Perspective ...

There is SO MUCH that I could write about, but I'll try to keep it short-ish!

The past several months I've been learning A LOT about perspective.  It's easy to see that people from different cultures have very different ideas, views, thoughts ... in a lot of areas:

- skin color: most Asians think lighter is more beautiful but most white people think tan is more beautiful. I'm darker than him ==>
- personal bubble: it's much smaller in Asia than in America. I notice myself stepping back several times with certain people.
- modesty for women:
     * Muslims cover everything ... sometimes even the entire face except the eyes and mouth.
     * Cambodian women should have their shoulders covered (if they're not married) and should wear pants or skirts that at least come down to the knee.
     * Americans ... I guess it depends on the individual ... schools have the three finger rule for shorts and tank tops.
     * Europeans (based only on what I see) there's not much of a dress code. Women wear spaghetti straps (which many people would consider an under shirt) and very short shorts. Nude beaches ...
- dress:
     * People in the states have different views on where it acceptable to wear your pajamas (only the house, Wal-Mart, school ...)
     * In Cambodia, women and girls often wear their pajamas to the market (at all times of day, including the afternoon).
- traffic: Here it's very common to go through red lights, so do you obey the "law" or hold up traffic?
To get a better understanding click here. (A friend shared that link with me)
- time: Be early? Be exactly "on time"? Be 5, 10, 15, 30 minutes late...?
    * From what I understand of American culture, you should be on time or early. However, being about 5 minutes late is very common and pretty acceptable depending on the people involved and the situation. Most people (that's me) don't want to be late, but somehow just "can't" always make it on time. I really enjoy my friends that sometimes text me that they'll be a little bit late because that gives me the freedom to do the same and know they won't be completely aggravated with me!

* "Khmer time" We have a love hate relationship! (But mostly love) :-) I love that it's completely acceptable for me to be a few minutes late. I don't have to feel guilty for one second. On the other hand, when you're trying to plan things with large group of students, it could get a little aggravating. I know that if we need to leave by, say 9am, then I will probably tell my students we will leave at 8:30. Even then, I should tell myself we're not really leaving until 9:15 or 9:30. My team and I have this exact conversation every time we plan an event or outing. (It's similar in America, but a little more exaggerated here.)         
- feet: I think we can all agree that feet are dirty.
     * In Cambodia, it's very rude for people to be able to see the bottom of your feet (don't sit with your legs straight out in front of you) and it can be rude to point to things or touch things with your feet (such as showing your friend that thing on the bottom shelf, but not wanting to waste the energy to bend over).
- picking your nose: What? Yes! It's perfectly acceptable to pick your nose here, and there's no need or even thought of trying to hide it.
- other ...
    * When visiting your home (for first, second, or third time), Cambodians open your refrigerator and cabinets, and touch and examine different things. Though many Americans may want to do these things, it's not very acceptable or polite. We might call this being "nosy."


Easily seeing the different views because of different culture has helped me to notice just how different EVERY INDIVIDUAL (even with the "same" culture) sees things.

- hair: straight, curly, wavy, frizzy, long, short, blonde, brunette, red head, down, pony tail, bun, ... everyone has different opinions and most people want what they don't have. A friend of mine ( a fellow curly headed friend) was once talking about getting her hair permanently straightened. She looked at me and said, "It's everything we ever dreamed of!" :-) It certainly tempted me to get my hair straightened.
- the scruffy look: I think, in general, people think it makes the guy look lazy and not so clean, but some women, I guess, find it attractive.
- texting: "!" (exclamation points), "." (periods), CAPS, or words like, "k", "sure" ... Different people take these as rude (yelling, being short, not caring ...).
- not responding to messages: some people feel no need to respond, while the sender may be wondering what happened. Did they get the message? Are they angry or upset? Do they just not care enough to reply?
- germs, dirt, sweat, smells ... gross? indifferent? unbearable?
- helping others / taking over / doing things by yourself ...
- asking for help = bothering people?
- sarcasm : funny or hurtful?
- parenting: spanking, giving the child responsibility / freedom, how much the child should obey the parents ...
- words: they have different connotations, such as "sure." Some people think it means the same as "yes," but I think it means, "I will, but I don't really want to." Though tone of voice and level of excitement does make a difference on the meaning of "sure" and many other words, if not all!

Basically, I'm learning to be less sensitive to certain things, because people may not mean it to be offensive AND I'm learning to be less judgmental! Some people don't think twice about things they do or say, while other people tend to over analyze many things. The point is: every person thinks differently, therefore we must give grace and be understanding.

^"Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way." ~ Romans 14:13
- I don't want the way I act, dress, speak, ... to cause any brother's or sister's here to stumble. What is acceptable for me (American culture) may not be acceptable here. I don't want somebody to see me "do" something and think, "oh it must be okay if Krystyn does it." I also have to catch myself as I watch other people. Jesus is the standard, not another sinful person.

^" Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. ³² Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God; ³³ just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit but the profit of the many, so that they may be saved." ~ 1 Cor. 10:31-33

Today

INTRO...
My team has started reading The Insanity of God by Nik Ripken. I just started today. From what I've heard and read so far, I would also like to encourage you to read it! Anyways ... he was talking about how since he was a kid, his parents dropped him and his siblings off at church every Sunday. On an Easter morning, at the age of 11, he had "the first truly significant and personal spiritual experience he ever had in church." He wrote "I felt like shouting 'Hey everyone! Are you listening to this?' I had sat around some of those same folks at football games where they would yell and scream. How in the world was it that these people managed to get so excited about what happened at a high school football field on Friday nights than they did about the resurrection of Jesus at church on Easter Sunday morning? ... Maybe they had heard the story so many times before the, now, they saw it as ... just a story."

After reading that this afternoon, I prayed that I would not be numb or "used to" God's Word because I've heard / read so much, but that He would continually soften my heart and open my eyes to the truth! Tonight when I shared the Greatest Story Ever with my students, I shared in a way that I haven't shared in several months ... with such joy, excitement, awe, love ... and I didn't even notice the correlation between my prayer this afternoon and the way I shared this evening until I started writing this blog.

MY CLASSES ...
Today was the last day of class, at least as far as teaching and lessons go. All of my students who came today heard the complete Greatest Story Every (the Bible summarized in 15 minutes and a picture). They also have all 17 lessons which include both English and Khmer scriptures from the Bible. Most of the students that have made it to the end of the term (5 students at 1:30 & 16-20 students at 5:30) have attended most days. Therefore they've studied most of the lessons over the course of this term. If they missed or lost any lessons, I gave them an extra copy today and they stapled them all together with the picture as the cover.

It was exciting to see that many of them remembered what we studied. At certain places in the story I would pause and let them answer. I especially wanted to drill into them
     "...BUT God still loved them," 
     "The punishment for sin is death,"
     "Jesus took the punishment for our sins," and
     "we each must choose 1. to stay apart from God or 2. to believe in Jesus, choose to follow Him only, and have a relationship with God."

More importantly than them being able to remember these things, I pray that they begin to UNDERSTAND them and that it would lead them to faith in Jesus Christ!

Tomorrow we will have our end of the term party. Next week we will not have classes, but it will still be a somewhat busy week. Then we have registration on the 28th and 29th ... Then another new term!