Trust

I've been doing some thinking about the concept of trust. There are so many instances in all of our lives that require trust. When a loved one is sick we trust that the doctors and other health care providers know what they are doing. When we fly in a plane we trust that the pilot is sober and skilled. We know that people are not always trustworthy, but are continually faced with situations requiring us to operate on a certain level of trust. As I currently encounter a variety of new situations where I am dependent on the compliance of others I recognize that ultimately my trust has to be in the Lord. Recently I was stuck across town with a flat rear bike tire. As it turned out, I needed more than just a little air, I needed a new inner tube. A local repair guy offered his services. He had no shop, just an air compressor under an umbrella on the side of the road and some tools. It was the kind of situation in which I feel really vulnerable. I had no idea what a normal price would be or if this guy would do a good job since he's never seen me before in his life and may not see me again. I could have called a friend to come rescue me, but I decided to go ahead and trust, realizing that whatever happens, I have a trustworthy Shepherd who is watching over me and showing me abundant mercy as I attempt to make the best decisions I can in learning to face new situations in my new homeland.

Happy Khmer New Year!

Or, as they say in Khmer, "Rek-ree-ay Chaul Chnam Thmey!" (It's a little difficult representing Khmer words in print because they use a different alphabet and I have to do the best I can to represent it phonetically.) The Khmer New Year holiday lasts for three days and today is the first day of it. My Khmer school had a party on Wednesday for all of the teachers & students. They explained a little bit about the background of Khmer New Year and the way it is celebrated. We played a few traditional games, danced, and ate. I wanted to find out a little more so I did some internet hunting. Here are a couple of sites that seem to have pretty good information about it if you're interested:

http://www.answers.com/topic/cambodian-new-year
http://www.tourismcambodia.com/tripplanner/events-in-cambodia/khmer-new-year.htm

During Khmer New Year most Cambodians travel to the rural province where their family is from and my neighbors down the street invited me to go with them to their province. I thanked them very much but declined as graciously as I could. As much as I appreciated the offer and would love to accept it, I don't feel I have enough of a handle on the language yet to be able to tactfully decline participation in some aspects of the celebration for reasons of conscience, and I don't want to burn any bridges with this family!

Here are a few of the games that I got to play at the party:
"Chol Chhoung (ចោល⁣ឈូង⁣) " A game played especially on the first nightfall of the Khmer New Year by two groups of boys and girls. Ten or 20 people comprise each group, standing in two rows opposite each other. One group throws the "chhoung" (a Cambodian scarf knotted into a ball at one end with a tail on the other) to the other group. When it is caught, it is rapidly thrown back to the first group. If someone is hit by the "chhoung," the whole group must dance to get the "chhoung" back while the other group sings.

"Leak Kanseng (លាក់⁣កន្សែង) " This is like "Duck Duck Goose" but with a twist. The participants sit in a circle. One holds a "kanseng" (Cambodian scarf/towel) that is twisted into a rope & walks around the circle while singing a song. He/she secretly tries to place the "kanseng" behind someone in the circle. The person behind whom it is placed must pick up the "kanseng" and the twist is that, instead of chasing the person who dropped the "kanseng" he/she uses it to beat the person sitting to the right while that individual tries to escape by running around the circle.

I don't know the name of another game we played but it involves throwing large brown pods from some kind of tree at the pods that the opposing team has set up in mounds of sand on their side. If you knock the right ones down your team wins but if you knock the wrong one down you lose. The winning team takes the pods so that they click against each other and hits them against their opponents bodies, usually on their knees.

The following video is kind of a "staged" representation but I thought it would be fun to include it so you can hear some Cambodian music and see some Cambodian dancing (one of my Khmer teachers was trying to teach me how to do the same kind of hand movements). Also the games we played are shown, although I don't think any Cambodians would really be playing them all dressed up like this. The dresses worn in this video are very much like the dresses that people wear here for weddings if they can afford it.

Getting Mobile

Today's world is into mobility. One of the biggest challenges for me in adjusting to my new setting in Cambodia has been a loss of mobility. No longer can I jump in my car and conveniently go wherever I want on a moment's notice. For most of my first couple of weeks my options for getting around were 1. walk, 2. bum a ride off of a friend (whether that be by car or motorcycle), or 3. hire a tuk tuk. I am grateful for these options, but they sometimes feel very limiting in comparison to the freedom that I was used to. It gives me yet another opportunity to depend on God, however, and He has graciously been providing for me. Last Monday a friend took me bike shopping and I found a bicycle - used, but in really good shape. Additionally, God answered my prayers about my transportation needs by helping me to find a great tuk tuk driver, one who is kind, honest, and dependable! I can't begin to express how thankful I am for this - it allows me to get a lot of things done that would be much harder to do otherwise while feeling relatively secure. Since for now I will be using my bike the most, I do ask for your prayers for safety as I am learning how to navigate the traffic here with my bike. I feel quite stressed when I am in a lot of traffic, which happens fairly often, and I did have one kind of scary incident which shook me up a little. I know it will improve as I continue to practice getting around this way.

If you want to get a little taste of what riding my bike in Phnom Penh is like, you can click here to see a video of part of my route from my language class back to my apartment. Sorry it is so jumpy, that's what happens when you mount a camera to the handlebars! The little carriages you see pulled by motorcycles are tuk tuks. (Note: this is light traffic, not the kind that scares me, despite the fact that I had to pull over in the last part of this video to avoid hitting an oncoming motorcycle, saying, "Some toh," which means "Sorry" in Khmer.)

Taking the Plunge

With my Khmer language teachers, Srey Roat & Thary

One of the things I love when reading Bible stories is seeing how patient God is with His servants. When I look at guys like Gideon, Moses, and Jonah, and how God uses them despite their struggles with trusting Him, I know there’s hope for me. A few days ago I experienced one of those instances of God’s tender, patient provision for me in my weakness. During language acquisition training at MTI, we were exhorted to of dive in right away, start practicing our new language in our communities, view language learning as ministry, etc. all of which sounded wonderful and exciting to me at the time. I don't think I take myself too seriously in general. I'm willing to be laughed at and I really love people, so what would be the problem? Then I got here and, while part of me wanted so badly to take the plunge just as they had encouraged us to do, another part of me really struggled with it. I've had one full, intense week of one-on-one Khmer lessons (2 hours/day for 5 days) but getting out to practice was harder for me than I thought it would be. I knew it was time to start pushing myself further out of my comfort zone. So, one morning as I was heading out the door (a little later than I had intended) I just started praying and confessed to the Lord my fear, asking Him to direct me to the right people in my community to help me practice language, the people He knew would be able to encourage me, and with whom I could possibly develop relationships and eventually share His good news. I made my first stop at a little cafe very close to my apartment. The place was empty except for two employees, a man and a woman. I ordered a frappe and then started practicing some of my conversational Khmer phrases with the young lady. There was one word that I was mispronouncing that she tried repeatedly to correct me on. After numerous tries I finally got it satisfactorily, but by that time I felt like they must be thoroughly frustrated with me so I took my drink and sat down at a table. To my delight, the young woman came and sat at a booth next to me to continue talking. She was very friendly and expressed willingness to help me in the future. I was so encouraged by this very immediate answer to my desperate prayer just minutes earlier. It made it so much easier to talk to a number of other people afterward and I'm seeing more and more opportunities open up, including another young lady who is a school teacher and lives on my street. She and I talked tonight and are going to meet tomorrow so that she can help teach me Khmer and I can teach her a little English! 

If you'd like to hear a little of my fumbling with my new language from one of my Khmer lessons click here

My Fabulous Family

We made juice toasts in fancy glasses

Lots of fun - but good-bye is still hard!

Last week, as I walked out of the house to head to the airport a little after 4:00 on Monday morning one of my family members said that the gas was low in the van so we were going to have to take another vehicle. In my groggy state and without my glasses on yet, it took me a minute to realize that the vehicle they had in mind was the 10-passenger limo they had rented so we could all ride to the airport together in style. My first ever limo ride! It was such a fun way to be sent out and I'm so grateful to my family for making it such a special and memorable event. When people hear about my being a missionary I often get asked, "Is your family supportive of you?" Well this is just one little example of the wonderful love and support my family has shown me throughout this process of preparing to go. I'm so very thankful for them and I ask for your prayers for them. While they do support my going, it's not easy for any of us to have me so far away. Missionaries' families pay a price for their missionary's call, so please remember to lift them up as well!

100%!!!

Praise the Lord! I'm now fully funded! The last commitments are still being processed so I haven't been able to purchase my ticket yet, but I anticipate being able to do that any day now. I'm so grateful for all who are partnering with me financially to make this happen and for all who have been faithfully praying. Keep sending those prayers up! I've gotten all of my medical stuff done but I still have a lot of other loose ends to tie up. And lots of PACKING!! Very exciting times but sometimes a little overwhelming. Still hoping to leave February 27!