Chim-rip-souah!
That’s, “Hello!” in the Khmer language; the language of Cambodia!
Life here in Cambodia is so different from life in the USA… Yet, in only 3 weeks, we’ve already acclimated…to the climate (I needed my jacket when the temperature dropped to 76 degrees F!), the transportation (tuk-tuks!), most of the food (rice and lake fish!), communication methods (lots of gestures and smiles!), critters (ants, geckos, spiders, and puppies!), and squatty potties (they’re so much more hygenic than toilets!)… These things once seemed strange and uncomfortable, but now they seem normal and even make sense!
One thing that isn’t all that different from the USA is the people… The people here are so generous in so many ways!
We were invited to a Christian Cambodian wedding last weekend. The bride and groom only met us once, but invited us to attend. What a blessing it was to be encouraged by the way the bride and groom served each other and their family! They were so generous with sharing such a special occasion with us!
We’ve had opportunity to travel out to the villages to teach Sunday School. On two occasions, the families there served us abundant food out of their own means! They were so generous with their resources!
Despite being shy, the little children in the neighborhood and at the villages have welcomed us and humored us as we have tried to speak the little Khmer we know as we play with them! They have been so generous with their love!
On Ash Wednesday, we celebrated a couple of the students’ birthdays. We had cake, coconut fishy crackers, candy and coffee. As we celebrated, a wall broke down and the students began to joke with us! We had a soot fight! They were so generous with their grace!
As we’ve been teaching English, we’ve also been trying to learn some Khmer. So, when they have opportunity, they try to teach us some! They are generous with their patience.
As much as we have come to serve – to teach English, to preach, to teach guitar, to teach crocheting, to teach computers, to paint an office – they have served us! What a blessed month this has been?! I’m not looking forward to leaving our new friends, but I’m encouraged and inspired to learn from there generosity!
