I Promise

....to not squat on the toilet.

--Katy

The King Father

This past week, Cambodia’s King Father passed away. It was a significant death for all Cambodians as he was king for many decades and is seen as divine. The King Father had been living in China receiving medical care while his son acted as king in Cambodia. Last Monday, on the day of the King Father’s death, Alan was out in the city and saw crowds already gathering in prayer at the palace. Last Wednesday, the King Father's body was brought back to Phnom Penh, and most of the city greeted his body at the airport. We decided not to brave the crowds with our little one but instead walked to a family run “coffee shop” down the street and watched the footage on the TV there. Two nights ago, many Cambodians said they saw the face of the king in the moon. 

Songs from the musical Evita have been swirling through my head as I see several parallels with her story. As an American, it is hard to understand the devotion and worship that citizens of other countries have for their leaders.  Although I am far from the hubbub of the presidential campaign, I imagine that crowds aren’t teeming to pray to Obama or Romney—maybe for them, but not to them.  It has been an interesting and significant time to be living in Cambodia.

For more information on the King Father and the fascinating person that he was, go to:

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/10/14/world/asia/cambodia-king-obit/index.html?iref=allsearch

For pictures, go to:

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/10/17/asia/gallery/cambodia-mourns-king/index.html?hpt=ias_mid

 

-Katy

Stop and pray for Cambodia right now!

Cambodia needs your prayers right now. We are currently in the middle of the biggest Buddhist holiday in Cambodia called Pchum Ben. Cambodians believe that the “gates of hell” open up during this holiday, and they need to appease their ancestors by bringing food and worshiping at the pagodas. It is a time when everyone returns to their homeland and visits the pagodas of their ancestors. They believe that  bringing food for their dead ancestors will somehow protect them from evil spirits. Some people will bring rice to the gates of the pagodas and throw the rice in the pagodas before dawn because they are afraid of the really bad spirits.

Since everyone goes to their homeland, it’s interesting to be in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, during this holiday because everything shuts down and the city of 2 million people becomes a ghost town for about 4 days. It’s almost eerie because of the silence and lack of traffic on the city streets.

Pchum Ben is a very spiritual holiday, and the people of Cambodia need God to enter their lives. Please pray that people would start to hear the one true God calling out to them and that Cambodian Christians would stay firm in their faith in God and not conform to the patterns of the world. Pray that CGI staff, participants, friends and family would all return safely to us once this holiday is over next week.

Familiar Faces

Lots of people ask us if we miss anything from the United States, and our answer is always the same… family and friends.  We had the pleasure of recently spending 7 days with the Common Ground Christian Church vision team! It was great to see friends and connect with familiar faces from our home church. We really enjoyed morning devotions with the team and showing them the country that we call home.  We feel true blessed by our church community.

It was great for the team to see God working and transforming people in the Kingdom of Cambodia. I think they now have a better understanding of what life looks like here in Cambodia.  Did I mention that the CG vision team was composed of 15 women?  I think this was great for Katy to connect with so many women and mothers right before becoming a mother herself.

An added bonus for us was the team brought baby shower gifts from our family and friends. Thank you for all the wonderful prayers and gifts for our child.

Alan

Mosquito Racquet!!!

The rains have started again, providing some relief from the heat.  The rains have also brought more mosquitoes.  Thankfully, we have a mosquito racquet.  This simple, inexpensive device makes killing mosquitoes easy and fun.  To use it, we simply turn the switch on, press another button, and swing.  We know we have been successful in our mission when we hear zapping!  Mosquitoes seem to particularly enjoy hanging out near the wet clothes on our clothesline and then sneaking into the house on the clothes.  It’s gratifying work to swing the mosquito racquet around the clothesline—lots of zapping!  When the battery on the racquet is low, we just plug the racquet into the wall and recharge.

--Katy

Crossing the River

Some people have asked me how being pregnant in Cambodia is different than the United States.  I honestly can’t answer this question since I have never been pregnant in the United States before, but I can share my experience of pregnancy in Cambodia.  As I am now 7^th months pregnant, it’s becoming obvious to all that a child is coming soon.  I had hoped that pregnancy would be something that not only would bring us a child but would also be a way to break down barriers and start conversations with people around me.  In a country in which having children is a significant part of life, it has done just that.  All types of people smile at me, say hello, and are happy to see my growing belly.  It has really been a sweet time.  One adorable 2-year-old girl came up to me as I was seated at a church we were visiting and laid her head on my belly as if she knew her little friend was right there.

Some Cambodian women have suggested that after I have the baby I need to wear socks and gloves and drink hot liquids to make sure I stay warm.  Women in the countryside typically sleep with a fire beside their beds after delivery.  I am certainly not worried about being too cold after delivery since 80 degrees constitutes a cool day in Cambodia.  I have definitely been hot during this pregnancy and have been envious of Cambodian men who stand around talking to their friends with their shirts pulled up so that their bellies can cool down.

Marriage and having children are a standard part of life in Cambodia.  When people meet for the first time, one of the first questions asked is, “Are you married already or not yet?”  If someone is unmarried, instead of answering ‘no,’ the correct response is ‘not yet.’  If someone is already married, the immediate next question is “Do you have children already or not yet?”  If someone doesn’t have children, the appropriate answer again is not ‘no,’ but ‘not yet.’  The formal word for saying that someone is pregnant translates to something like ‘the area of the stomach,’ but people typically use the expressions ‘to have child,’ ‘big stomach,’ or ‘heavy.’  The most typical expression for delivering a baby is ‘to cross the river.’  As our Khmer friend told us when he explained the expression, “It’s a lot easier to cross the street than the river.”  While I initially agreed with him, after carefully considering his logic, I’m not sure it really applies to Cambodia.  I have crossed the street many times in Phnom Penh, and I cross the river on a small boat each week to get to the island church we attend.  I certainly have a greater sense of accomplishment when I make it safely to the other side of the street than I do the other side of the river.  In this case, I am hoping that my delivery is more like crossing a Cambodian river and less like crossing a Cambodian street!

--Katy

Surprise… It’s my Birthday!

Hello All,

Thank you all for the wonderful birthday wishes over Facebook, email, and phone. I had decided to work from home and not to go to the Daughters workshop on my birthday.  Katy went to the workshop to teach and called me to let me know that the girls were disappointed that I had not shown up.  So, I got on a tuk-tuk and headed to the workshop. To my surprise I was greeted with this banner:

They also surprised me with a cake, birthday hat, confetti, and snow spray.  The confetti and snow spray have become a tradition for birthdays with the Daughters. After they sang happy birthday to me I was covered in confetti and snowflakes.

Later, Katy and I celebrated my birthday by eating American food and going to the movies. It was a wonderful day that I will not forget.

Alan

Motos--A Way of Life

In Cambodia, just about every family has at least one motorcycle.  Here, it’s like the family car.  Everyone refers to motorcycles as “motos”.  The current record I’ve seen is seven people on a moto at one time. People here have amazing balance and strong core muscles due to them riding motos all over the country.  I remember a time when my Dad drove me to a school parking lot and tried to teach me how to ride a motorcycle. I failed miserably that day. I just couldn’t seem to get the hang of the clutch and gearshift.  Well, all that is in the past.  This past week, I rode a moto here in Cambodia and loved it!  There’s just something about putting on a helmet, tilting the visor down, and hitting the road on two wheels. I don’t think you’ll see me on a moto carrying 100 chickens or 2 adult pigs (a common scene here), but I will definitely ride a moto any chance I get.  Dad, if you’re reading this, you should know that the lesson you gave me 15 years ago has finally paid off.

--Alan

Angelina

Cambodia seems to have significantly impacted Angelina Jolie.  One of her adopted children, Maddox, is from Cambodia.  The actress has filmed several movies in Cambodia as well, and her time here surely has encouraged her desire to do humanitarian work.  Angelina also seems to have impacted Cambodia.  One day here, I met a young woman and her newborn baby.  I asked the woman what her baby girl’s name was, and she responded “Jolie.”  Confused as this was not a Cambodian name I had heard before, I asked her the name again.  She then explained that she had named her daughter after Angelina Jolie.  A few months ago when we were looking for an apartment, one of the landlords told us that she was also the landlord of Jolie’s orphanage in Cambodia.  The orphanage was within walking distance from the apartment, so the landlord took us on a tour.  Unfortunately, for all of you star struck folks, we opted for a different apartment.  Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt also have started the Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation, an organization that initiates community development projects in Cambodia.  The office of the MJP Foundation is just a few doors down from our organization’s café-bakery where we are working this month, and many of its volunteers enjoy coming here for a meal.  Perhaps Angelina might come here as well sometime soon to enjoy some fish tacos or a piece of carrot cake. J

--Katy

Book Recommendations

This past year, we have been reading through the devotional: Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals, compiled by Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, and Enuma Okoro.  It has been a great way to start each day, and we both would encourage others to go through it.  It is a refreshing combination of ancient and new.

We also both recently completed the book Chasing the Dragon by Jackie Pullinger.  This book tells the true story of a missionary woman who worked with gang members in the slums of Hong Kong.  It is an incredible page-turning story that shows how the work of the Holy Spirit and the power of prayer transformed an entire community.  If you need to be reminded of God’s might and ability to change lives, this is a great read.

--Katy

Road Construction

About a month ago we noticed concrete cylinders standing on end, lining our dirt road. We had heard rumors that our dirt road was going to be paved one day but no one knew when the construction would start. I had tried to ask our neighbors several times but conversations always ended with an “I don’t know”.    The next weekend an official looking man in uniform came down our road and was talking with our neighbors. Again I tried to ask if they knew when the construction would start. Still no one could tell me.

A few weeks ago on a Tuesday morning Katy and I started to get into our car when our neighbor tells us that we can’t get through because construction has started. I walked down the road to find a backhoe digging up the center of our road. Our car was trapped for a little over a week while they installed the new sewer drain for our road. We are currently waiting for our dirt road to be paved, but I don’t have the slightest idea of when that will happen…

Enjoy,

Alan

Water Buffalo

This post is mostly for our niece and nephew.  Evidentally, Larry the Cucumber wasn't completely wrong.  It seems that in rural Cambodia, everybody really does "got a water buffalo."

If you're totally confused, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltG37Bbx1qk

--Katy

Good Reads

I recently finished 2 books. One is Half the Sky: How to Change the World by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl Wudunn. This book explains how empowering women in impoverished countries will effect change. There are lots of ideas and resources in the book for ways people from the “1^stworld” can help. The book is filled with stories about real people in real situations. Some of the topics it discusses are human trafficking, education, microloans, and medical treatment.

The 2^nd book is A Billion Bootstraps Microcredit, Barefoot Banking, and the Business Solution for Ending Poverty by Phil Smith and Eric Thurman. This book suggests using business principles as a way to end poverty. It provides examples of how microcredit and microloans have helped to end the cycle of poverty. This book is helpful for people who are interested in the details of microcredit, whether someone is wanting to start their own microloan or is wanting to give to one. 

--Alan

The Bamboo Train

If you’ve ever been to Cedar Point, Indiana Beach, or any other amusement park with wooden roller coasters you have had a similar experience to riding on the Bamboo train in Cambodia. The Bamboo train is a platform made of bamboo, a small engine, and two barbell axles that make for a fun trip down an old railway. An interesting note… there are multiple bamboo trains on one set of tracks. When another Bamboo train is heading in the opposite direction of the one you’re riding, you simply both stop. One of the bamboo trains is lifted off the tracks, and the other one goes hurling down the track. Bamboo trains are light weight but can carry up to 3 tons!

Enjoy this video.

-Alan

Wedding Season

We are coming to the end of Wedding Season in Cambodia.  Most weddings are held November-February as these are the coolest and driest months.  Since moving here, my attitude about Cambodian weddings has not been positive.   Weddings are typically held at families’ homes.  Each family puts up a giant pink and yellow tent in the road outside their home.  It’s frustrating to turn down a street only to find that it’s been barricaded by a wedding tent.  Also, to avoid the heat, wedding ceremonies are held early in the morning, and wedding receptions are held later in the evening.  Sometimes, people include a loud speaker that broadcasts the festivities to the neighborhood.  This can be a bit frustrating at 5am when I am trying to sleep, and it sounds like the wedding is taking place in our house.

This weekend my attitude about weddings changed significantly as we got to attend the wedding of our dear coworker, Poa.  Typically the morning ceremony is only for family and close friends, but she invited us to come because she wanted us to experience a Khmer wedding.  Her wedding day was a little bittersweet for us because her now husband is Japanese, and she’s moving to Japan in a couple weeks, but it was a really special day as well. 

We arrived at the pink and yellow tent outside of her house at 6:30am.  Her family is as gracious as she is, so there was no loud speaker blasting into the neighborhood.  Around 7am, all the guests lined up two-by- two a few hundred yards from the tent.  Each of us carried a golden platter of something.  Most people carried fruit, some people carried beer, but Alan and I carried rice cakes wrapped with banana leaves.  The bride and groom led the procession into the tent, and we all placed the platters in the small room where the ceremony was held.  When we entered the tent, we each received a small envelope filled with money (a few hundred riel, the equivalent of about 6 cents).  We think this is to bring luck to the bride and groom, that they would be prosperous in their marriage.  After that, the bride and groom continued the wedding ceremony with their parents and close family, and the rest of us got to eat breakfast!  Breakfast was a traditional Khmer meal of “Bobo,” a rice and meat soup.  It was really tasty.  Mine even had a little purple octopus/squid-thing in it, and it tasted good too.  The lady sitting next to me helpfully answered a lot of my questions about Khmer weddings.  After we finished eating, Alan and I went into the small ceremony room and watched some of the ceremony.  They gave each other rings and put wreathes of jasmine flowers around each other’s necks.  Lovely.

After the main ceremony ended, we thought maybe the morning ceremony was over, but the lady who had been sitting next to me at breakfast came up to me and told me we should stay for the “hair-cutting” ceremony.  We stayed for the ceremony, and we are so glad we did.  Before the ceremony, the bridal party came and sat down in the middle of the tent, and we all gathered around.  A male and female comedy team came out and did a routine.  We enjoyed this part because we could actually understand some of what they were saying and understood the humor too! 

After that, the parents of the bride stood behind the bride and groom.  The father pretended to cut the bride and groom’s hair, and the mother sprayed perfume on their hair.  Then, the groom’s parents did the same.  After that, several guests went up and did the same thing, including us!  It was so fun!  A teacher at our school explained to me today that the haircutting ceremony symbolizes the bride and groom starting a new life together, the cutting away of the unlucky, and starting only with the lucky.

I also must say I am a little jealous of brides in Cambodia.  In the course of their wedding day, they wear about 7 different beautiful outfits!  Of course, the grooms have to change into matching outfits as well. 

The evening reception was fun too, a little bit more like a reception in the U.S., although I’ll take Khmer dancing over the electric slide any day. J

--Katy

Book Recommendation

My brother gave me the book Friendship in the Margins before we moved to Cambodia, and I read it shortly after we moved here.  It is co-authored by Christoper Heuertz and Christine Pohl.  He is director of the organization Word Made Flesh, and she is a professor at Asbury Seminary.  This book was really helpful for me in understanding how to navigate relationships here.  I would recommend this book to anyone who has relationships or who wants to have relationships with people in poverty, globally or locally.  It is a lovely, fairly quick read. 

--Katy

The Dog Choir

Every evening Katy and I hear the neighborhood dogs all barking at the same time.  I have no idea why they all choose to bark at the same time every evening. The choir usually "sings” for about 30 seconds.  I pretend that I'm directing the choir with my fingers waving in the air. The choir seems to like “singing” while we Skype, so people on the other end get to enjoy the “music” too.

Enjoy this YouTube video that I created:

On a side note there are several chickens in our neighborhood,  so it’s common to hear roosters crowing in the morning too.

--Alan

Streets of Cambodia

So what does transportation and traffic look like in Cambodia?

Well for starters, people drive on the right side of the road just like in America.  Most cars that end up in Cambodia are cars that have been deemed totaled by insurance companies from all over the world.  So some cars have steering wheels on the left side of the car, while other cars have steering wheels on the right side of the car.  It’s strange to look at an oncoming vehicle when the steering wheel is on the right side of the car. It looks like no one is driving.

Motos, motos, and more motos… Motos are the most popular form of transportation in Cambodia.  The roads are covered with motos all going different directions.  It’s not unusual to see motos driving on the wrong side of the road. I have seen as many as 6 people riding on one moto, and I believe the record is 7 people.  Motos are a way of life here in Cambodia and are used to haul all kinds of things.   Just a few things that I have seen motos carry are: pigs (full grown pigs that are probably headed to the slaughter house), chickens (over a hundred chickens strung up by their feet and attached to the handlebars and luggage rack, and big sheets of glass (held by the passenger).

Some motos have been modified to pull a carriage for people to ride in. They are called tuk-tuks and are seen all over Phnom Penh operating like taxis.

Bicycles are another major mode of transportation here in Cambodia.   Most bikes are old women’s bikes with a basket hanging on the handlebars.

There are also trucks, buses, vans, ox carts, and on occasion even an elephant walking the streets of the city.

Believe it or not, traffic flows like a river here; no one really stops unless at a traffic light...well most people stop. There is mainly one rule to remember:  the biggest vehicle has the right of way.  For the most part people yield to the biggest vehicle, but at the same time everyone just goes at once.  When I first started to drive I would wait at intersections for a break in traffic… I could wait for several minutes before going.  I have since learned I just have to nudge my way into the intersection.  They sure didn’t teach me that in Drivers Education class.