Silk Island Photos

So it is taking way to long to download all these pictures, so I am only going to put up a few. For the rest, please refer to Marije's Picasa at:

Foto’s weer in Picasa. (duurt wel ff voordat ze erop staan..) Kun je bekijken via de volgende link:http://picasaweb.google.com/marijeleusink/KohDach?authkey=ZPDIwg9InH8#
I felt like including the dutch just for fun :p

This is a boy by the riverside. Marije took this picture while I was taking in Khmai to a lady trying to find out how much it would cost to take a boat instead of a moto to the island. On his head are "noem jeik" which are banana cakes wrapped in a banana leaf.

Here is an arm of bananas in a banana palm tree. Here you usually buy bananas by the hand and they don't like to sell you a single banana or even half a hand.

Sorry these two pictures are the only ones that will upload for me -- so check out Marije's pictures. The picture of the cattle guy walking towards the camera smiling is the one who's cow rammed into me.

Silk Island

Happy King's Birthday! I do love all the Cambodian excuses for a holiday!

Today was the King's birthday so Marije and I decided to do some exploring. 10 km outside of the city you can take a ferry to this island known for its silk production. It's not a big tourist attraction which made it really fun. We got off ferry onto a luscious island with grass and trees --banana trees and jackfruit trees -- and it had lots of beautiful flowers. It was so refreshing to feel the breeze off the water and smell air that was not fresh out of the exhaust pipes of the million motos.

As we walked along the muddy road, every child we passes wanted to practice their English and say "hello" or "goodbye" (they used them interchangeably). We also made some friends on the ferry who wanted to show us around. One girl, Cloey, took us to her house to show us how they made the silk, then later she took her moto out to find us because she didn't want us getting lost. It was very sweet of her.

While walking, we passed several guys walking their cattle. One of the guys (see photo) smiled for the camera and then as he passed his bull decided to ram me with his horns. Thank goodness it didn't hurt too much.

By the time we got home, we were both exhausted and covered in mud-- but we had a wonderful time!

I will post the pictures as soon as I get a good enough Internet connection to upload them.

Inspiration

This week I have gotten to know some of the students at the Bible college a little better. Yesterday one of my students had to go to a hospital near my house so he offered to drive me home. On route we stopped off at his place to drop off his school stuff and I got to meet his beautiful wife and child. He lives in the rich new part of the city -- except he lives in a little tin shelter beside the gate of one of the many big luxurious villas. He also was working three jobs on top of studying at the Bible college. However, in class he said that he was going to give up being a security guard (which he does all night long until 6 in the morning).

I feel like I have been given a little glimmer of insight into what this guy is sacrificing to go to Bible college. If he didn't go to Bible college he could work all day to support his family. To me it is inspiring! His story reminds me of how blessed I am. It also reminds me to pray for my students -- who all have given up something to be there.

They were also telling me about how they wake up and pray at 5 in the morning. I AM SLEEPING AT 5! Their passion and dedication is amazing!

Jelly Bellies

Today I ate part of a cows stomach... or at least I tried to eat it. It is white and furry looking and tastes like rubber. I chewed it for a while but it was too chewy to swallow. At least I tried it.

Phnom Penh

Marije decided to take her camera around and take some pictures of everyday life in Phnom Penh. Here are a few of her pictures: (Ducks -- still alive -- being transported somewhere.)

(Electrical work)

(Our fruit lady at the market near our house.)

(Meat being sold at the market.)

(Metal being transported...I see this regularly.)

Sorry I haven't taken many of my own photos yet :{

Canadian Thanksgiving!

Tonight I celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving... only a few days late. There were three Canadians present and my Dutch roommate, Tabi (an American), Pontea (Khmai), and Beatrice (El'Savadorian). It was sweet! We also had delicious grub! I was really cool to celebrate thanksgiving with people from around the world!

(Tabi carving the chicken.)

(Marije and her delicious dessert.)

(Me and my Christmas party popper -- Tabi found them here and thought they would be fun to have.)

PS. I found scrapbooking stickers today :P Unfortunetly they are dollarstore quality and cost $3US a package :{

APPLES

At Hope Orphanage, I have been teaching the kids English using the theme of geography. So today, I decided to teach them a little about Canada and to celebrate Thanksgiving with them. One of the things that I had them do was share what they are thankful for, then we took a few minutes to pray and thank God for all those things. WOW! Each child had their eyes closed and prayed longer than I most kids I've met. It was so beautiful to watch. Then, for snack, I decided to splurge and buy them a special treat -- apples. I asked how many of them had ever tasted an apple before and only half of the kids put up their hands. Then I brought out the bag of apples. You should have seen their eyes light up!!!!!!!! It was the best $9 I have ever spent. It is amazing how something so common for us can be such a special treat for someone else.

PS. I think I am a little premature with this, but I just wanted to encourage you all to fill a shoe box for Samaritan's Purse for Christmas. At my church here there are pictures on the wall of the kids receiving their shoeboxes full of presents. They all have such big smiles on their faces. It is such an easy way to send a little joy and love to a child, who otherwise, would not receive much or anything for Christmas.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I just want to wish you all a happy thanksgiving! We truly have soo much to be grateful for!

Love you guys!

Teaching

So this past week I started teaching at the Bible College (Cambodia Bible Institute). I was really nervous on my first day... but praise God I only have 8 students! 8 students is manageable as I have lead many seminars in university. I never thought I would say this but praise God for those horrid seminars. It is large groups that petrify me. Out of my 8 students, only 3 are girls and the rest are guys. I am the second youngest in the class -- did I mention that I am the teacher?!

So I took the first day to get to know my students and try to figure out how much English they know and what they need to work on. At the end of the class I gave them the opportunity to ask me questions. Well... I was not fully expecting their line of thinking. So the questions I got were: are you married? Are you single? LOL. Anyways, when I went in again on Thursday, one of the assignments was that the students had to think of 5 yes or no questions and then pick one and ask it to their neighbour. Some of the questions and answers were: "Is Rebecca single?" "Yes, she is." followed by, "Are you single?" "Yes, I am." So the joke about Bible college being bridal college seems to transcend international borders.

Another Week, Another Heart Throb

This week has been crazy busy and I haven`t been able to sleep either. That being said, I felt exhausted and so I didn`t want to go to the center this week because it is emotionally wearying. However, after talking with my wonderful sister Jackie on Saturday night, she was able to talk some sense into me and remind me why I go. So I went!

These past two weeks without a translator have probably been the best and yet worst times I have had here. My language is now at a point were I can chat with the girls about simple things. Unfortunately I understand more than I want to. There is one girl who keeps calling me mom and hugging me and then she tries to manipulate me into buying her ice cream. Another girl, who I have come to love over the past couple weeks, is leaving... I don`t know if that means she gets to go home or be moved to a more permanent place. I hope for her sake that she gets to go home. The older girls do not like being there. One girl just spent all yesterday afternoon sitting and saying she wants to go home.

Yesterday the girls felt like singing and dancing and so they sat in a circle and each took turns dancing. I watched 6 and 7 years move in ways that 6 and 7 year old`s should never move. It brings up the whole issue of childhood and innocence... or lack there of.

Anyways, I pray that just by being there and loving the girls that I can be a positive influence in their lives and that I can show them the love of Jesus.

Mara Praise Report

I just want to thank all of you who have been praying for me. Since I posted about experiencing bittness, I haven`t been bitter -- and I pray that continues. YAY! It`s like when we expose light to darkness, the darkness can no longer exist in the presence of the light. Thanks for your prayers!

A Broken Heart

Today I went to the center as usual. I was on my own again today and with God's help I was able to explain the games so that the girls understood how to play. They seemed to enjoy them-- you never know with them if the game will be a hit or a miss. There is one young girl who has been there a while who loves the games. She always asks to keep playing them over and over. She makes me smile.

Usually another lady goes with me and she does a Bible Study with the girls for the first hour and then I do games for the second. Seeing as my language is there yet, and I don't have a translator, I can't do the Bible Study so I usually do a couple songs with the girls and then games. Today , most of the girls were tired after playing games for an hour and so I spent time talking with them. One girl kept saying how she wants to go home. She doesn't want to play games, just go home! She also showed me many bruises. I wish I could have asked how she got them. Another girl told me about her/ her sister's boyfriend and his apartment -- did I mention that she is around 12. She showed me the earrings that he bought her.

Today I got a deeper picture into the lives of a few girls. I came home and cried.

Mara

Mara is the name Naomi (in the book of Ruth in the Bible) named herself after the loss of her husband and sons. It means bitter.

I have a blackness in my heart called bitterness. I don't know how it got there and it is a constant daily battle to get rid of it. The Bible calls us to serve one another and to put each other first. This can be a very difficult thing to do, especially when you put others first who do not reciprocate. But the purpose of serving others is not to be served. Nonetheless, I have found that the more I give and serve those who are oblivious, the more bitter I become. I DO NOT WANT TO BE BITTER! Bitterness can wreck your day and wreck your relationships. It is funny how even small things like always taking the broken mug so the other person doesn't burn their hands can turn from an act of love to an act that causes evil thoughts towards the other person. Please pray for me that I would be able to love sincerely and not allow any bitterness in my heart.

Boys, boys, boys... :(

I picked up a copy of the Cambodian Daily (the local English paper) today and noticed that one of the articles was on the sexual abuse of boys here in Cambodia. Seeing as that was an area that I found lacking when I was doing my research, my interest was peeked.

In summary of the article, the Cambodia director for the NOG Action Pour Les Enfant said "here, 60 percent of our victims are boys, so the sexual exploitation of boys is really a big issue" (meaning 60% of those who come through their center.) The article also reported that a study, done by the Social Services of Cambodia organization, found that it is not gay men who are predominantly responsible, rather, a significant amount of boys are abused by both Cambodian and foreign adults including women, and also by other children and adolescents. This is conclusive with my findings, but I found the 60% to be a shockingly high percentage.

What I found particularily interesting was this quote given from a victim: "It was very painful and frightening... I was overwhelmed with confusion... It was very painful in my heart... I asked many questions... Do I have bad karma? Did I do something wrong in my previous life? Why does this happen to me?" This quote is interesting because it sheds some light on the way Cambodians think. It breaks my heart to think that they could think that they are in some way responsible for the sick actions of others.

Please remember to pray for those who are victims of sexual abuse and exploitation and also pray for their exploiters.