Month one is over! Can you believe it? The days were slow, but the weeks flew by. There are now only 3 teams living in Battambang instead of 6, so we have about 25 people. For month two we had a ministry change, so I have a new schedule! Here is a breakdown of what my day looks like:
5:30 – Wake Up
5:45 – Downstairs to Cook Breakfast
This morning we made scrambled eggs with tomatoes and green peppers and had banana bread from a local store.
6:30 – Breakfast Time!
All 25 of us meet downstairs to eat delicious food and have a morning devotion with our ministry host. We have been going through the 10 commandments, and this morning we learned about the 6th.
7:15 – Leave for the Market
Gabby, Victoria, our ministry host and I biked to the local market to buy vegetables for our meals today.
8 – Spent at home
This morning the ‘fix it man’ came to fix the clogged toilet and the kitchen sink that was leaking. He didn’t speak any English so we had a little trouble communicating, but never less we got it figured out.
8:30 – Run Errands
We hopped on Mr. Sam’s tuk-tuk, which is like a buggy pulled by a motorcycle, and headed out. Our first stop was the laundry lady around the corner. Because I am treasurer for my team, we stopped by the bank so that I could use the ATM and have them exchange the larger bills that I had. Next, we went to the western market, called Lucky, and bought all of our non perishable groceries for the week. Lastly, we stopped by the central market in search of Banana Chips for lunch today.
10 – Dishes & Cleaning
The house was rather dirty since the sink has been broken, so I got started washing the dishes while Gabby and Victoria swept and mopped the downstairs of our house, where we all eat and hang out.
11:15 – Lunch Prep
Today for lunch we had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. We cut each baguette in half and then pre made the sandwiches so that when everyone got home from ministry we could eat!
12 – Let’s Eat
12:30 to 1 – Quiet Time
Each afternoon we have a time when the teams come together to do quiet time. This helps to ensure that we have time to dive into the Bible each day, since we have such busy schedules throughout the day,
1:30 to 4:30 – Leave for Afternoon Ministry
Today was our first day going to the hospital and we got very lost on our way biking there. But, when we finally arrived we had orientation, to learn about the hospitals background and what we will be doing there. Each day from 2 to 3:15 we will be making cards from homemade paper and donated supplies to help fund the program that Ann, the lady in charge of our ministry runs. Ann is a missionary from New Zealand, who moved to Cambodia about 7 years ago with her husband. She currently works at the hospital, playing games and forming relationships patients, the staff, and with the caregivers of the injured. The hospital is a trauma hospital, where those from all over the country come to seek help from moto accidents, work accidents, falls, and just about anything you can think of. From 3:15 to 4:15 we will be going into the wards (large rooms where the patients all stay) to play games and build relationships with the Cambodian’s that are there.
4:30 – HCL and Ochaya
After ministry, we stopped by another western store, called HCL, to pick up Shampoo and Mouthwash. Once we finished there we went to Ochaya, a boba tea place, across the street, so that I could work on my team’s finance report for the month.
6:30 – Dinner Time
We got home just in time for dinner and it was delicious! We had fried rice with chicken, pineapple, green peppers, green beans, and carrots in it. And we had garlic bread, made from the leftover baguettes at lunch.
7:30 – Team Time
Each night we gather in our 3 teams. Tonight we had storytelling, which gives us a time set aside, to write blogs like the one that you are reading right now.
8 to 9 – Hangout Time
Some nights we go on a run, some nights we have a dance party, some nights we just sit and talk about life.
9:30 – Shower
10 – Lights Out
With a new month and new ministry, comes lots of new experiences and changes. In the upcoming month I would love to invite you to pray alongside me.
Please pray for :
– Relationships at the Market each morning
– Open conversation at the Trauma Hospital
– Fundraising: My final deadline to be fully funded is January 15th.
