A Birthday Party in Cambodia

As I was packing to leave for Thailand, there was a knock on my bedroom door. My dorm sister Sophea was waiting on the other side to tell me that it was dorm director Sophal's birthday and that they were about to surprise her with a round of "Happy Birthday." I quickly made my way downstairs and arrived just in time to sing.











A few of the students from the men's dorm were also there, including Sophal's brother, who presented Sophal with a small cake. Sophal cut the cake and handed out the slices. Sophal's brother snapped a photo of each person receiving their piece of cake.














Students then began smearing icing on each others' faces. Five people got me. While normally I would not enjoy having cake frosting all over my face and in my hair, I was just happy to see that the students were comfortable enough with me to smear my face. Then we all ate supper together.

August 2008 Newsletter

Dear friends and family,

I am writing this letter from a small town in Thailand. EMM workers in Southeast Asia gathered for a long weekend of fellowship to catch up and learn about specific ways that we can support and pray for each other. It has been very refreshing to get out of the city.

This past Sunday, we split into two groups and visited the two churches begun by EMM in this area of Thailand called Isan. Thai church was certainly a new experience for me. I have become accustomed to sitting through church when I don’t understand much, but I know enough Khmer that I can catch bits and pieces. However, Khmer is not so useful in a Thai church. Thankfully, we had a translator. Also a new experience was dancing in church. During the worship time, some of the women began dancing a traditional Thai dance. One woman came to the back, pulled me to my feet, and led me to the front to join the dancing. I did my best to mimic their movements, but I sure did feel silly. As awkward as I felt, however, it did feel good to stand up after sitting on the floor with my legs behind me. I got a second chance at dancing after the fellowship meal (sticky rice!). A grandmother approached me and asked me to dance with her. Someone took a picture of us, and when showed it to her, she seemed amazed and began laughing

From Isan, I plan to leave for my vacation. My plans are still tentative, but I will probably visit Laos and Chiang Mai, Thailand. If I have the time and money remaining, I would like to visit Vietnam, but at this point, I think that is unlikely.

When I return to Cambodia, I will begin volunteering with TASK. TASK is a partner of Servants Asia. They mostly serve the poor who live in the slums of Phnom Penh. They have programs in the areas of AIDS (home care, education and prevention, orphan assistance), women’s health, nutrition, disabled children, teen drug rehab, and community sanitation. I will be working with the women’s health program. From what I know, I will probably just be observing and chatting with the clients. I don’t know how long I will be with TASK, however, as CSI clinic is slated to reopen very soon.

It is hard for me to believe that my internship is almost 75% over. I have a feeling that these last three months are going to go by even faster. We were challenged this weekend to think about what we need to do to be faithful in what God has planned for us for the remainder of 2008. I don’t want to leave Cambodia with regrets, so I need to make sure that I don’t “check out” before it’s actually time to leave. I also need to overcome my hermit tendencies and make sure that I make myself available to my dorm sisters. And finally and most critically, I really need to make it a daily priority to read my Bible and spend time focusing on my relationship with God. Please pray that I can follow through on this challenge.

Well, I think that’s it for now. I hope everyone has had a nice summer and that the new school year begins smoothly.

Peace,

Greta

Prayer Requests

— For safety while traveling and that I would enjoy traveling alone

— That I would discern whether to stay with TASK or to return to CSI clinic or both

-- That I would be comfortable enough with Khmer to be able to chat with clients at TASK

Praises

• That EMM Southeast Asia was able to meet together


• That I will have something to do when I return to Cambodia


• That CSI clinic has found a new location and will open very soon

July 2008 Newsletter

Dear family and friends,

Greetings from Phnom Penh where it is apparently illegal to drive with your headlights on during the day, but not illegal to drive with them off at night! I am fast-approaching the 8-month mark of my internship. It’s hard for me to believe that I’ve been in Cambodia that long already.

Flexibility is a big part of living in a foreign country. And this past month, I have definitely had my share of the unexpected crop up. First, CSI clinic closed with a week’s notice in mid-July. While it was not totally unexpected, the timing of it was. So while I thought I had a good idea of what the rest of my internship was going to look like, much of the next few months are a giant question mark. Thankfully, there are several possibilities that I will be checking out in the near future.

The second unexpected event took place within 48 hours of hearing that CSI clinic was closing. I was awoken in the wee hours of the morning to discover a thief at my window. The thief stole my iPod and my sense of security, so I have been working at forgiving the thief and relearning how to sleep well for the past three weeks. Thank you for all your prayers after this incident.

The big event in Cambodia was the national elections that took place on Sunday, July 27^th. It has been interesting to compare campaigning styles here to that of the USA. I have heard that the candidates in Cambodia are only allowed to campaign for one month before the election. Therefore, you couldn’t tell an election was coming up just by sight. However, once the campaigning began, it meant a month of big trucks with loudspeakers blaring deafening music/speeches driving down the main streets and being followed by dozens of motorbikes that drove slowly and held up traffic. I don’t watch TV or listen to the radio, so I don’t know how much the campaigns dominated programming. Election Day itself was a very peaceful day in Phnom Penh as many city-dwellers returned to their homelands in the provinces to vote. Church was cancelled, as meeting in large groups was discouraged. Most businesses were closed. It was a great day to bike through the city, but an awful day to find lunch as even the roadside food stands were closed. Even Monday was more subdued than usual as some businesses had not yet reopened. Everything is back to normal now, though.

I hope you all are enjoying your summers!

Peace and blessings,

Greta

Prayer Requests

• That I would be able to work through issues arising from the burglary and be able to sleep again
• For safety as I do some regional travel in August
• For good relationships and interactions with my dorm sisters
• For wisdom and guidance in deciding what to do next
• That the newly-elected officials would serve Cambodia

Praises

• That I got to spend the time that I did at CSI clinic
• No bicycle or motorbike accidents in 3½ months!

Fruits of Cambodia

Green mangoes hanging on the tree







Sreyleak picks a mango with a bamboo pole.








The inside of a dragonfruit









The outside of a dragonfruit








Aren't oranges supposed to be orange?








There are several different types of bananas in Cambodia. These are thicker and not as tasty as the ones we eat in the USA.






Clockwise starting with the big one: dragonfruit, rambutans, lychee, longans







Jackfruit in the trees

Bottled Water

You don't want to drink the tap water in Cambodia. It's a great way to get sick. So we rely on filters and bottled water. There are a few dozen bottled water companies in Cambodia, and I have enjoyed their names. In America, most of the companies have names pertaining to water like Aquafina and Polish Springs, etc. But in Cambodia, it is different. The labels read names like Hi-Tech, Eurotech, One Tech, Primatech, Oral, New Day, Elvis, and . . . Steve.

New Prayer Requests

CSI clinic closed on Friday after the military hospital reneged on its deal for an emergency extension on the lease. We are currently packing up the clinic, but we don't know where the clinic will go. There are several exciting leads, but nothing has been decided. Please pray that a new location will be found quickly. Please also pray that during the time that the clinic is closed (which is indefinite) that I will have something to do. I have enough other work for the remainder of July, but after that, it is up in the air.

On Tuesday night, I was robbed in my sleep. I woke up at 2:45am to find a thief at my window. He stole my iPod, and he also stole a purse and two cell phones from one of my dorm sisters through her window. Please pray for our safety and that we would be able to forgive the thief. Also, please pray that I would be able to sleep in peace. I was able to for the first 2 or 3 nights, but sleeping isn't going so well anymore.

June 2008 Newsletter

June 28, 2008
Dear family and friends,
Greetings! First, I want to say that if you didn’t receive the May newsletter, not to worry because there wasn’t one. I found myself in the midst of a busy transition, major computer problems, and a cold that knocked me out for a week. Much of what I did in May was exactly the same as what I did in April, so the newsletter would have seemed redundant. However, much has happened since the end of May, so there is much to tell about this month.

I finished my research project regarding infant mortality rates and beriberi in Prey Veng province and returned to Phnom Penh on May 19th. The research went as well as can be expected with the level of record-keeping found here. The good news is that the overall rate was lower than expected, but the bad news is that it is still high. I will probably return to Prey Veng for a few weeks later this year to assist in a research study conducted by a major research institution.

My living arrangements are quite different now. Whereas I had always lived with host families, now I am living in a student dormitory run by EMM. Including me, there are currently fourteen women in this dorm (there is also a men’s dorm). As far as I know, only the director and one other student are older than me. It has been going alright so far, although I’m still figuring out where and how I fit in. I am trying to get the girls to stop treating me like a guest since I will be here for most of my remaining time in Cambodia. I am grateful that they are so willing to help me and make sure that I am comfortable, but I don’t want them to treat me differently than they treat each other. We are making good progress, though, and I am usually allowed to wash my own dishes now!

Work-wise, I have begun volunteering at a clinic run by Cooperative Services International (CSI). CSI clinic serves mainly the poor from the provinces. All of the physicians, expect for one, are expatriates, and most of the rest of the staff are Cambodian. I mostly observe the doctors, who teach me some basic clinical skills and explain to me why the patient is sick. I also help out in the pharmacy sometimes by counting pills. It’s a little monotonous, but the pharmacy is air-conditioned! The most interesting part of my time at CSI so far happened just yesterday. I got to watch surgery! I was standing right next to the operating table. It was perhaps the grossest and the coolest thing I have ever seen. And I must add that I was mighty proud of myself for not even feeling faint!

Another recent transition has been the EMM team in Cambodia. The Umbles arrived in April and have taken over dorm oversight from the Caldwells, who returned to Ohio this month after twelve years of service in Cambodia.

For the final bit of news, June also marked my introduction to the fruit called durian. I have seen and smelled durian and have heard much about this fruit since I arrived last December. But somehow I never had to eat any until a few weeks ago. This is a fruit that has such a pungent smell that hotels and guesthouses forbid guests from bringing it into their establishments. The odor is not pleasant, and I was not looking forward to tasting it. But I walked downstairs just as one of my dorm sisters was cutting into one. She immediately invited me to eat it with her, and I couldn’t turn her down without being rude. She offered me a huge piece, but I was able to negotiate a much smaller portion after explaining that most expats don’t like it and that this was my first taste. After putting it into my mouth, I was grateful for the small piece. It tasted like jackfruit (a tropical fruit that I actually like), eggs, and mayonnaise puréed together. I hope that was my last bite of durian ever.

I hope you all are doing well. Now that summer is here, we can “enjoy” the heat together!
Peace and blessings,
Greta

Praises
-- that my computer is up and running again
-- for this amazing opportunity that I have at CSI and the dorm
-- that I learned everyone’s name in the dorm

Prayer Requests
-- for health, particularly now that dengue season is here
-- for safety as I ride my bike and take moto-taxi
-- for good relationships and interactions with the girls in the dorm
-- that I would find a good Khmer tutor (preferably a Christian so I can learn church vocab)
-- for peace during elections at the end of July









Greta and the dorm director, Sophal, at the National Museum in late December












Some of my dorm sisters (r-l): Chhayrorn, Savong, Sophal, and Mary