (Cambodian) dish for dinner tonight.
FIRST visit to the doctor…
This one wasn’t quite as exciting but definitely educational for me. Little Hulk here (he’s in my lap as I type) was fine one minute and went to play and came back with dried blood all over his face, coming from his ear. I wasn’t convinced it was anything serious because he was acting fine, but when we went to Stephen’s office he fell asleep into a deep sleep and woke up saying his ear really hurt and so did his eye. I was a little worried so we went to see an American doctor at an international clinic here. The doctor was great. He was quite friendly and great with kids. He looked in and said, as he suspected before looking, that no, it wasn’t a burst eardrum (thank you!!!) but instead a cut. It was quite deep and pretty far back in there… too far for stubby fingers to go in. He says it’ll heal just fine and we have nothing to worry about. I don’t know about that, doc… I’m worried about what he stuck in there and that he may do it again. Now I’m on a mad search to find the blood covered toy that he decided to stick up there. Oh, his eye is fine, too. It’s just dry. Oh, and I’m super thankful for medical insurance. It was $20 for the doctor visit. However, at this rate (only day 4 here) we’ll never be able to afford doctor visits if my kids don’t stop doing silly things like that!
And my last first is to end on a happy note…
FIRST visit to IJM office…
This was great. Every day IJM’s staff starts with a half hour of time for its staff to say a prayer, read their Bible, whatever they feel led to do on their own. This is their “stillness” time and I think it’s incredibly important. Then at mid day just before lunch, they gather in one place to pray together. The whole staff, which is probably 40 or so here at this office, gathered to pray and we were invited to join them on this, Stephen’s first day. So, we did, and I was impressed. Everyone was so sweet and welcoming and I saw the faces from all over the world who fight together against human trafficking. At prayer time they focused on their clients and cases to pray for and had a short devotional reading time. Can you imagine what the corporate world would be like if everyone stopped to pray TOGETHER once a day? Wow. That could, well, change the world. I am so grateful to God for bringing us here and to IJM for welcoming my family in addition to Stephen. For those who would like to join in, that’s near midnight for you in central USA time zone. What power we can have praying together! Please continue to pray for these cases and issues here in Cambodia. Great work is being done!
And I’m ready for another day of more “firsts” tomorrow. I’ll make sure I don’t forget my camera this time! That’s probably the first time I’ve ever forgotten it, too!
Thanks for reading along and joining me in this adventure !
Saturday, June 25, 2011
A glimpse at our first experiences in Cambodia...
Wow. This place is amazing. I don’t even know where to begin. I mean, I could start by telling you all about how our adventure started off great and took a wrong turn when our first flight was delayed so that it landed in LA just in time for the flight to South Korea to take off, leaving us stranded in LAX for hours. And hours. And hours. Or I could tell you about how we finally got a flight out at midnight that night and that left us stranded at the airport in S. Korea for hours. And hours. And hours. Almost 14 hours, actually…But I know you are much more interested in the actual information about Cambodia. Yes, after over 50 hours of entertaining kids with no sleep in airports and on planes, we finally arrived.
It was nearly midnight when we stepped off the plane. We were happy to see that at least a few of the signs were in English, and the employees at the airport, despite the language barrier, were extremely friendly and helpful. I mean, we had 4 full size carry-ons, a stroller, and 2 kids, so it was pretty clear we needed some help. They took us to the desk where we got our visas – a process we were told could take a very long time but went quickly and smoothly. After that we went to get our 8 suitcases… 2 per person… and guess what… they ALL made it! Yep, every single one. After all the crazy flight changes they still made it. God is so good.
We walked out of baggage claim to find two of the IJM employees waiting for us with big smiles and taking our picture, too! They greeted us with hugs and we felt at home already. We all walked to the two giant cars they brought to pick transport us and all our luggage and headed across Phnom Penh to the house. We are staying at one of the IJM attorney’s house as he is leaving with his family for vacation in the US in a couple days. That gives us a great place to stay AND extra time to find a place of our own! It works out great for all sides, and we are so thankful.
Anyway, we drove across town and my first impression was all about the traffic. It was midnight and there were motorcycles and mopeds (they call them all motos here) pulling out in front of us and all around us from every direction! Lights would change green or red or yellow but the people just drove anyway! Cars would drive on the right mostly but sometimes on the left side of the road, too. It was quite a sight. But that’s about all we saw that night. We were tired and it was late. We went to bed and saved exploring for the next day.
Here’s what we experienced the next day:
The sounds…
Before 6am sounds of hammers and construction woke us up. I guess they don’t have rules about noise disruption or anything here! That and honking horns, lots of honking horns, woke us up early. The city is a busy place that early!
The smell…
So, you’ll probably laugh at me for saying this but I kind of expected it to smell really tasty here… like a good Chinese buffet or something. Or if not tasty, then like fish or something. My thoughts were all about food. I know that sounds ridiculous, but if I’m being honest, that’s what I expected. Well, it doesn’t. Occasionally we get a whiff when strolling the streets of a good food but mostly it smells like gasoline. Motos are everywhere and the streets smell like gasoline and pollution. Me and my kids, however, we smell like bug spray. All the time. With DEET. Because mosquitos are very scary here! We spray the boys several times a day. I’m praying now for whatever effects this bug spray may have on their health in the future! Anyway, between the bug spray and the gasoline, it definitely does NOT smell like a Chinese buffet! : )
The taste…
Well, I can’t say much about this. On our first day out we found a place called “Lucky Burger.” It’s at the western style grocery store called Lucky. It’s supposed to be Cambodia’s version of McDonalds. It was surprisingly good. Funny thing is we had a chicken sandwich in the airport in Seoul called a “burger” and here they call the burger a “sandwich.” Anyway, for a burger, fries, and a coke it was less than $3. Totally affordable for the kids to have a little American food! It did not, however give me much to comment on about fresh new tastes here in a new place! I’ll get to that eventually and have plenty to talk about I’m sure! Here’s a picture of my “sandwich” at Lucky Burger.
The feel…
It’s hot. So so very hot. And muggy. I guess we’ll get used to it but I’m not sure. It stays hot all the time with 100% humidity most days. I find myself drinking a lot of water. And sitting in front of a fan whenever possible! Apparently electricity is super expensive so fans are cheaper than air conditioning to use. It's bearable for now. Apparently April is the hottest month... and also the cheapest time to fly here... go figure...
The sights…
These pretty much speak for themselves.
These are just random photos from the streets of Phnom Penh.
This is the central market inside here... haven't been in yet but can't wait to see and photograph it!
Toward the end of our exploring, we found a shopping mall, built by foreign investors that had a great view from the top. Here's us posing our first day in PP.
Here's a photo of Stephen and little man on the tuk tuk. They are having fun for sure! Every minute since we got off they've been asking when we can ride again. Oh, if they only knew how much we'll have to do this...
And that's about it for day one. It was a great first day. We were super tired but just pushed through the whole day and crashed early that night. I'll get more up on here when I can. We're looking forward to trying out a new church here Sunday. I can't wait! And the boys keep asking when they can make friends, so that sounds like a good place to start.
I can't believe we live here. Can you? Wow.
And I can't wait to share more!
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