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!