A couple of weeks after I got to Cambodia we went to Phnom Penh, the capital city, to take care of some business such as extending my visa, getting shots, stocking up on supplies, etc. One night we had dinner with my supervising missionary, Ann. She's just wonderful! One thing she said to me at the time really sticks with me. She said, "There are times when you will love being in Cambodia, and there are times when you'll hate it." At the time, I didn't truly understand what she was saying. I was still on the high of being in a new place. However, in the weeks since, her words have rung so true.
I struggled a lot the weeks right after that. March was a very difficult month for me spiritually, physically, and emotionally. After we came into April, things started getting much better. There are definitely many times in the past few weeks I have loved being in Cambodia! But, true to Ann's words, there are times I haven't been so excited to be here. (One of those times was definitely when our neighbors down the street had a wedding and blared techno Khmer music from early in the morning til evening for 2 1/2 days straight.)
That's life though. Anything worth doing and experiencing is not going to be easy. I have been teaching Hannah and Ethan in the mornings, and then in the afternoons I go to my Khmer lesson from 3-4 (this has always been something I enjoy, even in the hardest weeks I've had here!) and now I teach English from 4-5. I have loved getting to know my students. I'm definitely just playing it by ear though, as I have never taught English before, and there's not a teacher's book for the level I'm teaching! I'm definitely using a lesson we all learned in El Salvador: "Flexibl-ey"! The number one rule of missions is: BE FLEXIBLE!
There is a Buddhist monk in my class, and it has been great to see him open up and start participating in games and activities in class. The first week or so he came into the class and sat in the back and did not speak. I know this is because of the rules that monks are not supposed to be around women, but it seems the more we go on, the more comfortable he's getting. I hope I can show the love of my Savior in the classroom to all of my students!
Last week was a break for the Khmer New Year. We had a missionary friend from Phnom Penh, Kaeli, come and visit. We had a great time showing her around Battambang, and it was especially nice to have some great conversations with her at the end of each day. I also have been forming great friendships with a lot of the Filipino missionaries here. I got invited to a lot of fun events with them over the break as well. I hope to visit the Philippines sometime in the future for sure!
I'm learning so much about life on the mission field, and life in general. I know God has me here for "such a time as this." While I do not feel a strong burden to stay in Cambodia long term,at least not at this time, my heart will always be open to the Khmer people because of the everyday joys and struggles I've been sharing with them in this thing we call life!
To close, here are a few pictures from the past few weeks:
