Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other’s gold.
This new year has brought a different light on the meaning new for muah. All things new right now are happenin in my brain. We have gotten new teams, we are in a new country, and obviously we have a new ministry. Oh, and I’m new to not bein a student for the first time in like, ever.
That bein said, I’m deeming this month the silver month. Because as we all know, gold and silver can actually be worn together if you pair it the right way. aka new adds flavor to old.
So, new teams. I’m officially a member of the Spirit Dancers. There are 7 of us and we are excited to kick off month 5 together. I’m still with Devon, who was on my original team, but all the other frands are new. Let the ‘how do you order your coffee?’s and ‘wait, what’s your myers briggs?’ questions begin.
New country. We are in Cambodia! And I’ve had myself a grand ol time so far. Well, other than the fact that sickness hit me within the past few days. Luckily there is an Italian doc down the road who seems to know what he’s talkin about. So far we have been to Siem Reap, Battambang, and Phnom Penh so I’ve gotten to see a good chunk of the country. Coming into this month I was unaware of the history of Cambodia. And, as we all know, Hannah likes to read. So, when our contact suggested First They Killed my Father as good insight into the Khmer Rouge and the history of this country, I decided that would be my book of the month. Y’all. I found this book at the street market. Like, have you ever heard of a bootleg book? It only cost me $5 and I’m pretty sure it ain’t missin any pages. What a win.
New ministry. Our ministry is in Battambang and it’s called Crossing Cambodia. Every morning (Monday – Saturday) at 6 am, 2 or 3 of the CC staff (along with 2 or 3 of the Spirit Dancers) hop in the truck and leave to pick up the kids. There are about 20 kids currently in the CC program. These babies live on the street, literally, so the truck pulls up to where the kids normally sleep and the staff get out to corral ’em. It ain’t like home where the parents will make sure the kids are up and ready for the bus when it comes around. The kids are usually still asleep and the staff have to wake them up and bring them kickin and screamin to the truck. We joke that they are like walkin zombies in the mornin…but it ain’t too far off. They just stare off in their own little worlds. Just think how you would be without coffee or mornin cartoons though.
We get back to the center around 645 and from there, the big kids take bucket showers and change into their uniforms. Then they eat breakfast and walk the block to private school. Crossing Cambodia pays for them to go there because in public school the teacher:student ratio is like 40:1 so they get a better education here. It’s hard though, because they are all pretty behind for their age and therefore, bullying has been an issue that is fairly common among the CC kids.
The babies that aren’t old enough for the private school go to the preschool, which is at the center. There are 8 little babes in the preschool right now and they are all so different. Lord, they are all spitfires but I just love em. We spend the day playin with them, whether it be kickin balls or singin, or helping out at the center wherever that may be. The 2 youngest boys sleep a lot while they are at the center. I assume that after a night of begging with my parents on the street, I would be exhausted too. Basically, this place is a safe place where they can get clean, and eat, and just feel loved on. At 4 after the big kids are done with school, the truck loads back up and the kiddos go back to the place they call home until the next day.
In order to qualify for the program, the parents cannot be able to afford education for their children. It’s hard though, because the living conditions are so mobile that Crossing Cambodia has lost touch with some of the kids and their families. So, it’s not guaranteed these babies will be back tomorrow if for some reason they aren’t at the normal spot they sleep in, then CC has no way of finding them.
So. My life is new right now. It’s new for me to see mice every morning when I go to boil water for coffee. Yep. Every mornin. It’s terrifying. It’s new for me to find myself pretty darn clueless where I’m gonna be in August (any ideas would be just peachy FYI). It’s new for me to wear a kavu every place I go (…typically a fashion no no in my world). But, new is fun. New is exciting. New is just what God decided was needed in Han Brown’s life right now, so here I am.
