1st 4 days...

Day 151107 2200hrs

And so here I am finally settled on the bed and wondering.. hmmm was it worth it? I crashed on the aeroplane , tiredness presumably. Really, I didn’t put much thought into this whole trip here. And so there it happens one more thing lost here… My Luggage.. my books, my clothes… Hmmm.. what’s going on? I shudder to think.
So my thoughts wander and I really imagine if this was going to be like that when I eventually arrive in a few years time? Who do I turn to? I’m not afraid, no no no.. as the song goes.. For the Lord, your God is with you.

So I will face a new day. Am heading off to the village, wow… really wonder what its going to be.. out of my comfort zone and into the fire. How do I teach? What do I say? Time to get moving Mel, you got a job to do.

Day 161107 1350hrs

Had a disturbed night. Was shaken and had to pray. Was woken up at 5 am by the prayer meeting going on just above me. Korean style prayer, that’s something I need to address according to Doris. Had bacon and bread made by Doris. It was good. After which was chapel where I met the students. Met Jessica the dean eventually and tried to fix the guitars. Hmmm, I’ve been tasked to teach the recorder, gosh really am in trouble. Lesson one, don’t say you know how to play. Die man. Looks like the afternoons might be the only free time for me.

Pastor Philip came at 945am and we went to Russian Market to buy my stuff. Well, had no choice but bought 1 pair of Levi jeans (Too tight), 1 espirit pants, 2 shirts, 1 polo top, and 1 addidas t-shirt and 2 boxers. Hmmm.. the colors were terrible, but well. They cost like 50 US. Wow. Not that cheap but well. Went to buy breakfast stuff afterwards at lucky. It was a 10 minute thing, so bought biscuits, cause they would last me to the end of the month.
Lunch was 1145pm, food was rather nice and I proceeded to the room to do somemore packing and get ready to go off.

2100hrs
Took a 3 on 1 bike ride with Prodh and Ming Thai to Satabo. Fun and I got to see the parts of Cambodia when we stopped. Hmmm, no need for bike license here, am tempted to just ride. It was 45 min ride. The church is really village style, the usual Cambodian messiness. Spent the afternoon with the kids and basically played a lot of guitar, teaching them new tricks. Then it was a simple dinner of cabbage soup and cabbage with rice. The children came at 6pm for lessons, there were 2 classes and I really enjoyed teaching them. Shared with the older group of the reason why I am here, and in the usual way of asking them who made things. Asked them to imagine about a world without color and got them to think about who could make them. Bath time was by the water pump, really rusty but no choice. We closed the day with worship at 930pm before sleeping by 10.

171107
We woke up at 6am. Was woken up many times by geckos and well, it was also tough sleeping on the wooden bed without a mattress in a house without windows. Breakfast was egg with rice. This morning we went to visit houses, was lost because of the communication barrier. Went with Ming Thai to the market to buy food for lunch. Before Lunch, I taught the factory girls some English. The books were not good because they were about Sydney. Why would anyone in Cambodia want to learn about Sydney. So we went to a discussion on food. The afternoon was spent resting a little because of the immense heat. By 3 pm, we took out the mats to wash. There were 10 in all. It was hard work because there were 4 sides and we had to squat to scrub. Took us about 2 hrs and by the time it was over, my hands were peeled. The kids came again for English lesson and I taught them some more greetings and new words. Seriously, I think the English curriculum is very bad, it was just a touch and go, where there was no understanding being communicated. I had to help Pastor Chamna to teach properly. Dinner was more vegetables and rice, with loads of MSG. The night was spent preparing for the next day’s service and we had some youths join us. Spent time reading the word and worshipping before sleeping. Hmmm, had some thoughts about the hermeneutics of the Cambodians, very interesting.

181107
Church this morning began at 830am. There were only 8 of us; Pastor Chamna shared with me on the state of the church last night. Struggled to stay awake. Shared on Romans 5 with them and the song, “Thank You for the cross”. Service was over by 10am. Didn’t join Pastor for counseling because it was quite a hindrance. He shared with me later that there church members were going through problems like divorce, land issues.
Lunch was early and I really didn’t feel like eating. It was more rice with fermented fish. Realised, I’ve been drinking unboiled rainwater, but God is good, a strong stomach he has given me. In the afternoon was Sunday school, but no kids came, rather it was the kids who were from the English class. Taught some more English and played game with them. I love kids, but struggle to communicate. Chatek was the game of the day. At about 4pm. I took a half hour ride through the village on a bicycle. It was rather interesting because there were so many things to see. Cambodia is really a beautiful place, yet it has been destroyed time and time again by wars and destruction of the land.
Had more fish, but this time it was fried. Had my bath and at about 7pm, there was a blackout. No choice, we had to sleep early. Tossed about in bed through the night, and there was a thunderstorm.