Team Anchor Depths is currently living/ teaching at a school outside Phnom Penh, Cambodia. If you asked me to point out specifically where we are on a map, I would have no idea. All I know is that there is a village market 1 kilometer away and that’s where our host goes to get our breakfast each morning.
Our host is fantastic. She actually does finances for the organization we are working with but she takes care of the teams when they are here- specifically cooking for us. She is here with her niece (almost 3 years old), who she has raised since she was a month old. Her niece is the sweetest little girl- apparently she is afraid of foreigners however we haven’t seen that at all.
The school has 3 different sessions a day Monday-Friday- 7:30-10:10am, 1:30-4:10pm, 5-6pm- and the sizes all vary. The morning session is smaller than the afternoon (5 classes compared to 7 very full classes) but the evening session is the smallest- with only 2 classes running. The two earlier sessions have students between the ages of 4-12(?), and they all wear uniforms. The evening session seems to be a more laid back atmosphere, all older students (young adults?) without uniforms.
We have worked one full week with the ministry, with 2 more to go. I have been working with the level 1/ level 2 classes during the morning/afternoon- in the evenings we are painting some of the newer classrooms and working on some decorations for the classrooms. Since my class is just beginning to learn English, I help them review information from the previous days and attempt to assist the regular teacher with presenting the new information, but most of the explanation has to be in Khmer. I assist with pronunciation whenever possible.
They cut class a little short yesterday and my team and I were able to do a couple skits, sing some songs, and present the Gospel with the help of our host as a translator. It went as well; we are praying that seeds were planted firmly and that we will be able to follow up in the coming weeks.
The school itself isn’t a Christian organization; I believe some of the teachers are Christian but not all are. We are forming relationships with the teachers, with a little trouble, at least on my part, because of the language barrier, but I hope to be able to bless them in some way as the month progresses.
As far as living conditions… we are staying at the school, comfortable but simply. We have two rooms- three of us are staying in each. We are sleeping on our sleeping pads- no sleeping bag required because of the natural heating system that is living in Cambodia during the rainy season. (We have fans… and it really isn’t that bad… so, so humid.) Squatty potties are real- and really interesting. I’ve got a system down and I’m rather proud of myself. We have a shower! There isn’t a door for the shower, so it’s an interesting experience- I’ve found it’s easiest to shower in some of my clothing and I kill two birds with one stone- I’m clean and my clothes get clean. At night/when there aren’t children here, the gate to our little compound is locked- meaning, we don’t really ever leave. We visited the market once and today we took a van 2.5 hours into Phnom Penh to get internet/have a little adventure.
I think that’s it as far as the details of my life currently. We found out our first debrief (where we meet up as a Squad for a few days of fellowship, etc., which will happen 5 times over the year) is in Siem Reip starting on October 29th, which means we only have 3 short weeks here. This also means we will all be able to go to Angkor Wat, which is rather exciting. Next month, Thailand, is an all-squad month, so that should be fun.
Sorry this is a little all over the place! This will be it for updates for a while since we don’t have internet this month.
Please be in prayer for our team as we try to share the Gospel in this mostly-Buddhist country. 🙂
Love you guys!! Thank you for everything!!
