It's the halfway point and at the moment, I am on a little hiatus for the purpose of refilling and reflecting. (I was originally going to be in Thailand for a couple of weeks. But my passport is currently sitting on a government desk somewhere. Yes, you can pray for that.) So, you are either going to get thoughts that are really deep...or not. This is one of the latter days.
• I went to a church this week where the pastor speaks in Khmer. But that's ok because they offer little transistor radios with earbuds so that you can hear the translation in English. And those of you who know me well know that I'll be bringing my own earbuds next week.
• Cambodians clap on beats 1 and 3. Westerners clap on 2 and 4. So when you put them together in a church service...yep, you get the picture.
• The Khmer language is one of the tougher ones to learn. I have gotten a few phrases down, but I seriously find myself randomly throwing in a French word every now and then. Which is scary since the only phrase I can really remember from high school French is: "I'm going to go to the library."
• So, three Buddhist monks were going down the road on a motorcycle. No...it's not the beginning of a joke.
• The top three watched television shows in Cambodia: Tom and Jerry cartoons, Khmer Karaoke, and professional wrestling.
• I have to confess that I pretty regularly check what the weather is like back in Ohio. I still love it when the district that I previously taught in gets a snow day.
• Weather.com says it's going to feel like the low 90s here tomorrow. The hot season doesn't start until March. Some days I'm sure I know what it feels like to melt.
• The power went out in the middle of typing that. No windows in my room. Doesn't matter. No breeze either.
• One of the top ten purchases I made before coming here...a hand-held, battery-operated fan.
• I bowled a 140 the other day. Yes, it feels surreal to be typing that in Cambodia. (And you thought it was bad to wear those bowling shoes in the states.)
• This week, I met people from Australia, England, Brazil, Canada, and Korea.
• I love worshiping with people from different nations in different languages. Wonder if it's a little taste of heaven. (I'm assuming minus the bugs and the heat.)
• My brother just released a book called Killing Cockroaches. I was a little disappointed it wasn't a how-to book. But it should be good anyway.
• Power just came back on.
• On Sunday, Gina, Kim, Morgan, and Pastor Mike talked about our orphanage and their trip here. I love my church.
• Met some people who are working for International Justice Mission...helping to rescue and restore girls who have been victimized in human trafficking. The child sex trade is rampant here. Not enough words to describe how that breaks my heart.
• Every time I see our kids, I am incredibly thankful that they are safe.
• You have literally saved their lives.
• Thank you. (Not enough words for that either.)
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3 comments:
LOVED this morning's service at church. The video, pics of the kids, the gals sharing. LOVED it.
And side note: Gabe talks a lot about different people in ministry (he does web design, has a podcast, blog, etc), and he mentioned a guy named Tony Morgan several times this week. Gabe's reviewing his new book about cockroaches and whatnot. Blah, blah, blah. :)
HE'S YOUR BROTHER?!? Too funny. I thought "Tony Morgan" was some random pastor guy out in California or something. (or South Carolina) :) Gabe didn't know he was your bro either.
Small world, eh? :)
I love your comment about worshiping with people from different countries. It even sounds heavenly.
And it was great to hear more about the girls' trip. They did a great job in service; I know their stories and pictures touched many hearts.
I must be Cambodian. I cannot clap on beats 2 & 4. I always end up on 1 & 3.
Maybe I just have no rhythm.
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