So it has been a while since I posted last. The free day we had in Rattanakiri included a four hour power outage in the entire city of Ban Lung at the exact time that I tried to get online so that did not really work out. I can not seem to find the apostrophe on this keyboard so contractions look really funny.
Ok so where was I....we drove about 10 hours from Phnom Penh to Rattanakiri having no idea what to expect. We were greeted by our hostess Bi who is a Thai missionary. We stayed at her house in our so called princess rooms (beds with canopies of mosquito nets). The main job we accomplished in Rattanakiri was to compile a report for our leader Rob and also the missionaries we were working with (Bi and an Australian man named Gordon). The report was about a garden project that Bi and Gordon have started through their church in some of the tribal villages near the border to Vietnam. The garden project originated because of a flood in the river by these villages which ruined the rice crops. Hopefully the gardens will provide a source of food and income to these very poor families, some of whom are already having to forage in the forest for food since they have run out of rice. It will be at least a month or two before they can begin their normal farming again because it is the dry season.
We stayed in a tribal village for 2 nights and 3 days and had meetings with the village elders. These communities are still practicing slash and burn agriculture and live in very simple conditions....wooden houses on stilts with one big room, the kitchen being under the house and the stove being a fire....we stayed in a familys house and Bi helped cooking our food on the fire. We had our showers in the river nearby covering our white skin with sarongs. To find out the information for our report we had meetings with women and village elders in 3 different villages and also visited the gardens. We had to work through two translators since the village people speak a tribal language and not Khmer so the leaders would speak, then it would be translated into Khmer and then English. Luckily most of the time the leaders spoke Khmer so the translations didnät take as long. It was an unforgettable experience.
Some of the team also installed a drip line at a member of Bi and Gordonäs church who has a commercial flower garden (he grows Gerbera daisies), others went on a hike in the jungle near the border to Vietnam, and others visited another village where the land surrounding the village has been bought out by rubber tree and cashew nut plantations and there is great pressure to sell their land. Many villages have been tricked or pushed into selling their land. THe rainforest there is being destroyed at a rampant rate and Iäm fairly certain illegal logging is happening all around.
Other highlights of our time in Northeaster Cambodia included a day dedicated to enjoying creation...visiting and swimming at two waterfalls and a naturally formed lake in a volcanic crater with a lovely walk through the surrounding jungle. And of course I canät forget the wonderful food including freshly baked buns and brownies (but it wouldnät be earthcare dts without good food!)
On Friday we said our goodbyes to Bi, Gordon and Rattanakiri and were overjoyed to discover that our van had a dvd player to make the 10 hour trip go faster. We are officially finished our ministry time of outreach and are now in the beach town of Sihanoukville for debrief....basically processing everything that has happened over the past 3 months. Hopefully I will be able to see some good coral here because apparently there are some islands with reefs not too far away.
We are back in New Zealand on March 14th which seems surprisingly soon.
Prayers for continued safe travel, health, and clarity about everything that has been going on would be wonderful. Also to mentally and emotionally prepare for our goodbyes to Seang our Cambodian team member who wonät be returning to New Zealand with us as well as the goodbyes for the rest of the team whcih are rapidly approaching!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Saturday, February 20, 2010
On the road again...
Well our time in Battambang is finished and we've been travelling since Wednesday.
Had a great time at the Youth Centre party on Valentines day and were even treated to a special breakfast of muesli and oranges on the rooftop with a rose for each girl by our two remaining guys on the team. What a blessing they are! We also had our last church service at the orphanage with the kids.
On Monday and Tuesday we finished up our projects at the orphanage and the YWAM base and visited Seang's house to check up on the beds we helped dig up and plant. It's amazing to see how quickly things grow here. Prayers over all our projects that they will be lovingly looked after.
The goodbyes at the base and the orphanage were not as difficult as I had feared, but I will miss my students from the youth center a lot as well as the amazing staff at the YWAM base. Battambang will not be forgotten.
Went to visit Siem Riep, the home of the famous Angkor Wat temples, on Wednesday and Thursday (a 4 hour bus ride from Battambang). Some of the team went to see the temples, but I took it easy in our guest house enjoying an actual free day with no errands to run. Siem Riep was kind of a shock after being in Battambang for so long....the streets are over run with tourists and Khmer people trying to sell things to tourists. The most western place we have been in a very long time. A lot of thoughts about tourism going on.....made us very grateful that we have experienced so much more of the "real" Cambodia than most visitors. A highlight for me was meeting a girl who had lost her hearing at a school trying to educated Khmer people in traditional arts....she taught Monja, Liz and I how to sign the numbers in Khmer and our communication was amazingly good considering the gap in language and also hearing! I also enjoyed a relaxing massage for my sore body after all the hard work and beds that are not exactly luxurious. Should be well rejuvenated for the last month of DTS.
Arrived in Phnom Penh for a short stopover last night and will be leaving tomorrow morning for Rattanikiri to start our last two weeks of ministry before outreach begins. Pray for direction for this time as we are not sure what God has in store for us there yet. Today a few of us went to S21 which is a museum for the Khmer Rouge's prison which was there only a few decades ago. The prison is an old highschool which was used to hold people suspected of undermining the Khmer Rouge authority and many people were tortured or sent to the Killing Fields to die from this prison. Some of the devices used to torture the prisoners are still in the prison and the blood stains on the walls remain. Many of the old classrooms are filled with photographs of the former inmates....it's the type of place that leaves a mark on your heart forever....
So please pray for safe travels, continued team unity, direction and guidance for each of us on the team as we see the end of DTS approaching, and clear communication as we move around and meet new people.
Had a great time at the Youth Centre party on Valentines day and were even treated to a special breakfast of muesli and oranges on the rooftop with a rose for each girl by our two remaining guys on the team. What a blessing they are! We also had our last church service at the orphanage with the kids.
On Monday and Tuesday we finished up our projects at the orphanage and the YWAM base and visited Seang's house to check up on the beds we helped dig up and plant. It's amazing to see how quickly things grow here. Prayers over all our projects that they will be lovingly looked after.
The goodbyes at the base and the orphanage were not as difficult as I had feared, but I will miss my students from the youth center a lot as well as the amazing staff at the YWAM base. Battambang will not be forgotten.
Went to visit Siem Riep, the home of the famous Angkor Wat temples, on Wednesday and Thursday (a 4 hour bus ride from Battambang). Some of the team went to see the temples, but I took it easy in our guest house enjoying an actual free day with no errands to run. Siem Riep was kind of a shock after being in Battambang for so long....the streets are over run with tourists and Khmer people trying to sell things to tourists. The most western place we have been in a very long time. A lot of thoughts about tourism going on.....made us very grateful that we have experienced so much more of the "real" Cambodia than most visitors. A highlight for me was meeting a girl who had lost her hearing at a school trying to educated Khmer people in traditional arts....she taught Monja, Liz and I how to sign the numbers in Khmer and our communication was amazingly good considering the gap in language and also hearing! I also enjoyed a relaxing massage for my sore body after all the hard work and beds that are not exactly luxurious. Should be well rejuvenated for the last month of DTS.
Arrived in Phnom Penh for a short stopover last night and will be leaving tomorrow morning for Rattanikiri to start our last two weeks of ministry before outreach begins. Pray for direction for this time as we are not sure what God has in store for us there yet. Today a few of us went to S21 which is a museum for the Khmer Rouge's prison which was there only a few decades ago. The prison is an old highschool which was used to hold people suspected of undermining the Khmer Rouge authority and many people were tortured or sent to the Killing Fields to die from this prison. Some of the devices used to torture the prisoners are still in the prison and the blood stains on the walls remain. Many of the old classrooms are filled with photographs of the former inmates....it's the type of place that leaves a mark on your heart forever....
So please pray for safe travels, continued team unity, direction and guidance for each of us on the team as we see the end of DTS approaching, and clear communication as we move around and meet new people.
Friday, February 12, 2010
There's a snake in my dirtpile!
Wow! What a week! First of all thank you all so much for the prayers you've been blessing us with. We really have been under supernatural protection. For example this past week Laura was knocked off her bike in the street and got up without a scratch, there was a near miss with some of the team in a tuk tuk, and we found a poisonous cobra under the dirtpile we've been leveling at the orphanage and were kept completely safe as Seang responded and killed the snake with a hoe before it hurt anyone......Alleluia! God also provided us with help to finish our projects on time as a team from the Phillipines came to the orphanage with us and also have been helping us and encouraging us on base.
We said our goodbyes to most of the students at the Youth Centre on Friday as this was our last week of ministry there (other than the party tomorrow afternoon). I'll really miss the students I have been working with. We had a carnival complete with games, a skit, candy and even a fishing pond at the orphanage on Thursday which was a lot of fun and a huge blessing for the kids.
The garden we helped look after while the Khmer students were in Thailand is looking pretty good, although still a bit nitrogen deficient. They've got some fruit (or at least cucumbers) for their labour which I have to say, taste pretty good! It was so awesome to see them again on base this week....those are some goodbyes I am really not looking forward to saying. The heart that they have for God and the dreams they have are so inspiring, and also the dramatic changes in their lives since they've decided to follow God';s path for their lives.....changes from anger, hopelessness, drugs, gangs to the people they are now.
We enjoyed a treat of apples instead of our usual bananas, watermelon, papayas, and pineapple this week which was delicious (and also very hard on our peanut butter supply). Some of us attended a birthday party at the base for December, January and February birthdays for the staff and had delicious chocolate ice cream and were treated to some Khmer dancing. Tomorrow at the Youth Centre party the dance classes (hip hop, modern and ballet) will be performing so we are all looking forward to that.
We are all feeling pretty exhausted (emotionally, spiritually and physically) and I am definitely empty right now. Goodbyes are really challenging for me and I've really been blessed by the Khmer friends I've made. I even got a surprise coconut to drink last weekend which was absolutely delicious! So please continue to pray for strength (because we are running out of our own now!), health, safety, unity and renewal as we start our travel-week.
The plan is to finish up our projects on Monday and Tuesday and say our goodbyes, then bus to Siem Riep on Wednesday morning. Spend Thursday in Siem Riep and bus to Phnom Penh on Friday. Spend Saturday in Phnom Penh and then bus to Rattanikiri on Sunday where we will stay for 2 weeks. Another busy week!
Hope all is well at home. I managed to watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics this morning which was the taste of home I really needed today....am looking forward to being back in Canada in May!!
We said our goodbyes to most of the students at the Youth Centre on Friday as this was our last week of ministry there (other than the party tomorrow afternoon). I'll really miss the students I have been working with. We had a carnival complete with games, a skit, candy and even a fishing pond at the orphanage on Thursday which was a lot of fun and a huge blessing for the kids.
The garden we helped look after while the Khmer students were in Thailand is looking pretty good, although still a bit nitrogen deficient. They've got some fruit (or at least cucumbers) for their labour which I have to say, taste pretty good! It was so awesome to see them again on base this week....those are some goodbyes I am really not looking forward to saying. The heart that they have for God and the dreams they have are so inspiring, and also the dramatic changes in their lives since they've decided to follow God';s path for their lives.....changes from anger, hopelessness, drugs, gangs to the people they are now.
We enjoyed a treat of apples instead of our usual bananas, watermelon, papayas, and pineapple this week which was delicious (and also very hard on our peanut butter supply). Some of us attended a birthday party at the base for December, January and February birthdays for the staff and had delicious chocolate ice cream and were treated to some Khmer dancing. Tomorrow at the Youth Centre party the dance classes (hip hop, modern and ballet) will be performing so we are all looking forward to that.
We are all feeling pretty exhausted (emotionally, spiritually and physically) and I am definitely empty right now. Goodbyes are really challenging for me and I've really been blessed by the Khmer friends I've made. I even got a surprise coconut to drink last weekend which was absolutely delicious! So please continue to pray for strength (because we are running out of our own now!), health, safety, unity and renewal as we start our travel-week.
The plan is to finish up our projects on Monday and Tuesday and say our goodbyes, then bus to Siem Riep on Wednesday morning. Spend Thursday in Siem Riep and bus to Phnom Penh on Friday. Spend Saturday in Phnom Penh and then bus to Rattanikiri on Sunday where we will stay for 2 weeks. Another busy week!
Hope all is well at home. I managed to watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics this morning which was the taste of home I really needed today....am looking forward to being back in Canada in May!!
Friday, February 5, 2010
Goodbyes, bicycles, and more sweat....
More of the same this week, with a few variations. On Monday we went to the YWAM base for worship and found out that the staff who were going to Thailand for the YWAM Jubilee celebrations were $350 short of what they needed. So they had prayed about what to do (send part of the group, none of the group....) and felt like it was so important to go as a group that they would walk if they didn't get the money. It's about 150km from Battambang to Thailand. They had a time where everyone at worship could contribute if they felt like they were led to and they ended up with more than enough money to go which is really exciting!
One of the staff guys who left (who was also in our agriculture classes) lent me his bike while they are gone which has been a huge blessing. It's so nice to have the freedom to leave for teaching at the youth centre early enough to pray with the teachers and leave when i'm done my conversations at the end instead of being tied to the tuk tuk's coming and going (although I do miss the big huge smiles of our tuk tuk driver).
Our work projects this week have included building up, putting in drip irrigation lines and planting 10 beds in Phnom Kol (the refugee village) as well as building up some more beds in the same village for a widow and her daughter. We built up beds from "topsoil" (still not great soil and filled with roadside garbage) at the orphanage, but were unable to start work on the fence because they had another visitor the day we were supposed to go. We've also installed drip lines for the Khmer agriculture students in their garden at the base director's house and started building a base for a water tank/filter for drip lines in their garden on the YWAM base.
Highlights of our work projects included planting seeds, Angela almost falling in the pond at the YWAM base, and completing the Phnom Kol project.
On Wednesday morning we said goodbye to the Blakely family as they made their way to Phnom Penh and flew back to New Zealand yesterday. With the Blakely's gone, I've been asked to step into a relief student-leader role on the team which basically means that if our leaders Laura and Seang need a break that I can step in to help. I'm really happy to be doing this and have been praying a lot about what my next step is after I finish DTS. Staffing has crossed my mind as well as doing an SBS (school of biblical studies) 9 month course....a lot more prayer before decisions are made and also I am really focussing on living in our present moment and putting my all into our last few weeks of ministry in Battambang.
We had an exciting first night without them as on Wednesday night Mark had sharp stabbing pains and swelling in his abdomen. After a fruitless trip to the clinic (no dr) we were left to wait until morning and after some intense prayer the pain subsided and has not returned (praise God!). He's been laying low and resting, but seems to be back up to speed again.
My students at the Youth centre treated me to some delicious green mango on Wednesday and are trying to bribe me to stay longer. I am enjoying working with them so much. I taught two classes on Friday which was really busy and an extra challenge. It's so nice to be teaching. One of the other teachers at the youth centre was really encouraging the other day when she told us that God enjoys it when we teach and for Him it's a sort of worship :)
Our plans for the rest of our time in Cambodia have somewhat changed. It sounds like we will be here in Battambang until the 16th of February now, then doing a couple days in Siem Riep (with an option to visit the temples at Angkor Wat). A day in Phnom Penh and then heading to Ratanikiri for only two weeks. Our debrief location is still to be announced but will either be somewhere in the mountains or on the beaches of Sihanoukville in the south.
Prayer requests for continued health, team unity and communication, finishing our last week of ministry in Battambang strong, decisions that have to be made about ministry money, and guidance about our time in Ratanikiri as well as the big question of what to do after DTS which is looming over all of our heads.
Blessings to you all and hope you are well. Thanks for all your prayers and support.
One of the staff guys who left (who was also in our agriculture classes) lent me his bike while they are gone which has been a huge blessing. It's so nice to have the freedom to leave for teaching at the youth centre early enough to pray with the teachers and leave when i'm done my conversations at the end instead of being tied to the tuk tuk's coming and going (although I do miss the big huge smiles of our tuk tuk driver).
Our work projects this week have included building up, putting in drip irrigation lines and planting 10 beds in Phnom Kol (the refugee village) as well as building up some more beds in the same village for a widow and her daughter. We built up beds from "topsoil" (still not great soil and filled with roadside garbage) at the orphanage, but were unable to start work on the fence because they had another visitor the day we were supposed to go. We've also installed drip lines for the Khmer agriculture students in their garden at the base director's house and started building a base for a water tank/filter for drip lines in their garden on the YWAM base.
Highlights of our work projects included planting seeds, Angela almost falling in the pond at the YWAM base, and completing the Phnom Kol project.
On Wednesday morning we said goodbye to the Blakely family as they made their way to Phnom Penh and flew back to New Zealand yesterday. With the Blakely's gone, I've been asked to step into a relief student-leader role on the team which basically means that if our leaders Laura and Seang need a break that I can step in to help. I'm really happy to be doing this and have been praying a lot about what my next step is after I finish DTS. Staffing has crossed my mind as well as doing an SBS (school of biblical studies) 9 month course....a lot more prayer before decisions are made and also I am really focussing on living in our present moment and putting my all into our last few weeks of ministry in Battambang.
We had an exciting first night without them as on Wednesday night Mark had sharp stabbing pains and swelling in his abdomen. After a fruitless trip to the clinic (no dr) we were left to wait until morning and after some intense prayer the pain subsided and has not returned (praise God!). He's been laying low and resting, but seems to be back up to speed again.
My students at the Youth centre treated me to some delicious green mango on Wednesday and are trying to bribe me to stay longer. I am enjoying working with them so much. I taught two classes on Friday which was really busy and an extra challenge. It's so nice to be teaching. One of the other teachers at the youth centre was really encouraging the other day when she told us that God enjoys it when we teach and for Him it's a sort of worship :)
Our plans for the rest of our time in Cambodia have somewhat changed. It sounds like we will be here in Battambang until the 16th of February now, then doing a couple days in Siem Riep (with an option to visit the temples at Angkor Wat). A day in Phnom Penh and then heading to Ratanikiri for only two weeks. Our debrief location is still to be announced but will either be somewhere in the mountains or on the beaches of Sihanoukville in the south.
Prayer requests for continued health, team unity and communication, finishing our last week of ministry in Battambang strong, decisions that have to be made about ministry money, and guidance about our time in Ratanikiri as well as the big question of what to do after DTS which is looming over all of our heads.
Blessings to you all and hope you are well. Thanks for all your prayers and support.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Same same, but different
We have been settling into life in Battambang the past two weeks and the days have become the same but different (where is my t-shirt when I need it!).
We finished our agriculture course last week and said goodbye to Dave Askin, David Hewson and the rest of the Hewson family on Friday January 22.
Highlights of that week included:
-teaching the English class with Mark
-creating and performing a skit for the Youth Centre party that weekend
-playing volleyball at the youth centre
-visiting the first healthy garden we've seen mentored by World Vision,
-having fun with the Khmer students in our agriculture class and at the youth centre
-piling into a "truck"(actually a motorbike/car engine with a truck bed on the back) and driving out to a refugee-settled area....pretty sad to see....dry caking clay and very little growing....
-talking to my parents and Gordon!!!
-hearing about the rest of the team go to the orphanage and do their first "God broadcast"(bible study with a news anchor skit to make it fun.....Mark and I were teaching so couldn't go)
-having delicious curry at the Smokin' Pot restaurant on free day
-coconut shakes
-breaking out of the fear of trying to fit the norm instead of being myself
Another big announcement for that week included our school leaders, the Blakelys, saying that they are going back to New Zealand on February 4 because Rob's health hasn't improved yet (he's been very tired and has been having trouble focussing and concentrating on anything). It was a bit of a shock at first, but we are all sure it's what God has in store. It will give the family time together at Ounatai (west coast of NZ) and also will force the team to step out and become more independent in Cambodia. Please pray for their safe travels and for our staff Laura and Seang as they step up to the task of full leadership.
This past week has been our first real ministry week. We also said goodbye to George Probek, a Canadian who has been travelling and networking for many years and who has been working with our team up until last Monday. We already miss his faithful prayer, his enthusiastic dancing, and his well-thought out devotions. He'll be in Siem Riep (Cambodia) networking with friends and then heading on to Thailand for the YWAM 50 year celebrations.
Our schedule has changed somewhat now that we've started ministry and so each morning we go and do some gardening work while it is somewhat cool. These projects have included hauling subsoil from a pile collected from road construction to build up a garden site at the Four Square orphanage we've been working with. Hopefully next week we will be able to put on some topsoil and cow manure to fertilize it and build a fence to protect it from animals. The other project we focussed on this week was building up beds at our leader Seang's house ....digging the clay-ey soil up and then mixing in ash, using cow manure to fertilize and planting beans, corn and morning glory. We covered the beds with rice straw as mulch and even set up our first drip irrigation lines. They help the family so much because otherwise they have to haul water in watering cans on their shoulders from their pond.
Our afternoons have been spent at the Youth centre and Mark and I have been asked to continue teaching for another two weeks which I was very excited about! I love working with the students and some are near and dear to my heart already. Please pray for relationship building and wisdom about what to share on "God days".
We had our first family night which was a coffee house and open mike and everyone had a lot of fun stepping out. Susanna and I also led worship with some kids songs.
Miss and love you all.. Thanks for all your prayers. Please continue to pray for team unity and health, as well as safe travels, and guidance during our ministry time and also as we begin to look toward the time following outreach.
We finished our agriculture course last week and said goodbye to Dave Askin, David Hewson and the rest of the Hewson family on Friday January 22.
Highlights of that week included:
-teaching the English class with Mark
-creating and performing a skit for the Youth Centre party that weekend
-playing volleyball at the youth centre
-visiting the first healthy garden we've seen mentored by World Vision,
-having fun with the Khmer students in our agriculture class and at the youth centre
-piling into a "truck"(actually a motorbike/car engine with a truck bed on the back) and driving out to a refugee-settled area....pretty sad to see....dry caking clay and very little growing....
-talking to my parents and Gordon!!!
-hearing about the rest of the team go to the orphanage and do their first "God broadcast"(bible study with a news anchor skit to make it fun.....Mark and I were teaching so couldn't go)
-having delicious curry at the Smokin' Pot restaurant on free day
-coconut shakes
-breaking out of the fear of trying to fit the norm instead of being myself
Another big announcement for that week included our school leaders, the Blakelys, saying that they are going back to New Zealand on February 4 because Rob's health hasn't improved yet (he's been very tired and has been having trouble focussing and concentrating on anything). It was a bit of a shock at first, but we are all sure it's what God has in store. It will give the family time together at Ounatai (west coast of NZ) and also will force the team to step out and become more independent in Cambodia. Please pray for their safe travels and for our staff Laura and Seang as they step up to the task of full leadership.
This past week has been our first real ministry week. We also said goodbye to George Probek, a Canadian who has been travelling and networking for many years and who has been working with our team up until last Monday. We already miss his faithful prayer, his enthusiastic dancing, and his well-thought out devotions. He'll be in Siem Riep (Cambodia) networking with friends and then heading on to Thailand for the YWAM 50 year celebrations.
Our schedule has changed somewhat now that we've started ministry and so each morning we go and do some gardening work while it is somewhat cool. These projects have included hauling subsoil from a pile collected from road construction to build up a garden site at the Four Square orphanage we've been working with. Hopefully next week we will be able to put on some topsoil and cow manure to fertilize it and build a fence to protect it from animals. The other project we focussed on this week was building up beds at our leader Seang's house ....digging the clay-ey soil up and then mixing in ash, using cow manure to fertilize and planting beans, corn and morning glory. We covered the beds with rice straw as mulch and even set up our first drip irrigation lines. They help the family so much because otherwise they have to haul water in watering cans on their shoulders from their pond.
Our afternoons have been spent at the Youth centre and Mark and I have been asked to continue teaching for another two weeks which I was very excited about! I love working with the students and some are near and dear to my heart already. Please pray for relationship building and wisdom about what to share on "God days".
We had our first family night which was a coffee house and open mike and everyone had a lot of fun stepping out. Susanna and I also led worship with some kids songs.
Miss and love you all.. Thanks for all your prayers. Please continue to pray for team unity and health, as well as safe travels, and guidance during our ministry time and also as we begin to look toward the time following outreach.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Life in Battambang
Hello again from Cambodia or Kampuchea as the Khmer people call it...our team has had an action-packed week and are starting to get our feet under us in Battambang.
Last weekend I attempted to update our team blog, but it didn't really work and so I've just realized that I haven't posted very much at all about our time in Cambodia, so I'll try and catch you up....
We are spending 5 weeks in the city of Battambang which is in the province of Battambang, on the Thailand side of Cambodia. It's one of the larger cities in the country (Rob guesses about 200 000 people) and although it is quite busy, it doesn't have a big city feel at all since it is made up of a number of villages which have joined together as they expanded.
Most of the people drive motos (motorcycles) although there are quite a few imported cars as well (many Camry's on the road, although I haven't spotted one like mine yet!). People drive on the right side of the road which is nice for a change since Australians, Kiwis and Balinese all drive on the left and no matter how long I spend in countries who drive opposite it still feels strange!
We eat breakfast together each morning at the house we are staying in which consists of baguette-like bread with spreads (pb, jam) as well as some fresh fruit. The rest of our meals are cooked by two Khmer women who work in the house's kitchen and are a huge blessing to our "Fine Dining DTS." On days like today (our one free day of the week) we are given a food budget of US$8 and eat at local restaurants. Most meals consist of rice, stir-fry, soup or fried food and some fruit. My favourite thing to do on free day is to go to the White Rose restaurant and have fresh coconut shakes....
This week and next we are part of a new agriculture program with the YWAM Battambang base. Students who have done 1 dts already who want to continue with YWAM do what's called Phase II and have options for different focusses such as healthcare, education, ESL teaching and water issues. The agriculture program is being taught by Dave Askins (a Kiwi agricultural missionary and university professor who has spent many years working on improving tropical agriculture in Papua New Guinea and who spent some time with us at Ounatai and lives not far from Oxford, New Zealand), David Hewson (another Kiwi who works with Kiwi farmers on issues of soil and water improvement and protection and whose family did their DTS with the Blakely family in Kona Hawaii), as well as Rob Blakely our DTS leader.
Each morning for the past week we have had discussion-based lecture time with 4 Khmer students (Sath, Pisith, Channouen and Lan-the only girl). The pace is a bit slower as everything is translated from English into Khmer by our Cambodian staff Seang. We've talked about topics such as composting, green manure (planting legumes to increase soil fertility), using small family gardens to supplement vegetable needs for a family to decrease costs, including animals into the farming system, and how to experiment with new farming techniques. It has been really encouraging to learn alongside the Khmer students.
We also went on two "field trips" one to the site of a new NGO (non-government organisation-non Christian) called Children's Future International. Seang worked with them before coming to New Zealand for DTS. Their director Jenny, who is from Switzerland has a vision of a school and community centre which supports children who are at risk of dropping out of school. It will have ESL as well as Khmer classes to catch up learners who have left school and want to return, or are too old to attend school. It will also consist of a small children's home where those whose parents can no longer look after them will be able to stay under the care of a house mother. There is a soccer field out back and Jenny is hoping to plant a flower garden as well as an instructional vegetable garden used to teach the community and students about agricultural practices. The property was aquired in September adn the school building is almost complete. She hopes the children will be able to move into the home as early as next week I believe.
Our team is praying about getting involved in the garden projects and experimenting together.
Our other field trip was our second visit to Seang's house where his family has a small vegetable garden in a more rural area about a 20minute tuk tuk ride from Batambang city. Last week his mother cooked us a delicious meal and this time we helped dig up some land for a corn patch and got to put into practice some of the agricultural practices we have been learning about.
Other than agriculture training this week has also included visiting and working with the Youth Centre at the YWAM base. The Youth Centre is a program on base which offers free English classes to youths in Battambang (aged 14-30) as well as Khmer guitar and cooking classes. Each week they reserve 1 day for "God day" when people share about Christianity and personal testimonies and also 1 day for "relevant topics"where they cover basic first aid and some AIDS education I think. This week is the beginning of a new session so there were two God days because the relevant topics hadn't been established yet. I've attended a few classes and also shared on both God days--once with the story of how God brought me to teaching and DTS and once with a Khmer version of the prodigal son story which the students helped me tell. I also worked with Mark who is also on our team teaching an English lesson for one of the teachers who is sick. Who knew I'd be substitute teaching in Cambodia?!
Our team has decided to partner with a Foursquare orphanage (Christian) for church on Sunday each week and last week I shared the "sermon" on God's father heart for us and we spent some time imagining our room in heaven. We are hoping to be able to do some songs, games, crafts, and bible teachings as well as church but our schedule is still a bit unknown and full of agriculture stuff for at least one more week.
Last weekend we were blessed with an awesome surprise-the Southeast Asia Backpacker team from Oxford base stopped for a quick visit in Battambang. It was so amazing to spend some time with other familiar faces and encourage each other with stories from where we've been. It came at a really good time as last week quite a few people on our team were not feeling well. Most seem to be ok at the moment, with just a few little tummy upsets.
Next week we have more hands-on agriculture training and will be back at the youth centre and hopefully back at the orphanage.
Prayer for health, team unity, and our leadership.
love you all and miss you!
Last weekend I attempted to update our team blog, but it didn't really work and so I've just realized that I haven't posted very much at all about our time in Cambodia, so I'll try and catch you up....
We are spending 5 weeks in the city of Battambang which is in the province of Battambang, on the Thailand side of Cambodia. It's one of the larger cities in the country (Rob guesses about 200 000 people) and although it is quite busy, it doesn't have a big city feel at all since it is made up of a number of villages which have joined together as they expanded.
Most of the people drive motos (motorcycles) although there are quite a few imported cars as well (many Camry's on the road, although I haven't spotted one like mine yet!). People drive on the right side of the road which is nice for a change since Australians, Kiwis and Balinese all drive on the left and no matter how long I spend in countries who drive opposite it still feels strange!
We eat breakfast together each morning at the house we are staying in which consists of baguette-like bread with spreads (pb, jam) as well as some fresh fruit. The rest of our meals are cooked by two Khmer women who work in the house's kitchen and are a huge blessing to our "Fine Dining DTS." On days like today (our one free day of the week) we are given a food budget of US$8 and eat at local restaurants. Most meals consist of rice, stir-fry, soup or fried food and some fruit. My favourite thing to do on free day is to go to the White Rose restaurant and have fresh coconut shakes....
This week and next we are part of a new agriculture program with the YWAM Battambang base. Students who have done 1 dts already who want to continue with YWAM do what's called Phase II and have options for different focusses such as healthcare, education, ESL teaching and water issues. The agriculture program is being taught by Dave Askins (a Kiwi agricultural missionary and university professor who has spent many years working on improving tropical agriculture in Papua New Guinea and who spent some time with us at Ounatai and lives not far from Oxford, New Zealand), David Hewson (another Kiwi who works with Kiwi farmers on issues of soil and water improvement and protection and whose family did their DTS with the Blakely family in Kona Hawaii), as well as Rob Blakely our DTS leader.
Each morning for the past week we have had discussion-based lecture time with 4 Khmer students (Sath, Pisith, Channouen and Lan-the only girl). The pace is a bit slower as everything is translated from English into Khmer by our Cambodian staff Seang. We've talked about topics such as composting, green manure (planting legumes to increase soil fertility), using small family gardens to supplement vegetable needs for a family to decrease costs, including animals into the farming system, and how to experiment with new farming techniques. It has been really encouraging to learn alongside the Khmer students.
We also went on two "field trips" one to the site of a new NGO (non-government organisation-non Christian) called Children's Future International. Seang worked with them before coming to New Zealand for DTS. Their director Jenny, who is from Switzerland has a vision of a school and community centre which supports children who are at risk of dropping out of school. It will have ESL as well as Khmer classes to catch up learners who have left school and want to return, or are too old to attend school. It will also consist of a small children's home where those whose parents can no longer look after them will be able to stay under the care of a house mother. There is a soccer field out back and Jenny is hoping to plant a flower garden as well as an instructional vegetable garden used to teach the community and students about agricultural practices. The property was aquired in September adn the school building is almost complete. She hopes the children will be able to move into the home as early as next week I believe.
Our team is praying about getting involved in the garden projects and experimenting together.
Our other field trip was our second visit to Seang's house where his family has a small vegetable garden in a more rural area about a 20minute tuk tuk ride from Batambang city. Last week his mother cooked us a delicious meal and this time we helped dig up some land for a corn patch and got to put into practice some of the agricultural practices we have been learning about.
Other than agriculture training this week has also included visiting and working with the Youth Centre at the YWAM base. The Youth Centre is a program on base which offers free English classes to youths in Battambang (aged 14-30) as well as Khmer guitar and cooking classes. Each week they reserve 1 day for "God day" when people share about Christianity and personal testimonies and also 1 day for "relevant topics"where they cover basic first aid and some AIDS education I think. This week is the beginning of a new session so there were two God days because the relevant topics hadn't been established yet. I've attended a few classes and also shared on both God days--once with the story of how God brought me to teaching and DTS and once with a Khmer version of the prodigal son story which the students helped me tell. I also worked with Mark who is also on our team teaching an English lesson for one of the teachers who is sick. Who knew I'd be substitute teaching in Cambodia?!
Our team has decided to partner with a Foursquare orphanage (Christian) for church on Sunday each week and last week I shared the "sermon" on God's father heart for us and we spent some time imagining our room in heaven. We are hoping to be able to do some songs, games, crafts, and bible teachings as well as church but our schedule is still a bit unknown and full of agriculture stuff for at least one more week.
Last weekend we were blessed with an awesome surprise-the Southeast Asia Backpacker team from Oxford base stopped for a quick visit in Battambang. It was so amazing to spend some time with other familiar faces and encourage each other with stories from where we've been. It came at a really good time as last week quite a few people on our team were not feeling well. Most seem to be ok at the moment, with just a few little tummy upsets.
Next week we have more hands-on agriculture training and will be back at the youth centre and hopefully back at the orphanage.
Prayer for health, team unity, and our leadership.
love you all and miss you!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Soor s'dai from Battambang, Cambodia!
We arrived safely and healthily in Cambodia on Monday and have since made the 5 hour bus trip to Battambang. First of all I'd just like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has been praying for me and the team. It wasn't until I reached Cambodia that I realized how crucially important that is, so please be encouraged and continue! Ok here is the update you've all been waiting for....the first 3 weeks of outreach in a nutshell (typed from a computer with an exceptionally stiff keyboard!).
When I stepped off the plane in Bali it was as if I was stepping back in time to 5 years ago when I was in Malaysia....the smells, the language, the heat....it was all "same same but different" and I was focussing on the same same part. The first night we stayed in a fairly nice hotel in Dempasar with a pool on the roof overlooking the city, which helped immensely with the heat. The next morning it was off to our friends Rus and Made Alit's oasis in the 3rd largest country in the world-the Bali Appropriate Technology Institute (or BATI for short).
We spent the majority of our time in Bali at BATI where our days were filled with walks through the 3 surrounding villages surrounded my hillside rice paddies, learning skills such as building water tanks, pumps and jars as well as building solar-heated-water-purifying showers and coconut oil production. We also participated in a couple village work projects such as carrying rocks (on our shoulders not on our heads like the villagers) ~200m up an embankment from the river to help rebuild a path, and road construction (cement mixing, gravel collection from the river and carrying rocks). We were blessed with delicious food, beautiful smiles, and probably the world's cutest baby (Joshua!) courtesy of BATI's staff.
Each day was filled with devotion time on the grounds surrounded by jungle and rivers, worship time each evening, biulding our team connections and eating (did I mention the food was delicious? We've decided to change the name of our DTS to the Fine Dining DTS instead of Earthcare).
Christmas was amazing and I really felt like it was God's idea of Christmas and not the commercial holiday it has become. On Christmas eve we left BATI on a 2hr trip to Dempasar area where we visited an orphanage Rus (our host) founded 30 years ago and his wife attended where we sang some songs and spent time with the kids. Many of the Christians in Bali now are associated with the orphanage and have grown up to become doctors, pastors, teachers.....We then visited the beach for the first time (BATI is in the mountains) and had a little swim before dinner and then a Christmas eve service. The church is mainly focussed toward tourists and also westerners who have moved to Bali. It was filled with all my favourite carols and scriptures and we had an amazing time of fellowship afterward. Lots of unbelievable stories....in church I sat between a lady who has been a missionary in Bali for 60 years and another lady who became a Christian 15 years ago on the beaches of Bali.
Christmas day was spent doing some work on the solar shower (mainly the guys) and digging up cassava root and making cookies from it (the girls). Then we had a lovely lunch (fine dining DTS, I'm telling you!) and our afternoon was filled with free secret santa gifts (either made from natural materials or something we had brought with us). I received a handmade Advent wreath from native plants and gave one of my shirts and a bamboo bookmark with Khmer writing on it courtesy of Seang. Highlights included a bamboo outrigger boat and a coconut bikini! After dinner together we watched a movie with a projector on the wall : "The Ultimate Gift"which I would recommend!
On Boxing day we ventured away from BATI again to go to a baptism in the only Christian village on the island at a huge Indonesian church which was an experience in itself. Played in the waves of the Indian Ocean after a very hot bus ride and then had dinner of freshly caught fish (from a pool under the restaurant) overlooking a volcano and rice paddies and drove home in the sunset.
Another huge focus in Bali for me was our Christmas Play which we performed on New Years Eve for many of the local (Hindu) villagers as well as Rus and Made's friends and family from all over the island. We wrote the script of the Christmas story together based on the scriptures and then began our practices. The set consisted of a bamboo/banana and palm leaf stable and our costumes were generously shared by the BATI staff (their sarongs, udai--headpieces, shirts). The staff also shared the star of the show with us Joshua--Iluh and Darmonan's 17month old son who played our Indonesian baby Jesus! Along with Mark (a kiwi guy on our team) I was responsible for the Christmas Play....who knew I'd be doing a Christmas concert in Indonesia.
Our new years eve celebration included more food (of course!) music by Made and Rus and Karaoke after a full day of visitors from all over Bali, the Christmas Play and a giant meal (including pigs which were slaughtered on site!).
New Years Day we set out for Dempasar again and enjoyed a meal on the beach at sunset to say our goodbyes to this country of refreshment. We sent Nathan (kiwi guy on our team) back to NZ for the remainder of his outreach and then left early the next morning for Cambodia via Malaysia.
Got to revisit a few Malay favourites at the Kuala Lumpur airport including Julie biscuits, teh tarik, Nasi goreng, Chrysanthemum tea, and a smoothie from the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf cafe.....yum!
On arrival in Cambodia it felt as though a weight had been lifted off me and that my thinking was finally sharp (those prayers from home are working!). We stayed at a guest house in Phnom Penh where we visited a New Life Church (who knew we'd see Hillsong-worship in Cambodia!), and had some teaching on spiritual warfare.
Now we ar settling into life in Barbara''s house in Battambang and are excited to see what God has in store for us over the next 6 weeks.
Prayer requests include: team unity, discernment for God's calling for us, communication with locals and withn the team, and continued good health
When I stepped off the plane in Bali it was as if I was stepping back in time to 5 years ago when I was in Malaysia....the smells, the language, the heat....it was all "same same but different" and I was focussing on the same same part. The first night we stayed in a fairly nice hotel in Dempasar with a pool on the roof overlooking the city, which helped immensely with the heat. The next morning it was off to our friends Rus and Made Alit's oasis in the 3rd largest country in the world-the Bali Appropriate Technology Institute (or BATI for short).
We spent the majority of our time in Bali at BATI where our days were filled with walks through the 3 surrounding villages surrounded my hillside rice paddies, learning skills such as building water tanks, pumps and jars as well as building solar-heated-water-purifying showers and coconut oil production. We also participated in a couple village work projects such as carrying rocks (on our shoulders not on our heads like the villagers) ~200m up an embankment from the river to help rebuild a path, and road construction (cement mixing, gravel collection from the river and carrying rocks). We were blessed with delicious food, beautiful smiles, and probably the world's cutest baby (Joshua!) courtesy of BATI's staff.
Each day was filled with devotion time on the grounds surrounded by jungle and rivers, worship time each evening, biulding our team connections and eating (did I mention the food was delicious? We've decided to change the name of our DTS to the Fine Dining DTS instead of Earthcare).
Christmas was amazing and I really felt like it was God's idea of Christmas and not the commercial holiday it has become. On Christmas eve we left BATI on a 2hr trip to Dempasar area where we visited an orphanage Rus (our host) founded 30 years ago and his wife attended where we sang some songs and spent time with the kids. Many of the Christians in Bali now are associated with the orphanage and have grown up to become doctors, pastors, teachers.....We then visited the beach for the first time (BATI is in the mountains) and had a little swim before dinner and then a Christmas eve service. The church is mainly focussed toward tourists and also westerners who have moved to Bali. It was filled with all my favourite carols and scriptures and we had an amazing time of fellowship afterward. Lots of unbelievable stories....in church I sat between a lady who has been a missionary in Bali for 60 years and another lady who became a Christian 15 years ago on the beaches of Bali.
Christmas day was spent doing some work on the solar shower (mainly the guys) and digging up cassava root and making cookies from it (the girls). Then we had a lovely lunch (fine dining DTS, I'm telling you!) and our afternoon was filled with free secret santa gifts (either made from natural materials or something we had brought with us). I received a handmade Advent wreath from native plants and gave one of my shirts and a bamboo bookmark with Khmer writing on it courtesy of Seang. Highlights included a bamboo outrigger boat and a coconut bikini! After dinner together we watched a movie with a projector on the wall : "The Ultimate Gift"which I would recommend!
On Boxing day we ventured away from BATI again to go to a baptism in the only Christian village on the island at a huge Indonesian church which was an experience in itself. Played in the waves of the Indian Ocean after a very hot bus ride and then had dinner of freshly caught fish (from a pool under the restaurant) overlooking a volcano and rice paddies and drove home in the sunset.
Another huge focus in Bali for me was our Christmas Play which we performed on New Years Eve for many of the local (Hindu) villagers as well as Rus and Made's friends and family from all over the island. We wrote the script of the Christmas story together based on the scriptures and then began our practices. The set consisted of a bamboo/banana and palm leaf stable and our costumes were generously shared by the BATI staff (their sarongs, udai--headpieces, shirts). The staff also shared the star of the show with us Joshua--Iluh and Darmonan's 17month old son who played our Indonesian baby Jesus! Along with Mark (a kiwi guy on our team) I was responsible for the Christmas Play....who knew I'd be doing a Christmas concert in Indonesia.
Our new years eve celebration included more food (of course!) music by Made and Rus and Karaoke after a full day of visitors from all over Bali, the Christmas Play and a giant meal (including pigs which were slaughtered on site!).
New Years Day we set out for Dempasar again and enjoyed a meal on the beach at sunset to say our goodbyes to this country of refreshment. We sent Nathan (kiwi guy on our team) back to NZ for the remainder of his outreach and then left early the next morning for Cambodia via Malaysia.
Got to revisit a few Malay favourites at the Kuala Lumpur airport including Julie biscuits, teh tarik, Nasi goreng, Chrysanthemum tea, and a smoothie from the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf cafe.....yum!
On arrival in Cambodia it felt as though a weight had been lifted off me and that my thinking was finally sharp (those prayers from home are working!). We stayed at a guest house in Phnom Penh where we visited a New Life Church (who knew we'd see Hillsong-worship in Cambodia!), and had some teaching on spiritual warfare.
Now we ar settling into life in Barbara''s house in Battambang and are excited to see what God has in store for us over the next 6 weeks.
Prayer requests include: team unity, discernment for God's calling for us, communication with locals and withn the team, and continued good health
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