About two weeks ago, at the end of class, I told my students that if they want to know more about God, they should read the Bible, and we have Bibles for sale. A used English Bible is $1. I had two students purchase Bibles (Rosa and Choon-E)!
Tonight at the end of class I told my students, that we will meet to go share the Greatest Story Ever (GSE) tomorrow at 2:30. If they want, then they can come. (About half of the students in this particular class are believers. Other classes have fewer believers.) Then, while everybody was leaving, Choon-E asked me about sharing the GSE. I know she has heard it before, but asked her if she knew it, and if she wanted me to share it again. She said she had time and wanted me to share again now.
I spent the next hour sharing with her. She had many questions:
- Why did God not kill Satan? Then the people would have never sinned.
- God killed many people by the water [the flood]. Why did he not kill Satan before? Then we would all have a good relationship with God.
- Is the fruit sin?
- One of the 10 rules is to not kill, but God says to kill the animal?
...
We got to the end about Jesus going back to heaven, and Him being the ONLY way ...
BUT THE PEOPLE IN CAMBODIA...?
- They do not know Jesus
- They cannot believe Jesus
- Many people, they never hear about Jesus
- Maybe I tell them these stories, but they think it is a lie. They cannot believe
- You live where many people know about Jesus, but people in Cambodia, they do not know ...
Over and over again she said these things.
She has more concern about the lost knowing Jesus than most of us, including myself. :-(
She kept asking if there is another way, because the people live too far away and maybe have never heard of Jesus. We often have this same question: What if a person lives and has never heard the name of Jesus? Can they go to heaven?
=> Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me." Jesus is the ONLY way. There is NO other way. If a person does not believe in Jesus Christ, and make Him Lord of their life, they can NOT go to the Father. They must receive the penalty for their own sin.
- If there were another way, then there would be no reason for Jesus to have come, lived a sinless life, be crucified ... take the penalty for us.
- If people who never heard could still go to heaven then why would God tell us to GO tell them about Jesus? So they can hear and not believe, then not go to heaven? No. That's ridiculous.
I think part of us hopes that they "can still get in," maybe so we are relieved from the responsibility of praying for them, or going to tell them, or sending people to tell them. I'm not sure, but the Bible is clear that no man cometh unto the Father, but by Jesus.
Please pray for Choon-E! (girl)
Pray for Rosa! (guy)
Please also pray for the two teams we have coming! One team is on the plane as a write this and will be here in 24 hours. The other team will leave OK Friday morning and arrive here Saturday night! Pray for their safety as they travel and for God to work in them and through them while they are here and when they return to the states at the first of July!
Thank you for your support!
Monday, May 27, 2013
Saturday, May 18, 2013
The "Countryside"
Heading Out ...
At the beginning of this week, I was able to go to my friends home in Kompong Som. Their house is about three hours from Phnom Penh. One the way there we took a taxi, which is a man who lives in Kompong Som and drives people to and from Phnom Penh each day, using his own car. In America we would say the car holds 5 people, including the driver, but in Cambodia, it holds 8 people. Yes it holds more because Cambodians are a lot thinner than Americans, but it's also because you kinda have to sit on each other. Four people sit in the front and four in the back. I wasn't brave enough to take out my camera, but this is a picture I found from someone else.
Hahaha! For our trip there were two men in the driver's seat, two women in the passenger seat, and me, my two friends, and one of the friend's husband in the back seat!
The Beach ...
Kompong Som is most famous for the beaches. So many people go here for vacation. We actually only went to the beach for about 30 minutes, and didn't swim. Here's the picture.
Everybody who hears this thinks it's crazy that I was in Kompong Som and didn't "really" go to the beach. I'm not sure why we didn't go, but I'm okay with it! We went to a really small waterfall and swam for about two hours. We also went to the sea, about less than a mile from my friends' house. At the sea we caught a few small shrimp, and tried to catch some other thing, but only found one. I wish I'd taken my camera with me then!
Food ...
We ate seafood everyday for lunch and dinner, and it was really good! That's right! I used to hate seafood, but now I can eat it, and sometimes enjoy it! We had clams, crab (I'm still not very good at getting the meat out of these crazy things), lobster, shrimp (which I peeled the head and shell off myself!), different kinds of fish, duck (I know it's not seafood :-D ) ...
The House ...
Their house was REALLY nice! It was a made of wood, like most houses in the countryside. Upstairs, they had linoleum on the floor and maybe on the wall too! I didn't get any pics of the whole house, or the upstairs, but here's what I got.
BATHROOM
The bathroom is maybe 15-20 feet from the house. The picture on the left shows it from the outside. It's the part with the door and stairs! :-) On the right is from the inside. You have the squatty potty, and a large pot and a 5 gallon bucket to hold water. Inside the large pot is a small plastic bowl with a handle, that you use to pour water on yourself. I took my first, second, and third "bucket baths" here!
Downstairs room
Top left and bottom left are the same wall, the top from inside the room, and the bottom from outside. The top left is a little blurry, but you can kind of see the two burners where all of the food is cooked. The top right picture shows the table where the food is prepared. The bottom right is the "back porch," where they wash the food, wash the dishes, wash hands after dinner, brush teeth ... You can't see it in the picture, but next to the porch, is a big barrel of water. We took water from that big barrel to fill the bathroom water pot and bucket. Though I'm not sure how they get the water in the barrel ... maybe from the faucet on the back porch.
Typical Day ...
My friends' dad works in another town far away and only comes home on major holidays, so he was not there. There was me, my friends Yee-Yin and Kim, Kim's husband, their mom, their brother, sister-in-law, and their 4month old baby boy. Pretty much all I did was lay around in a hammock all day! They wouldn't let me help. This is what the two guys did too. My two girl friends would help cook and clean some, but we all laid around a lot! The mom however, got up early every morning, and stayed busy for a lot of the day! After she finished making lunch (around 10:30), she'd sit around and visit for a couple hours, and after dinner we'd all visit for a few hours.
Between 10:30 and 12:30, lunch would sit on the table, covered to keep the fly's off, and each person would eat whenever they wanted to. We all ate dinner together around 6:30, then went to bed around 10 or 10:30.
Things I Learned ...
- Many Cambodians do not drink with the meal. After you finish eating you put your plate where they do dishes, wash your hands, then get a glass of water.
- We never washed our hands before meals, but always after.
- Girls do all of the work ... cooking, cleaning, dishes, laundry, refilling the bathroom water ...
- Guys go to work and make the money, then come home and sit in the hammock.
- Most Cambodians don't use toilet paper ever (in the city and countryside). I'm glad I brought plenty of Kleenex packs!
- If you need to use the restroom at night, there are little pots that you use. In the morning you take your pot downstairs and empty it.
- The noise Americans make to call a dog to them is the same noise Cambodians make to tell the dog to go away! Crazy! I think Americans make a similar noise when talking to babies, which I almost made one time with their baby. Whew, glad I caught it before I made the noise. That could've been really offensive.
- Cambodian dogs can eat ANYTHING. They eat tiny chicken bones, fish bones ...
- Whatever food isn't eaten for one meal is used for the next, and the next, and the next!
- Pajama's are not just for sleeping. They are to wear any time you are at home, no matter what the time of day.
- It is impolite to sit with your legs crossed, "Indian Style," with people who are older than you. It is perfectly okay with people who are about your age / friends.
I'm sure there were other things I should've learned, but didn't, or I forgot. Overall, I had fun and it was good seeing the way my friends live, though I think they live a lot better than most Cambodians. I also got to know them a lot more!
At the beginning of this week, I was able to go to my friends home in Kompong Som. Their house is about three hours from Phnom Penh. One the way there we took a taxi, which is a man who lives in Kompong Som and drives people to and from Phnom Penh each day, using his own car. In America we would say the car holds 5 people, including the driver, but in Cambodia, it holds 8 people. Yes it holds more because Cambodians are a lot thinner than Americans, but it's also because you kinda have to sit on each other. Four people sit in the front and four in the back. I wasn't brave enough to take out my camera, but this is a picture I found from someone else.
The Beach ...
Kompong Som is most famous for the beaches. So many people go here for vacation. We actually only went to the beach for about 30 minutes, and didn't swim. Here's the picture.
Everybody who hears this thinks it's crazy that I was in Kompong Som and didn't "really" go to the beach. I'm not sure why we didn't go, but I'm okay with it! We went to a really small waterfall and swam for about two hours. We also went to the sea, about less than a mile from my friends' house. At the sea we caught a few small shrimp, and tried to catch some other thing, but only found one. I wish I'd taken my camera with me then!
Food ...
We ate seafood everyday for lunch and dinner, and it was really good! That's right! I used to hate seafood, but now I can eat it, and sometimes enjoy it! We had clams, crab (I'm still not very good at getting the meat out of these crazy things), lobster, shrimp (which I peeled the head and shell off myself!), different kinds of fish, duck (I know it's not seafood :-D ) ...
The House ...
Their house was REALLY nice! It was a made of wood, like most houses in the countryside. Upstairs, they had linoleum on the floor and maybe on the wall too! I didn't get any pics of the whole house, or the upstairs, but here's what I got.
The bathroom is maybe 15-20 feet from the house. The picture on the left shows it from the outside. It's the part with the door and stairs! :-) On the right is from the inside. You have the squatty potty, and a large pot and a 5 gallon bucket to hold water. Inside the large pot is a small plastic bowl with a handle, that you use to pour water on yourself. I took my first, second, and third "bucket baths" here!
Downstairs room
Top left and bottom left are the same wall, the top from inside the room, and the bottom from outside. The top left is a little blurry, but you can kind of see the two burners where all of the food is cooked. The top right picture shows the table where the food is prepared. The bottom right is the "back porch," where they wash the food, wash the dishes, wash hands after dinner, brush teeth ... You can't see it in the picture, but next to the porch, is a big barrel of water. We took water from that big barrel to fill the bathroom water pot and bucket. Though I'm not sure how they get the water in the barrel ... maybe from the faucet on the back porch.
Typical Day ...
My friends' dad works in another town far away and only comes home on major holidays, so he was not there. There was me, my friends Yee-Yin and Kim, Kim's husband, their mom, their brother, sister-in-law, and their 4month old baby boy. Pretty much all I did was lay around in a hammock all day! They wouldn't let me help. This is what the two guys did too. My two girl friends would help cook and clean some, but we all laid around a lot! The mom however, got up early every morning, and stayed busy for a lot of the day! After she finished making lunch (around 10:30), she'd sit around and visit for a couple hours, and after dinner we'd all visit for a few hours.
Between 10:30 and 12:30, lunch would sit on the table, covered to keep the fly's off, and each person would eat whenever they wanted to. We all ate dinner together around 6:30, then went to bed around 10 or 10:30.
Things I Learned ...
- Many Cambodians do not drink with the meal. After you finish eating you put your plate where they do dishes, wash your hands, then get a glass of water.
- We never washed our hands before meals, but always after.
- Girls do all of the work ... cooking, cleaning, dishes, laundry, refilling the bathroom water ...
- Guys go to work and make the money, then come home and sit in the hammock.
- Most Cambodians don't use toilet paper ever (in the city and countryside). I'm glad I brought plenty of Kleenex packs!
- If you need to use the restroom at night, there are little pots that you use. In the morning you take your pot downstairs and empty it.
- The noise Americans make to call a dog to them is the same noise Cambodians make to tell the dog to go away! Crazy! I think Americans make a similar noise when talking to babies, which I almost made one time with their baby. Whew, glad I caught it before I made the noise. That could've been really offensive.
- Cambodian dogs can eat ANYTHING. They eat tiny chicken bones, fish bones ...
- Whatever food isn't eaten for one meal is used for the next, and the next, and the next!
- Pajama's are not just for sleeping. They are to wear any time you are at home, no matter what the time of day.
- It is impolite to sit with your legs crossed, "Indian Style," with people who are older than you. It is perfectly okay with people who are about your age / friends.
I'm sure there were other things I should've learned, but didn't, or I forgot. Overall, I had fun and it was good seeing the way my friends live, though I think they live a lot better than most Cambodians. I also got to know them a lot more!
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Fried Ginger with Pork
Today at language study I learned how to make a Cambodian dish, fried ginger! This particular dish was fried ginger with pork. This week I've been learning the names of Khmer dishes and ingredients. Then today, after studying for one hour, my teacher said I would learn to make Khmer food. I was SO excited!
We went to the kitchen and we started making the dish. She told me what to do / what she was doing, and continually quizzed me on names of utensils and ingredients. I learned a few new words and re-learned words I had "learned" before. After we finished everybody (all of the other teachers and myself) got to taste it, then we went back and reviewed. We went step by step and I wrote it all down in Khmer / reviewed all of the words we used! I'll translate it all into English for you! ;-) I also put the Khmer (with my poor phonetics), which makes the directions a little more messy, but makes it more fun (I think)!
Fried Ginger (Chaa Kinyighy)
Ingredients:
Pork or Chicken
1 whole ginger root
3-4 garlic cloves
vegetable oil
sugar
salt
fish sauce
Knorr soup mix or MSG
Directions: (translated directly from Khmer)
Wash the pork (or chicken) first (lee-ung sike jrew sun)
Then slice pork (bon-tow-op mow han sike jrew)
Peel ginger (jet kinyighy)
Slice ginger (han kinyighy)
Hit / smash garlic (with the side of the knife in order to remove the peel) (dom k'dum saw)
Take peel leave (remove the peel) (yoke som bawk jen)
Slice garlic (she used the same Khmer word, but actually diced it) (han k'dum saw)
Open light (turn the burner on) (balk plung)
Put pan (put the pan on the burner) (dat k'teya) An interesting thing I learned from this is, they actually say this is the first step! I think in English / America, it is assumed. Here, another teacher asked me what the first thing was and I said, "put the oil in," then she said, "did you not put the pan in first?" :-)
Put oil (dat b'rang)
Stir oil (go b'rang)
Wait maybe 2 or 3 minutes (jum brahael be ruu bai neeah tee)
Wait until hot (dtoke owie k'dau)
Put ginger (dat kinyighy)
Stir ginger until cooked (go kinyighy owie ch'un)
Scoop out ginger leave (take the ginger out of the pan) (This is where the video starts, which I can't upload fro some reason, but I'm trying to upload it on Facebook - I think it will help if you really want to make it) (dooah kinyighy jen)
Put oil (dat b'rang)
Put garlic (dat k'dum saw)
Stir garlic until color red (they also call it deep fried garlic) (go k'dum owie poah cra-haum)
Put meat (dat sike)
Put sugar (dat scaw)
Put salt (dat om-bell)
Put fish sauce (don't worry, it won't taste fishy!) (dat tuk t'ry)
Put MSG (if you don't have MSG, you can use Knorr soup mix) (dat soup Knorr)
Stir until cooked (go owie ch'un)
Put ginger (add the ginger that you already cooked) (dat kinyighy)
Stir maybe 2 or 3 minutes (go brahael be ruu bai neeah tee)
Taste (p'lewuk)
Add sugar, salt, ... (whatever is needed to taste good) (thyme scaw) Another thing I learned was, if it tastes too salty you can add a little more sugar! (That is what we did)
Eat with rice! (nyum jia moy bi)
I hope you can understand that! As you can see, Khmer doesn't have all of the extra words that English has like "the."
This was one of my favorite days at language. My other favorite day was when I went with my other teacher to get gas in her moto and I learned how to get gas and reviewed giving directions. It was so fun driving around the round-about three times as we practiced the word for round-about!
We went to the kitchen and we started making the dish. She told me what to do / what she was doing, and continually quizzed me on names of utensils and ingredients. I learned a few new words and re-learned words I had "learned" before. After we finished everybody (all of the other teachers and myself) got to taste it, then we went back and reviewed. We went step by step and I wrote it all down in Khmer / reviewed all of the words we used! I'll translate it all into English for you! ;-) I also put the Khmer (with my poor phonetics), which makes the directions a little more messy, but makes it more fun (I think)!
Fried Ginger (Chaa Kinyighy)
Ingredients:
Pork or Chicken
1 whole ginger root
3-4 garlic cloves
vegetable oil
sugar
salt
fish sauce
Knorr soup mix or MSG
Directions: (translated directly from Khmer)
Wash the pork (or chicken) first (lee-ung sike jrew sun)
Then slice pork (bon-tow-op mow han sike jrew)
Peel ginger (jet kinyighy)
Slice ginger (han kinyighy)
Hit / smash garlic (with the side of the knife in order to remove the peel) (dom k'dum saw)
Take peel leave (remove the peel) (yoke som bawk jen)
Slice garlic (she used the same Khmer word, but actually diced it) (han k'dum saw)
Open light (turn the burner on) (balk plung)
Put pan (put the pan on the burner) (dat k'teya) An interesting thing I learned from this is, they actually say this is the first step! I think in English / America, it is assumed. Here, another teacher asked me what the first thing was and I said, "put the oil in," then she said, "did you not put the pan in first?" :-)
Put oil (dat b'rang)
Stir oil (go b'rang)
Wait maybe 2 or 3 minutes (jum brahael be ruu bai neeah tee)
Wait until hot (dtoke owie k'dau)
Put ginger (dat kinyighy)
Stir ginger until cooked (go kinyighy owie ch'un)
Scoop out ginger leave (take the ginger out of the pan) (This is where the video starts, which I can't upload fro some reason, but I'm trying to upload it on Facebook - I think it will help if you really want to make it) (dooah kinyighy jen)
Put oil (dat b'rang)
Put garlic (dat k'dum saw)
Stir garlic until color red (they also call it deep fried garlic) (go k'dum owie poah cra-haum)
Put meat (dat sike)
Put sugar (dat scaw)
Put salt (dat om-bell)
Put fish sauce (don't worry, it won't taste fishy!) (dat tuk t'ry)
Put MSG (if you don't have MSG, you can use Knorr soup mix) (dat soup Knorr)
Stir until cooked (go owie ch'un)
Put ginger (add the ginger that you already cooked) (dat kinyighy)
Stir maybe 2 or 3 minutes (go brahael be ruu bai neeah tee)
Taste (p'lewuk)
Add sugar, salt, ... (whatever is needed to taste good) (thyme scaw) Another thing I learned was, if it tastes too salty you can add a little more sugar! (That is what we did)
Eat with rice! (nyum jia moy bi)
I hope you can understand that! As you can see, Khmer doesn't have all of the extra words that English has like "the."
This was one of my favorite days at language. My other favorite day was when I went with my other teacher to get gas in her moto and I learned how to get gas and reviewed giving directions. It was so fun driving around the round-about three times as we practiced the word for round-about!
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Moto Road Rules & Tips
From a friend of a friend of a friend! :-)
http://www.steveamie.com/pages/~CambodianStories#5
A friend saw a link to this blog posted on her friends Facebook page. She shared it with me and now I am sharing it with you! You may not be able to fully appreciate it unless you have driven in Phnom Penh, but I think you will still get a few laughs out of it. I have personally witnessed all of it except the elephant!
http://www.steveamie.com/pages/~CambodianStories#5
A friend saw a link to this blog posted on her friends Facebook page. She shared it with me and now I am sharing it with you! You may not be able to fully appreciate it unless you have driven in Phnom Penh, but I think you will still get a few laughs out of it. I have personally witnessed all of it except the elephant!
Humility
It's nearly 3am, what am I doing still up? :-)
Today (technically yesterday !) has been a day packed with circumstances that have humbled me!
Guest Speaker
My roommate and I were asked by a friend, to be guest speakers at the school he works at. He asked us just over a week ago, and we spoke this morning (Monday). The topic is from 1 Corinthians 13 ... "Love is not rude." I got the privilege of speaking to children ages 3 to 5. Going in to this, I had no idea what to say, how to get children that young to understand, if these kids were foreigners like myself (some things are considered rude by Americans, but are perfectly normal to Khmer), how much English the children knew ... Of course, I didn't start to prepare until Sunday morning. This made Sunday a somewhat stressful day. Praise the Lord that He gave me the words to say, and a roommate who had a story that I could somewhat copy / change, and share with the kids. I don't know if anything I did or said means anything to anybody, but I learned something that I've learned time and time again ... I can do nothing apart from Christ AND Everything I do should be for Him and about Him / His glory, not my own!
Ask
One of the hardest things for me to do is ask people for things, whether it be time, money, things, or anything else. I prefer to not be a burden, and try to do it myself, and sometimes go without because it's too much trouble to ask. In some instances I am not able to do it myself. The most recent instance is sending items from America to Cambodia. Before I left the states, so many people expressed a true desire to send me things I might want or need. I appreciate that so much! I had to get over my own pride and give people the opportunity to serve me in this way. It's difficult because I feel like I am asking for things ... which I am, but none of those things are absolutely needed ... life goes on without them, but they do make life more enjoyable / comfortable! And so I sent a list of items to my church, which is asking not only for the things, but for the time and the effort of people getting the things together, getting them to the team, the team going through all of the hassle to get them and bring them here ... Part of me wonders if it's worth it, everyone going through all of that trouble. It would certainly be easier for everybody, including myself, to not deal with it. On the contrary, we would all also miss out on a blessing. I know I am blessed by so many people willing to go through all of this trouble and by so many people genuinely wanting to help and encourage me.
All that being said ... the things don't really matter. It's seeing the body of Christ and the love of Christ at work!
Language
Some days at language study, I learn a lot of new words and phrases, and some days are review days. Today was a review day. With anything we learn, we have to practice. I could study words all day long (which I don't), but if I don't practice speaking them and making sentences with them, then I will not really know them. I know that, but it's easier said than done! Practice takes time, effort, and humility, all three of which do not encourage me to learn the language. I think the humility part is the hardest. Practicing means getting it wrong many times. It means asking for help (as I said before, it is a difficult thing to do). And so much more! In all honesty, I don't study that much, I don't make the time to and I don't practice my new words each day (I need to do that, but it seems like other things come up / I don't make it a priority). Today seemed like one of the worst "review" days. I don't know if it was because of the heat, it being Monday ... my teacher was ... I don't want to say less patient, but kind of. Maybe less excited? And in addition to all of that, I didn't know a lot of what we reviewed, even things I've known for a long time, just seemed to slip my mind. #humbling
It sounds like language is always this huge challenge, and it is, but it can also be fun. I've been going to a Khmer church on Sunday afternoons, and this definitely encourages me to learn the language. I get excited when I understand several words, and occasionally, I can even get the jest of a sentence or topic (mostly because it's about a passage that I have in front of me in English) ... but still, it's exciting!
One of my big goals with language, is to be able to share the gospel in Khmer. The added bonus is to also develop relationships, but I have to be reminded that even building relationships is not solely about me, but it's about His kingdom!
Good day!
Today (technically yesterday !) has been a day packed with circumstances that have humbled me!
Guest Speaker
My roommate and I were asked by a friend, to be guest speakers at the school he works at. He asked us just over a week ago, and we spoke this morning (Monday). The topic is from 1 Corinthians 13 ... "Love is not rude." I got the privilege of speaking to children ages 3 to 5. Going in to this, I had no idea what to say, how to get children that young to understand, if these kids were foreigners like myself (some things are considered rude by Americans, but are perfectly normal to Khmer), how much English the children knew ... Of course, I didn't start to prepare until Sunday morning. This made Sunday a somewhat stressful day. Praise the Lord that He gave me the words to say, and a roommate who had a story that I could somewhat copy / change, and share with the kids. I don't know if anything I did or said means anything to anybody, but I learned something that I've learned time and time again ... I can do nothing apart from Christ AND Everything I do should be for Him and about Him / His glory, not my own!
Ask
One of the hardest things for me to do is ask people for things, whether it be time, money, things, or anything else. I prefer to not be a burden, and try to do it myself, and sometimes go without because it's too much trouble to ask. In some instances I am not able to do it myself. The most recent instance is sending items from America to Cambodia. Before I left the states, so many people expressed a true desire to send me things I might want or need. I appreciate that so much! I had to get over my own pride and give people the opportunity to serve me in this way. It's difficult because I feel like I am asking for things ... which I am, but none of those things are absolutely needed ... life goes on without them, but they do make life more enjoyable / comfortable! And so I sent a list of items to my church, which is asking not only for the things, but for the time and the effort of people getting the things together, getting them to the team, the team going through all of the hassle to get them and bring them here ... Part of me wonders if it's worth it, everyone going through all of that trouble. It would certainly be easier for everybody, including myself, to not deal with it. On the contrary, we would all also miss out on a blessing. I know I am blessed by so many people willing to go through all of this trouble and by so many people genuinely wanting to help and encourage me.
All that being said ... the things don't really matter. It's seeing the body of Christ and the love of Christ at work!
Language
Some days at language study, I learn a lot of new words and phrases, and some days are review days. Today was a review day. With anything we learn, we have to practice. I could study words all day long (which I don't), but if I don't practice speaking them and making sentences with them, then I will not really know them. I know that, but it's easier said than done! Practice takes time, effort, and humility, all three of which do not encourage me to learn the language. I think the humility part is the hardest. Practicing means getting it wrong many times. It means asking for help (as I said before, it is a difficult thing to do). And so much more! In all honesty, I don't study that much, I don't make the time to and I don't practice my new words each day (I need to do that, but it seems like other things come up / I don't make it a priority). Today seemed like one of the worst "review" days. I don't know if it was because of the heat, it being Monday ... my teacher was ... I don't want to say less patient, but kind of. Maybe less excited? And in addition to all of that, I didn't know a lot of what we reviewed, even things I've known for a long time, just seemed to slip my mind. #humbling
It sounds like language is always this huge challenge, and it is, but it can also be fun. I've been going to a Khmer church on Sunday afternoons, and this definitely encourages me to learn the language. I get excited when I understand several words, and occasionally, I can even get the jest of a sentence or topic (mostly because it's about a passage that I have in front of me in English) ... but still, it's exciting!
One of my big goals with language, is to be able to share the gospel in Khmer. The added bonus is to also develop relationships, but I have to be reminded that even building relationships is not solely about me, but it's about His kingdom!
Good day!
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Make due with what you have!
You could say these examples are all making the most of our resources, or you could call it redneck. Too bad we can't get duct tape and bailing wire here
Internet
When you can only get good reception in one spot ... sometimes you have to use thumb tacks to hold the router on the wall!
Cookies
If you can't find a real cookie sheet, you buy a foil pie pan and make one! For later batches we made the cookies a little smaller and made use of the area between the cuts. This was the very first batch of cookies that I made in Cambodia!
Actually, we were out of several ingredients, but I was desperate so I made some substitutions. Only had half the amount of brown sugar ... added some extra white sugar. No eggs ... that's okay, I used butter for the egg yolk and oil for the eggs whites ... it looks close enough to an egg! :-) We didn't have measuring spoons, or a normal sized tea spoon, so I used about half of a big spoon. And to top it all off, I lost count on how much flour I'd put in ... "did I put 4 1/2 cups of flour already, or do I need another one?" They were some of the best cookies I'd had (in my opinion) ... other's thought they were too sweet! I actually tried to recreate them, but the second batch didn't turn out as good.
Kitchen Sink
If the faucet brakes and water is just shooting out and making a mess, you cut a plastic cup and make it work. Thank you Brown Coffee! We actually have more water pressure this way then we did with the faucet on ... which is why it's been like this for about 2 months! :-)
Sopapilla Cheesecake
Okay, this isn't really redneck ... well maybe the arm for a rolling pin is! :-) I've seen rolling pins at the market, but why spend the money when God gave me hands and arms that work almost as well!
Crystal had never tried or even heard of Sopapilla Cheesecake so we had to make it, but we can't get canned croissants. We actually talked about it a couple times before I realized that we could make croissants from scratch! I'm a little slow! :-) That was a lot of work, but well worth it, especially since Crystal liked it!
Internet
When you can only get good reception in one spot ... sometimes you have to use thumb tacks to hold the router on the wall!
Cookies
If you can't find a real cookie sheet, you buy a foil pie pan and make one! For later batches we made the cookies a little smaller and made use of the area between the cuts. This was the very first batch of cookies that I made in Cambodia!
Actually, we were out of several ingredients, but I was desperate so I made some substitutions. Only had half the amount of brown sugar ... added some extra white sugar. No eggs ... that's okay, I used butter for the egg yolk and oil for the eggs whites ... it looks close enough to an egg! :-) We didn't have measuring spoons, or a normal sized tea spoon, so I used about half of a big spoon. And to top it all off, I lost count on how much flour I'd put in ... "did I put 4 1/2 cups of flour already, or do I need another one?" They were some of the best cookies I'd had (in my opinion) ... other's thought they were too sweet! I actually tried to recreate them, but the second batch didn't turn out as good.
Kitchen Sink
If the faucet brakes and water is just shooting out and making a mess, you cut a plastic cup and make it work. Thank you Brown Coffee! We actually have more water pressure this way then we did with the faucet on ... which is why it's been like this for about 2 months! :-)
Sopapilla Cheesecake
Okay, this isn't really redneck ... well maybe the arm for a rolling pin is! :-) I've seen rolling pins at the market, but why spend the money when God gave me hands and arms that work almost as well!
Crystal had never tried or even heard of Sopapilla Cheesecake so we had to make it, but we can't get canned croissants. We actually talked about it a couple times before I realized that we could make croissants from scratch! I'm a little slow! :-) That was a lot of work, but well worth it, especially since Crystal liked it!
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
An interesting day!
Pro to living in Cambodia
One great thing about living in Cambodia is Moto-dopes and tuk-tuks! Both are like taxi's. A moto-dope is a man who makes a living by giving people rides on his moto (motorcycle/scooter). A tuk-tuk is very similar, but it is like a "carriage" pulled by a moto and will hold 4 Americans or 6 Cambodians (comfortably)! Pictures below ... tuk-tuk on the left and I believe the driver of both motos in the picture on the right are moto-dopes! It is always men who drive and they sit on corners throughout the city, especially by markets and hotels. There are several moto-dopes and tuk-tuk drivers that wait at the intersection at the end of my block, where I live!
These are great if you need a ride somewhere, and for people visiting for a short time! Both times I came before on teams, tuk-tuks were our main forms of transportation. It can also be annoying (especially because I am obviously a foreigner)... any time I walk to the market from my house I hear "Tuk-tuk, madam? Tuk-tuk? moto?" Every time I say, "no."
Got Gas?
Tuesday, Crystal and I planned to go get donuts then go to a coffee shop for a little while before our team meeting. We go to leave and my moto won't start. I've had to use the kick-start several times lately so I just figured it finally needed something fixed. I took my moto back in the gate and rode with Crystal. After we left the coffee shop Crystal made a joke about not giving me a ride back ... too bad that doesn't work here! I said, "that's okay, I'll just get a moto-dope!" She did give me a ride and we met our team for lunch.
At some point in the day, I realized my gas was really low and I had just kept putting it off, so maybe I was out of gas. I decided to go get my moto after lunch and get gas or get it fixed if the gas didn't work. Were we ate lunch is not very far from our house, normally I would walk but it's really strange to walk places here (plus I was carrying my helmet), so I got a moto-dope! It cost fifty cents to go to my house (maybe one mile).
I got home, tried starting the moto again ... nope! I started pushing down the road to the gas station (I'm guessing about a mile away). I thought, "this is so humiliating." Though I think it happens to Khmer sometimes too! I barely get to the end of my block and the moto-dopes and tuk-tuk drivers are talking to me. One asked if I had a flat tire. I told him no, that I was out of gas. Then they kept saying something, and I didn't quite understand. Finally, I understood ... one moto-dope offered to go to the gas station and fill up 2 empty water bottle (1 liter total) with gas, then bring it back. I agreed.
While I was waiting on my dead moto near the tuk-tuk driver and a couple moto-dopes, they talked to me some and it was a little awkward. Then a lady that I go to church with saw me and came over. Right as she got there the moto-dope showed up with the gas. I told her that I ran out of gas, and I've never talked to her at church and we didn't really talk then, so I don't know how much English she knows, but it was super sweet of her to come check on me! That's what the Body of Christ is all about! I paid the moto-dope $1.35 for the one liter of gas, and $0.50 for him to go get it, started my moto, told everybody thank you, and went to the gas station to fill up with 3 more liters!
Time with the landlord
I've been needing to give a document to my landlord for several weeks, so that he can fill it out, saying I live there, then I can finally get my driver's license. (Yes I have been driving without a license!) That night, I when we got home I finally took the paper to the landlord. He looks kind of scary, and Crystal says he speaks rudely, but she really likes him! I went downstairs all by myself and stood outside their open door, said hello in Khmer, and his wife told me to come in and sit down. She looked at the document, then he came and looked at it. His 10 year old son did most of the translating (he is so cute and looks like a 6 or 7 year old in America), with the help of the landlords daughter who is in her early 20's, I think. Everything was figured out, he asked for me to bring a copy of my passport and visa, then he would take care of it! Then, like most Cambodian parents, he kept telling his son to ask me different questions, so he could practice his English. They brought me a Coke, and asked me if I'd eaten dinner, what I'd eaten, how long I was here, if I like living in the apartment, what I was doing in Cambodia ... all typical questions. It was kinda fun and kinda awkward. I'm not sure exactly how long I talked to them, but it was good! The landlord is intimidating, but his wife and kids are so sweet. Maybe after a year or so I will be able to communicate with him too!
One great thing about living in Cambodia is Moto-dopes and tuk-tuks! Both are like taxi's. A moto-dope is a man who makes a living by giving people rides on his moto (motorcycle/scooter). A tuk-tuk is very similar, but it is like a "carriage" pulled by a moto and will hold 4 Americans or 6 Cambodians (comfortably)! Pictures below ... tuk-tuk on the left and I believe the driver of both motos in the picture on the right are moto-dopes! It is always men who drive and they sit on corners throughout the city, especially by markets and hotels. There are several moto-dopes and tuk-tuk drivers that wait at the intersection at the end of my block, where I live!
These are great if you need a ride somewhere, and for people visiting for a short time! Both times I came before on teams, tuk-tuks were our main forms of transportation. It can also be annoying (especially because I am obviously a foreigner)... any time I walk to the market from my house I hear "Tuk-tuk, madam? Tuk-tuk? moto?" Every time I say, "no."
Got Gas?
Tuesday, Crystal and I planned to go get donuts then go to a coffee shop for a little while before our team meeting. We go to leave and my moto won't start. I've had to use the kick-start several times lately so I just figured it finally needed something fixed. I took my moto back in the gate and rode with Crystal. After we left the coffee shop Crystal made a joke about not giving me a ride back ... too bad that doesn't work here! I said, "that's okay, I'll just get a moto-dope!" She did give me a ride and we met our team for lunch.
At some point in the day, I realized my gas was really low and I had just kept putting it off, so maybe I was out of gas. I decided to go get my moto after lunch and get gas or get it fixed if the gas didn't work. Were we ate lunch is not very far from our house, normally I would walk but it's really strange to walk places here (plus I was carrying my helmet), so I got a moto-dope! It cost fifty cents to go to my house (maybe one mile).
I got home, tried starting the moto again ... nope! I started pushing down the road to the gas station (I'm guessing about a mile away). I thought, "this is so humiliating." Though I think it happens to Khmer sometimes too! I barely get to the end of my block and the moto-dopes and tuk-tuk drivers are talking to me. One asked if I had a flat tire. I told him no, that I was out of gas. Then they kept saying something, and I didn't quite understand. Finally, I understood ... one moto-dope offered to go to the gas station and fill up 2 empty water bottle (1 liter total) with gas, then bring it back. I agreed.
While I was waiting on my dead moto near the tuk-tuk driver and a couple moto-dopes, they talked to me some and it was a little awkward. Then a lady that I go to church with saw me and came over. Right as she got there the moto-dope showed up with the gas. I told her that I ran out of gas, and I've never talked to her at church and we didn't really talk then, so I don't know how much English she knows, but it was super sweet of her to come check on me! That's what the Body of Christ is all about! I paid the moto-dope $1.35 for the one liter of gas, and $0.50 for him to go get it, started my moto, told everybody thank you, and went to the gas station to fill up with 3 more liters!
Time with the landlord
I've been needing to give a document to my landlord for several weeks, so that he can fill it out, saying I live there, then I can finally get my driver's license. (Yes I have been driving without a license!) That night, I when we got home I finally took the paper to the landlord. He looks kind of scary, and Crystal says he speaks rudely, but she really likes him! I went downstairs all by myself and stood outside their open door, said hello in Khmer, and his wife told me to come in and sit down. She looked at the document, then he came and looked at it. His 10 year old son did most of the translating (he is so cute and looks like a 6 or 7 year old in America), with the help of the landlords daughter who is in her early 20's, I think. Everything was figured out, he asked for me to bring a copy of my passport and visa, then he would take care of it! Then, like most Cambodian parents, he kept telling his son to ask me different questions, so he could practice his English. They brought me a Coke, and asked me if I'd eaten dinner, what I'd eaten, how long I was here, if I like living in the apartment, what I was doing in Cambodia ... all typical questions. It was kinda fun and kinda awkward. I'm not sure exactly how long I talked to them, but it was good! The landlord is intimidating, but his wife and kids are so sweet. Maybe after a year or so I will be able to communicate with him too!
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