They just came back from a conference in Laos and so we will get to see if we are expanding there. Let's see what God has in mind. There is a lot up in the air right now, but a lot of good things. In talks with people in the philippines to expand work there. We should be starting the first of our medical camps in vietnam in the fall and I already have 2 potential medical volunteers! God is sooo good!
I'm going back to Cambodia tomorrow! Excited to see what has been happening in person. The medical students have been pushing forward and we are now almost official in every way in the country. I feel so blessed by God in all that He is doing there. I remember how stressful it was to go to Cambodia and try to figure things out on my own, not knowing the system and what was best. The perfectionist in me got the best of me, but God always guides and leads and it was wonderful to see how following His leading as always proved to be the best. For the first few months I thought forming a nonprofit first before starting anything was the way to go, but God said no. So I gave up the idea and it was after that that things started to happen and the medical students on their own decided to take up the ngo/npo idea and they have managed to do it so well and since they are in the driver's seat, it's so much easier! God is sooo good. We have a three year plan now to reach out into the surrounding provinces/states and slowly expand with time.
They just came back from a conference in Laos and so we will get to see if we are expanding there. Let's see what God has in mind. There is a lot up in the air right now, but a lot of good things. In talks with people in the philippines to expand work there. We should be starting the first of our medical camps in vietnam in the fall and I already have 2 potential medical volunteers! God is sooo good! One of my dreams for a long time has been to do relief work. When I was a missionary in Japan, the tsunami and the nuclear disaster happened. I was all set to go and work on helping the people, but my family was so concerned about my health and having sleepless nights, that I gave in and came back to seattle. When I arrived in seattle, another opportunity presented itself and I was ready to fly back the following week to help with the relief effort and it was cancelled. So I resigned myself to wait on God's timing.
When the philippines disaster happened, I was working (all proceeds from our fundraising at save each one go to the cause and not to the us US volunteers) and couldn't leave right away but one of my friends wanted to do something in the philippines. I was starting to coordinate with her and plan a trip for january but then she got a little overwhelmed and that fell apart. So again, I left it to God. I told Him I wanted to help, but He had to help me make it happen. And it has! I am so excited to be going to the philippines in 1 day to help with the effort! There are still many islands that have not received any help and are in desperate need. Having never done anything like this I have no idea what to expect, but I am so excited for this God given opportunity. Please pray for us. I'll post pictures after I get back! I haven't written for a while and I apologize. But things are going great in Cambodia! The medical students (in the midst of the political chaos from the elections) got us officially registered as an NGO in Cambodia! :) They are doing such a wonderful job! They just got back from a 4 day medical camp in Kratie where they were able to help people who have no access to medical care!
We also had the privilege of having a photographer volunteer his time to take photos and maybe make a video of all the work we are doing! We have a dentist who has joined our team and I'll be updating our website shortly with her bio! She's already started contributing to our curriculum and is simply wonderful! While I have been in America recuperating from my year in cambodia (got a little burnt out from the long days and hours last year) I have been working and it's wonderful how what I was thinking about when I was in cambodia (it'd be great to work to get a team of doctors/nurses together to do medical camps) is happening. Every clinic I visit I get people who are interested in volunteering! So although I am not writing, the work continues and is expanding. I'll try to be better about updating so you all know what is going on, but just know our efforts continue to Save Each One. I leave today! As usual, things are still busy until the last moment, but its all being done! So I can leave happy and at peace that one of my biggest objectives was achieved, the car will be sold! So there was a lot of tension in people's minds after the election. People remembered the past and given the opposition won, it was uncertain what would happen. But apparently all the results have changed and the old PM is still in power. It's unclear if the opposition will do anything about it.
I'm actually at the airport now. The car sold! So we have a little bit more money in the account there! :) Things were busy till the end. Sold the car, then rushed to the bank to deposit it, had to fix a few things and figure out stuff, then more finances to take care of followed by rushing to the airport on michael's moto with my suitcase. The streets are starting to get crowded again, but still a little less than normal. On the plane ride I ended up sitting next to a nice cambodian woman who is going to try to help Save Each One! :) I love how God puts the right people next to you. On the way over it was the doctor's brother for vietnam and now this lady :) Waiting at the airport in Taipei and trying to spend the time. The ride over was just a little exciting. It's been my long term desire to have a call over the announcer for a doctor and today there actually was one. hehe! It ended up being a healthy gentleman with diarrhea :) but it was still a little cool to be able to help. One of these days I hope I get to save a life, but in the meantime putting others minds at ease works too :) So woke up this morning after a peaceful over 9 hour sleep and the streets are quiet. I tried looking for internet reports about anything back happening in PP and can't find anything except for 2 cars being overturned. I saw the local Facebook footage for that and they were police cars and people hurling rocks on it and then walking on. No people getting injured. There is one report of a vietnamese man who got beat up. Not sure if that was during the election or after. Apparently they come in disguised as cambodians and try to vote. There were apparently a few thousand caught trying to do this. Not sure if all the hype yesterday with the phone calls will pan out today but lets see. :) Michael and I searched stuff on Facebook with his network for a bit yesterday and found nothing so hopefully my car can still sell!!! :)
So I just got 2 calls from friends telling me not to leave the house tomorrow. Apparently its almost confirmed that the current PM has lost and so last time this happened in 1995 there was fighting on the streets. Apparently tomorrow will not be safe. Despite all the bribes and the media not promoting any other candidate, it still happened. Last time the fighting lasted until the current PM won. I'm glad I decided not to stay in a hotel but at a home of my friends closer to the airport. I still should be able to get out on tuesday. But do pray for me.
I guess this is a lesson in not leaving till tomorrow what you can do today. Now I don't get to eat the fruit I have been wanting to buy but always to busy to stop to get. Oh well! :) If something does happen that looks scary on the news I have internet and a number I can be reached at :) I started to write yesterday but was too tired to get past the first line. Today is the first day I woke up to the alarm in a while. I had a 7am meeting with a doctor. He knows the medical students and so I'm seeing if they can work together for camps. He seems great! Off to church soon.
It's been great to be back, but I am so busy I am barely remember what I am doing :) I had dinner with my friends after my time at the cafe. I am still amazed how I ended up talking to everyone that I needed to meet at the cafe to get put things together for the future. Dinner with my friend was great. He was one of my best friends here and he met a girl the week after I left. I have been hearing things about her and I was so blessed that she just happened to be in town while I was and got to finally meet her! Saturday I woke up early at 6 and got work done and then had my 9am appt with the students. We are talking about expanding and involving more quality students and possib. At 7:30 someone called and wanted to see the car. The students came and we talked and then the car guy came and he wanted a camry instead of a corolla :( But then as i was going to meet my missionary friend that I used to mentor while here I got a call from a guy I had been trying to connect with about the car since the day before. So he saw the car and maybe!!! he'll take it! Let's see! Had a great time meeting with my friend. She has grown so much and is so wise! I loved it. She had been praying for a few things before I left and it was amazing to see the answer to her prayers. It was above and beyond what we could have hoped for! Got home and it was time for my next meeting with my friend and co-worker for the medical camps. We had a great time discussing the future of the medical students and where we want things to go and came home exhausted and fell asleep. This mornings meeting was great and I might have someone interested in the car!! So yay! Let's see. Today is election day. The streets have been full of supporters for the opposition. It's been amazing to see the students and young people out there so excited about change. The current PM has been in power for 28 years and apparently there is a lot of stuff going on that will make him a shoe in to win but it looks like cambodia is growing up and things will change! So I am excited. God is good despite us! Woke up super early today -3 am. Don't know why but couldn't sleep. My sister and I had gone to sleep saying if we wake up early then we can do something before she leaves. She woke up at 5 so we rushed and got out of the door by 9 and went shopping. :) I kept telling her given the election there will be parades of supporters and we will get stuck but I think until you have gotten stuck in traffic (when obama came I got stuff in traffic for 2 hours - total standstill). So she wanted to get to the airport left and kept shopping till as late as she had wanted to hehe and then we got on the tuktuk and we got stuck! but luckily we still got to the airport 1 hour before and were able to get her checked in and onboard. The great thing about Cambodia is they let you in and so I was able to know she was checked in. From there to get the car washed and then the first buyer came. He isn't sure but hopefully!!!! pray about it. I don't want to hold onto this car any longer! My second buyer is mad at me because I won't meet him where he wants, but I just can't drive in so much traffic, i am out of practice :) So lets see. I hear back soon from the first one.
I thought I would have time to rest after my sister left and meet people and pursue my ideas but things are piling up so fast, I feel like I am going faster than before, but everything is just falling into place. I stayed at the cafe where the center is thinking the 2nd buyer would come today but because of that Michael and I were able to discuss ideas that have been brewing in my head and his and it's great. We are on the same page and I think even without being here, I can help him with the english classes. I am going to do teaching videos! and there are new posters that I have been thinking of making and he was saying the same thing. So I have spent the afternoon taking all the pictures I need for the first set of videos for total newbys. The center is in a cafe that reaches out to medical students and I had been talking to my students about them learning from this group and so I was able to connect with the right person to hopefully make this happen and maybe even get a doctor to help with the medical camps! So yay again! I love how God connects and just makes everything fall into place. When I first got here I wasn't sure how I could show cambodia to my sister and do all my work, but it's all working out and I am doing in just a few days what I thought would take the whole time and maybe I would still need more time! Amazing how God works! Give and it shall be give, pressed down, shaken together and running over! :) I am so happy to be here and reconnecting with everyone from last year whether they are acquaintances or friends and i just love how even short term friendships can be so strong and lasting! I didn't realize how much family I have in cambodia! YAY! I am so blessed! Today was the big party with the center. The regular students were invited and as usual Michael and I had a difference in opinion of what we wanted and since he is here I decided to let him do his thing and I would do mine the last day. But as it turned out we ended up being able to mesh our ideas into one cohesive party and it was perfect. We spent the morning going to the genocide museum and the killing fields. They felt thankful for living at this time and not 40 years ago and horrified at what had been done. After that we had lunch at our center restaurant. So we talked and then tied in adversity to overcoming and my sister shared how she became the first person in the world in a wheelchair to will a main stream pageant against other able bodied girls. She shared of life before Christ and after and her she left her lucrative career as lawyer to become a pastor in india and share the love of God with them after a chance encounter when we prayed for a blind boy in a market place. It was our first beautiful non rainy day and it was hot but a blessing not to be going through the killing fields in the rain in a wheelchair. When we got to the killing fields they charged us foreigners automatically for the audio tour and so I changed mine to khmer and gave it to michael to then share with the group since I had already done the tour with my parents a few months back. The guy handing out the audio units felt bad because the khmer one technically is 2 dollars less and so let us have the khmer one for free and told me to keep my english one. Cambodians are so sweet and accommodating. We had a flat on the way back to the hotel and tuktuk driver got it changed with my sister still in it. It was a hard thing for the mechanics but they all worked and worked and tried new things until they were able to do it and not take her out. Gotto love cambodia and how accommodating they are. Not to say they are perfect :) but most are quite sweet.
My sister leaves tomorrow and hopefully I sell the car tomorrow! and then I can concentrate everything else and seeing everyone in cambodia! Luckily there are elections on sunday. The streets have been full of parades of supporters for the candidates. Apparently it could get dangerous if the current prime minister doesn't win, but hopefully it won't be. Last election he said if he didn't win he would have a war, so people assume he will win even though no one I talk to likes him. It's sad how dictators get away with things, but God willing the people will vote the way they want and there will be positive change. I called up two of my friends and it was so good just to hear their voice. Since I travel so much I can usually only concentrate on the place I am at and its when I get there that I realize how much I miss them, how much I love them and how much they love me! I feel sooooo blessed and can't' wait for this weekend when I get to meet them all! And I have so many ideas for the center I want to start this weekend. My head it full of stuff and with my sister in america I can put it all together. If she had stayed she could have helped me, but now I'll have to learn to do it myself!! You know what I love about my life, is even the downtime when I am sightseeing is all inspiration for more of what I can do for God, so I never have to feel guilty to enjoy every moment of everyday to the fullest! :) I love how God works. So I was sitting at the airport just thrilled we were on the flight for free and then God just topped the whole thing by showing us why. Overhead just before we started to board I hear an announcement that our old flight had technical difficulties and won't be boarding till after our current flight takes off. I don't know if and when they did take off but praise God! As it was, we had just enough time to do everything. We got there and poor Michael's friend had been waiting for ages for us. No one got our messages but in usual cambodian style he had a big smile on his face. We got to michael's house and changed luggage around so we would only have a backpack for the trip to angkor watt and off we went to meet the medical students. They had been waiting for an hour as well. So these students work super hard in arranging and doing the medical camps, the trainings at the various NGO's and the schools. So as a thank you since they are all volunteers I decided to take them to a local cheap 5 star for dinner. Unfortunately although they loved the ambience, the food was not to their liking. Despite that we had a good time and they shared what their future plans are. I love them! They are so easy to communicate with and we share such a good rapport that they can share their true feelings and they are such strong individuals that they fight for what they want, but are open to discussion! They are awesome!
From there we went to the bus stand. It was supposed to be a lower bunk sleeper but it ended up being only an upper bunk! So my sister is yelling and screaming as she is carried by 5 different people up 5 different stairs telling me she doesn't want to do this. But they got her in and the bus company said the return trip they would make sure the bus was a lower bus. When we got there they drove us into the city special so that we could get off on cement. Then the adventure began. We saw all the big temples, the landline museum, the night market and pub street. I went to sleep getting my nails done :) The bus ride back that night was as promised, a lower bunk. Arrived at the hotel and left my sister and saw the mechanic. I am so hoping to sell the car this time! So just needs a battery and someone sees it tomorrow! Slept through all of yesterday and today am having a party for the center. We are going to the genocide museum and killing fields (things they have never seen before) and then lunch together at the cafe that hosts us so that we can talk! I taught part of the morning class! 3 new students have joined! and the old ones have really grown! Teaching a few days before that showed me that maybe I should put together a video series for the new students so that they can watch and learn from that while the old ones can continue to move forward. |
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