On the Road with God

Hi Everyone! It is Friday here and finally a message! Yes we made it here alright. I just have not had access to internet. Steve and Carolyn Harvey arrived back in Cambodia 1 hour before we did. After 2 months in the States it took a couple of days to get the house back in order and get his internet reconnected. Fixing a shower and toilet took precident over the internet. The handy internet cafe near their house we used last year has closed. Anyway here's an update at last. It has been a busy 4 days here. The first 2 for me included final preparation for the hygiene seminar and helping Gaylyn and Steve search pharmacies for the best price we could get on medicines for the upcoming clinic. I did get a free morning on Wednesday. Carolyn took us on a quick tour of the Russian Market and some specialty shops for souveniors. Gaylyn has also been here in Cambodia before. Steve Metzger is the newbie. He's fitting in great. He has made friends with the kids living across the street. Steve has them trying to teach him some Khmer words, but his pronunciations are not up to their standards! It is so cute. Steve wil listen so intently and faithfully try to reproduce the sounds and they just shake their heads no. The hygiene seminar started yesterday. George Chen taught his lesson first. I was up to bat this morning and Pat Van Winkle finished off the teaching this afternoon. Tomorrow is just a half day for review and then the participants are going out into the surrounding community to pass out tickets for the medical clinic here in Phnom Penh on Monday & Tuesday. They are passing out 200 tickets to families in the area. The teaching part of the seminar has gone incredibly well. The Cambodian people are sponges when it comes to learning. They soaked up everything we gave them. During my oral hygiene lesson I got some great questions. It shows me the conditions and situations they meet on a regular basis. Those over 35 who went through the Pol Pot times, had a lot of questions about gum problems. Because of the conditions they lived through most have lost some or all their teeth to gum disease. They really wanted to know how the could save the remaining teeth they have. I have been suprised at the number of people who remember me from last year. Even Om Soot, the elderly lady living at the church recognized me. I did not have much contact with her. Last year she was recovering from hip replacement surgery. The ladies of the church tended to her mostly. She joined the larger group for short periods. Yet today she approached me to say (through a translator) that she remembered me. She pointed to her hip and I nod yes she was doing so much better. The biggest smile came across her face. It meant even more to her that I remembered. It is another example of how powerful our mere presence in a situation can be. That she remember me with the specifics she talked of is surprising for the small amount of actual time we interacted. We are always watched. Our actions and attitudes are noticed no matter how seemingly insignificant. George Chen goes home and the remaining 4 team members arrive tomorrow. Sunday will be a day of rest then we hit the week running with the medical clinic portion of the trip. There is so much more I'd like to tell you but it is 11:00pm here and I have to be at the church at 7:00am! Hopefully I'll get some internet time tomorrow night.