Hi everyone!
It has been a couple of days since I got to post. Our days were full on Friday and Saturday. Friday the seminar finished up with Tyla and Jillian. Tyla completed her lesson on food prep. and kitchen sanitation. All of her information was eagerly received. Jillian's lesson got a little sidetracked. Her lesson was on Health Beliefs. Essentially the students broke into groups to discuss several Bible verses regarding the spiritual world, Jesus victory over it, and He is the only mediator between us and God. Then after discussing those verses as a whole group, the point was to recognize different health beliefs they have seen here in Cambodia and determine whether they are 1)not helpful, but not harmful & thus can be ignored, 2) those not helpful and spiritually or physically harmful thus needing correction. That was the plan. It worked until we got to the part about discussing various remedies from witch doctors and other spiritually based health beliefs used to "cure" illness. They got so caught up in the spirit world it took them right off the biblical path. Matt and Pastor Sokah stepped in to do some Bible teaching. Evedn though the lesson did not go the way we planned, Matt was pleased that they got to address some of these issues and do some teaching. God's plan is better than ours!
Saturday we traveled by rented tourist bus to Kampong Chhnang. The students put on their first seminar. We were pleased to see their comprehension of the material we had presented. They did however mix and match info from different lessons. Matt said the evangelistic message wasn't very strong and there were non-believers present. A few details to iron out but all in all a good start. I felt like a proud parent watching her child take its first steps! Matt said Seenot and Pastor Po are both asking to do seminars in 2 other areas already. Praise God! Time will tell if this is something they will use long term.
I have been the first casualty on the health front. I have picked up some kind of intestinal bug. Thankfully the symptoms did not hit hard until today. Unfortunately it was during church. I made it through the service and then pulled Lois aside to let her know I needed to get back to the house quickly. I regret not be able to stay for the socializing after the service. Relationship is such a big part of this cultural but Lois assured me they would understand.
The word=ship service was great. Very similar to our services. I don't know if that is normal or arrange because they knew we were coming. Service was just over an hour long. I expected it to go longer but was grateful today that it did not. The elementary age kids and youth did their own special music numbers. Those little ones are so cute with their singing and hand motions no matter what language they are speaking. The older youth did a good job too. I was able to present a framed congregational photo from DFC. Tyla read a letter (traveling minute) from SFC. Both were received with great appreciation.
As I stayed in resting and sticking close to the bathroom, Tyla and Jillian went on an adventure. Carolyn dropped them off at the Russian Market. They didn't spend much time in the market because it was so hot inside, but the explored the area around it. They found a shop near by and got their hair washed, cut, and styled. Brave souls! I guess it was not the licensed regulated beauty shops we have in the States. They made it through the washing and cutting then they had it dried and flat ironed. Both said they figure if any bugs were transmitted to their heads the heat from the flat irons killed them! I'm told it was something to see 2 ladies each with 2 flat irons working on Jillian's longer hair. I have trouble with one flat iron let alone 2 at the same time. One in each hand! Both came home looking very nice and where flipping their hair around all evening.
Mark spent the afternoon with Matt visiting a small village church that the Kuffels' have started visiting an doing some teaching with. They had originally planned to take us all out there but rethought that plan. This is a very young church and Matt felt all of us at once would overwhelm them. I'm glad Mark had the chance to go. As a missions major at Barclay this was right up his alley. After the somewhat disappointing experience at the seminar it was great to see him returned so enthused about this experience. God is good.
Well after my afternoon of rest and starting some antibiotics I'm felling better. I hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast. I just ate one pack of snack crackers with cheese and the other pack with peanut butter. They seem to be setting well on my stomach. After a good night's rest and more antibiotics I should be fine.
Tomorrow morning I'm off to visit a dental clinic in the morning. The translator who helped us at the seminar is a dentist and wsill show me around the office he works at. The others are going out to the Killing Fields while I'm there. In the afternoon we will all take a cruise up the Me Kong river.
The trip is almost over. It will be time to board the plane again before we know it.
