ALOHA FROM KONA, HAWAII!

Phnom Penh - old & new

Yes! We made it to Kona after almost 40 hours of travelling time.

Pastor Sokun seeing us off at the airport

Some of team waiting at the airport

We were all extremely exhausted but once we got to the YWAM base, we had to retrieve our linens and Hawaii-appropriate-wear from storage, then locate our new dorm for the next few days, make our beds, then have supper. I finally crashed at 8:30pm and didn't wake up at all until 8:00 the next morning. We had our debriefing meeting starting at 9:00, so we were all rushing around to be ready in time. Ironically, because the two teams had been together in Phnom Penh for a few hours and then travelled together as a re-united class, we had already done a lot of catching up. However, it was important that we sit in an organized fashion with our school leaders and everybody hear each person's reflections and experiences. We have three mornings of these meetings, with our afternoons being filled with either one-on-one interviews, or small group sessions, or (hallelujah!) FREE TIME!

Now, what would a person do with their free time in Hawaii? Well, because I was so exhausted and needed some quiet time, I headed down to the nearest beach and slept in the sun for a few hours. I made sure I was well-sunscreened, as in Cambodia, due to the extreme heat, a person avoids being in the sun. Therefore, I had lost my Kona tan. Below is a photo of Sasi & Eunice basking in the shade as they insist they don't need any colour (Sasi is Malaysian/Indian & Eunice is a Korean).

Wednesday night, we had an ice cream social where our DTS Completion Certificates were handed out. Thursday night, we have our Ohana Court worship celebration, and Friday most of us head for home.

Many of you have wondered what the culture shock will be like for all of us. I think that mine began when we got on the airplane in Phnom Penh. We flew back with Korean Airlines, and as I mentioned in one of my other posts, they know how to treat travellers. They have service-plus, still feed you (we had a total of 3 full meals), and still hand out blankets, pillows, headsets. So it felt a little overwhelming.

View of Korean Airport (Incheon) from my temporary room

However, the biggest shock was when we got to Seoul, Korea where we had a 12-hour layover. We had been told that Korean Airlines would provide a room for us to rest in. Now, after living in community for the past 5 months, we're all thinking one room for all of us to share. Well, it ended up being the Hyatt Regency (a 5-star hotel), with each of us having our own room, with fluffy white robes, luxurious comforters and amazing pillows. I had the best sleep that I've had in years! In our hotel room in Cambodia only 24 hours before I had killed a cockroach whose body (not including it's antenna and legs) was the size of the palm of my hand and here I was in accommodations fit for royalty!

They also gave us two meal vouchers for their restaurant. These vouchers were for $27 each (and the cheapest thing on their menu certainly did start at $27!) That in itself was a shocker, as we had been feeding an entire team of 11 people for $20-25 per meal. We felt so humbled with the difference in economy. Interesting how it is more of a shock coming back to "having" than it is to go to "not having".

But there are similarities between our two worlds - Most importantly is that relationship is what God created us for and therefore what we should value most. No material possession is as important as that.

On our last night in Cambodia, we saw a beautiful rainbow, and then tonight at our celebration night (and last night together as a team) we saw another one. It's a wonderful sign of hope from God for the whole world. And a neat affirmation to what our team had called ourselves when we began way back in April: a "Rainbow of Hope for Cambodia".

Cambodia rainbow

Kona rainbow

So, it won't be long and I will be back in Red Deer with many things to catch up on and a future to work out. I had been invited to staff at the next YWAM Crossroads DTS; however, it meant being back in Kona by September 9 and being away from home for another 5 months. So I have declined for this term, but I am keeping my ears and heart open to what God has next for me.

Thanks again for following my journey via this blog, and for your continued prayers and support. There was such comfort for me knowing that each of you was checking in. It made the time spent posting on this blog so worthwhile. See you soon!!

Love & Hugs!

June

Our Final Week in Kampong Thom

Signs of a storm on its way

Our last week here in Kampong Thom has been filled with many last minute tasks, visits and activities.

Pastor Sothy outside his home

Sunday, after our good-byes at the church, one of the Pastors invited the ten of us to his home for supper. We took fruit and cookies (a rare treat for them) as our contribution, and were humbled by the way Sothy and his wife and two children live. We had to go early enough to be done before dark, as they do not have any electricity. Plus we were warned ahead of time that they do not have a toilet. We sat on the floor and enjoyed their gracious hospitality, trying not to eat too much so they would have some left for the next day. Although, I personally do not like the idea of leftovers that have not been refrigerated.

Sharing their meal

"Farmed" Cocoons

Monday, for a bit of an outing, five of us caught a tuk-tuk to the Silk Farm about 30 kms away. We were treated to a free personal tour of the process from mating the silk worms right through to pulling the silk off the cocoon (photo below), dying the silk, and weaving scarves. Very interesting how they work without electricity. It's all done by hand (and foot) and open fires. A delicacy for them is to eat the silk worm from the cocoon after removing all of the silk, and of course, we were offered one. I felt especially adventurous that day (it had been boiled within the cocoon, after all). It's sort of like a peanut with squishy stuff in the middle.

Nancy tried the worm first

Tuesday was the highlight of the week for me. We had a Baptism for some of those who have become Christians since our arrival. We travelled about 40 kms to a lake and gave a lesson confirming why they were making this public declaration, then Pastor Sokun and Peter went into the lake with each of them. Narith, the young man from our guesthouse was one of the people there. I had the honour of going into the lake and praying for him and assisting with his Baptism. I must admit, I was a little nervous being in unfamiliar water that was murky and brown. Every time I felt something on my leg, I had to force myself not to let out a panicked scream. Then, everyone stayed at the lake for a few hours for fellowship and a picnic, and naps.

Pastor Sokun and I with Narith

Prayer, Baptism Celebration & Fellowship

The seven who were Baptised

Tuesday afternoon, we went to the Dedication for the new church/schoolhouse/Bible

study structure we had built. We were very encouraged by the fact that two of the neighbouring village Chiefs and one Assistant Chief were there, two of whom are not Christians but who spoke about what they were seeing as a result of our faith. As well, the children were excited to be there as well. Proves that if you build it, they will come. It's incredible to think that from idea to dedication, this project only took 10 days - at home, there would have been committees, permits, politics, etc before we could even start.

Cambodia's future generation

Wednesday, we did evangelising in the morning and school in the afternoon. Some of our team stayed behind and cooked Indian Curry (Sasi is from Malaysia) for our host pastors and their families. I missed out on the adventure of trying to cook dinner in a Cambodian kitchen without the comforts of home, including no fridge, no stove, no running water. I did help out with making the mock "pizza" appetizers, which meant using a ceramic tile over an open fire and covering the bread and cheese with a large metal pan to trap the heat in an effort to melt the cheese. Our Cambodian friends served "Cow Goes Up Fiery Mountain", which is thin slices of beef that you capture with chopsticks, dip in oil and cook on an open-flamed cone-shaped grill. Then you dip the cooked pieces in a sauce made of garlic, pepper, lemon juice (think fondue). Yummy! We had arranged for a couple of large cakes, which went fast - they don't eat sweets often (too expensive) but love them.

Then we presented them with gifts for their church, including new chairs, new tables, Bibles, and 50 pair of reading glasses (a major need over here), and books, games, teaching aids for the children. We were all a little emotional, as we have spent almost two months together spreading the Gospel and even seeing the fruit of it!

Thursday, half of our team left for a two-day sightseeing trip to Siam Reap. Those of us who stayed behind went to Narith's home to pray for him and his family (photo on left). He has been asking me for weeks to come and visit, and there just hasn't been an opportunity. I'm not sure who was blessed more by the visit, but I think it might have been us! The other neat thing is that Narith has dreams of becoming a Pastor and building and developing a school, so we have encouraged a relationship between he and Pastor Sokun.

Narith's son JiYun bringing refreshments (a coconut)

Now, we are preparing for our bus trip on Friday to go to Phnom Penh where we will meet up with our classmates who have been in Sihanoukville while we've been in Kampong Thom. We are very much looking forward to sharing our stories and catching up on all their news.

Two things I'd like to give you an update on, which are praise items:

- Judy, our classmate who was sent to Bangkok Hospital is doing well. The cellulitis was only in her tissue and did not go into her bones or her blood (which would have kept her in the hospital for 2-3 weeks). Incredibly, one of our Korean classmates (Chu Myong) who was unable to come on Outreach happened to be in Bangkok this past week, and he went to visit Judy.

And because he a doctor, he was able to talk to the medical team there, give Judy some reassurance, pray for her, and give us a credible update! What a blessing that was to all of us. Her son is flying from California to take her back on Sunday, so we will not see her again on this trip.

- The young boy I mentioned a while ago, who was apparently dying and whose mother refused to let his sister take him to the hospital in Phnom Penh because she is their only source of income has recovered! After 6 months of wasting away to just skin and bones and not able to walk, he is outside playing again! There is no other explanation for it than the healing power of prayer!

OH MY GOODNESS! I just had to go to the market for a moment, and here's something I saw on the way. That's our friend Narith helping fix a light at the restaurant next door. Note the ladder on top of a table! I told him just because he's now a Christian, it doesn't mean accidents won't happen to him!

So, I believe this will be the last post until I get to Kona for our debriefing on August 22. The journey God has sent me on continues, and I'm excited by what He has planned for the next few days!

Part 2 of last Post

Hello Again!

Before I add the photo's I ask anyone who is reading this to pray for two of our team members. One of them is Judy, who is on our Sihanoukville team 6 hours south of us. Judy is 74 years old and is in amazing physical condition; however, she has been sent to Bangkok Hospital in Thailand due to swelling in her leg. She is diabetic, and we're not sure whether it's from that or from some sort of bite, but it has turned to cellulitis.

Also, for Jeff, who is on our Kampong Thom team. Jeff's leg was amputated a year ago after a motorbike accident and he has major swelling right now on the stump. It is apparently fluid, but he is struggling with it, as his prothesis creates pressure against the area.

Enjoying food & fellowship with our Cambodian friends at the welcome home celebration at Peter's home for two of their youth just home from DTS

Some of us with Pastor Sakun (far right), Peter (front) & Peter's Mom

Eight-church Prayer Meeting

Medical Mission:

Started out as Mission Impossible,

as the key to the school room was lost.

So this is the Cambodian version of a locksmith:

Use the axe of course!!!

We're IN & setting up

Dr. Harvey and his translator

The "Pharmacy"

Praying for the patients

Performing a special number at church

Three of us doing a skit

Last day of teaching English to the older girls at Kook Gneun

(note the cows in the background in photo on left)

I will miss these sweet young ladies

Okay! That's the end of Part 2 of the last post. I hope to do another post very soon, as we leave for Phnom Penh on Friday and I won't have easy access to internet there. There has been a lot more happening, and I can hardly wait to share some of it!

So Much To Do, So Little Time ......

Group photo of our team with some of the people at the church on August 14

(I took the photo, so I'm not in it)

Since my last post on August 5, there has been much on the go.

I think this time, there won't be a lot of words, but many photo's.

Here's a summary of what we've been up to:

- Financed and helped build a new structure for a small church/school/Bible study. It took us just over 2 days, and there were no power tools involved at all. For the building, toilet, benches and desks it was $390 USD.

- Attended a welcome home supper for 2 young Cambodian's who had just returned from their YWAM DTS in Northern Cambodia. There were 28 of us there.

- Assisted an American medical team of nurses and doctors with a two-day clinic. We helped set-up, take-down, and then prayed for the patients when they came out. Of course, most who attended were not Christian and it was a great opportunity to share God's love.

- Participated in a monthly 8-church prayer meeting in another village. We couldn't believe it had already been a month since the last one we went to.

- Continued with our daily (when possible) evangelism and teaching in the schools, as well as actively participate with several Bible study groups, and church services. We are called on at the last minute in most cases, but sometimes we do get a little bit of notice before we have to give a sermon/message/testimonial. We have had the difficult task of saying good-bye already to some of our students, as we go to the schools on a rotation.

So here are some photo's that I hope you enjoy:

Tools loaded on the back of the tuk-tuk (left)

Ladder on the top of the tuk-tuk (right)

Getting started (above) Building the frame (below)

Raising the first wall (below)

Many hands at work (left)

Vinh (our tuk-tuk driver) - always ready to help

Sanding benches & desks (below) Our tools

(did I tell you axes are used for everything?)

Adding the roof

After 2 days, just a few finishing touches left

Digging for the toilet drainage

Adding the "squatter"

Pastor Sakun clowning around & giving a demo of how to use it

Just need to add the walls, (made from dried palm leaves)

It is taking forever to download these pictures, so I'm going to close off this post and will do another post tomorrow with some more from other activities. Check back if you'd like to see them.