DROP IT LIKE ITS HOT

I know this title is weird but sometimes its just how I feel here in the heat… need to drop everything and sit in front of a fan cause its dang hot out!

 

Anyways as you probably can tell we’ve made it to Cambodia! We have been here for about 2 weeks now and I don’t think I’ve EVER sweat this much. If anyone has done hot yoga and in the beginning its warm and you’re laying down and haven’t even started moving but yet you are already sweating. Then you do the class and think I don’t know how its humanly possible to sweat this much and it feels like you just jumped in a pool… Yeah that is what its like here when you’re not sitting in front of a fan or in A/C. It has been a low of 40ºC this week and next month is going to be the hottest month of the year so please pray for the electricity to stay on. 

 

I used hot yoga as a reference and may sound like I don’t like it here because of the heat but I love it! The heat is only a physical aspect of it and after a slap to the face I’ve stopped using the heat as an excuse for my ‘hot thoughts.’ Just to catch you up on what hot thoughts are, its when Ella speaks because she is Hot and sticky and achy and uncombable and hadn’t spent time with Jesus that day. I was speaking the first thing that came to my mind because I was hot instead of giving grace and joy even when I didn’t feel it. Theres a contrast I’ve heard here on the race about worshipping God even when we don’t feel like it because no matter what we feel HE IS STILL WORTHY OF OUR PRAISE! So even if I don’t feel the best or feel like I will never be fully dry again I don’t have to show it through my actions and I can extend the JOY and GRACE He has given me. 

 

 

W H A T   A M  I   D O I N G   I N   C A M B O D I A ?

 

1. Everyday, Monday-friday my self and 3 others from my team go to Handa Medical Centre (a trauma hospital) for 2 hours in the morning. At the hospital there is a program run by an Australian missionary named Anne whose job is to make homemade cards to sell back home. The other half is to interact with the patient’s care givers, this included family members or the friends that come to attend them. This is really important that the patients have someone with them at the hospital here because the nurses and doctors here don’t do any patient care only attend to their wounds. Their caregivers are the ones who help them to the bathroom, eat, shower, change their cloths and so on. This gives us lots of people just sitting around while their son/daughter, wife/husband, friend ect. Is sleeping to talk and play with. There is a trolly with books, games, puzzles and beauty supplies that we can bring out to them. Today I sat with a couple of ladies and massaged their hands, which turned into massaging all their friends legs. It’s a beautiful thing, the Khmer culture is very family orientated. So once you start doing something with one person, 10 other strangers that were walking around come sit down and make them selves feel welcome. It really showed me where my heart posture is in how I need my presence to make people feel welcome no matter what I’m doing. 
2. The other part of my day is spent at the coffee shop my team runs. It is a 1/2 coffee shop, 1/2 library where locals and foreigners come for a quite tranquil spot to be. The library up stairs is my favourite and when no one is up there it is so peaceful. We work with one other person from our team for 2 hours. My shift these past weeks have been the closing shift and it is probably the quietest one. From 3:30-5:30 the last of the customers are finishing up and heading on their way so Sophie and I get a lot of time to clean or catch up. 

T H I N G S   A B O U T   C A M B O D I A :

 

• The Mops are so different and fun. It has a pistol to get the water out!!!

• You don’t take A/C for granted 

• Power goes off in the whole city pretty frequently (today it was off for 12 HRS!)

• The tops of heads are culturally sacred here- so don’t touch the tops of heads

• The driving here is wack. They don’t wait on their side of the road to turn left, just go where there is space

• There’s squatty potties in the airports

• The currency here is Riel (4100riel=1 USD) but they also accept USD

• There’s a hose attached to the toilet to spray your self down with when your done. -looked it up and google calls it a “BUM GUN!!”

• You take your shoes off before you enter most buildings

• Its a very no touch culture, which I like cause I’m so sweaty anyways!

• Very quite atmosphere, so in a group we need to watch our volume level

• Buddhism is the main religion here- there are monks everywhere 

• A lady cannot touch a monk 

• Everyone mostly wears long sleeves and pants 

• Motorcycles are how everyone gets around

• There is an app like uber to book tuk tuks! Its called pass app

• There are shrines here with offerings everywhere