Starting a Routine

I have no idea how to begin summing up the past 10 days. For those of you who know me well, you know that summarizing is not a skill I claim to posses. However, I cannot begin to write everything that I have experienced in the past 10 days. So I will do my best. Be patient.

What I'll be doing

After talking to Julie (the director of PCL Siem Reap) we have mapped out how I'll be able to help PCL for the next several weeks.
-PCL has a learning center where they offer English and computer classes. The English sessions run for 10 weeks which happens to be the amount of time I'm here. It is a perfect fit. I'll be teaching 12, one hour classes a week consisting of intermediate and advanced students. Thanks to some interns from Lee University, there is now a curriculum for me to follow. I'm really looking forward to teaching and to learning more about my students. Hopefully I'll be able to build relationships with a couple of them. I'd love to develop a relationship with one of the girls in my class and spend some time with her outside of class. I'm not sure if that is going to be possible, but I'm praying for the opportunity to open up.
-As I shared in the last post, I'll be going out to the orphanage every day to help the kids with their math skills. I'll probably be spending a couple hours out there every afternoon.
-There is a village about 45 minutes outside of Siem Reap called Takam. Julie goes out there every Tuesday to have a Bible Study with the villagers. I'll be going out there with her mostly to start working with the kids. I think that her hope is that we can build some kind of program for the children out there. We are just going to start with a few games and songs after she has finished her Bible study with the adults. I'm extremely excited about it though! I'm good at playing with kids!!! :)
-There are a group of youth here that have a passion for the Lord. The group consists of some older kids out at the orphanage, youth that live around the orphanage, and some of the youth that work at Common Grounds Cafe. They have youth group on Sunday night and I'll be helping out with that. The youth are pretty amazing. Many of them obviously love Jesus. Julie wants them to start developing a desire for sharing that love with others. For outreach, the youth will be going out to start a children's program in the slums. I'll be helping with that as well. Mostly planning and helping the youth organize games for the kids. Again, right up my ally.

What I've done the past 10 days

-This week I taught 9 classes. Wednesday was a holiday so we didn't have any classes. But I got to meet all my students. I'm enjoying teaching so far. I've forgotten how much I love teaching ESL classes. I loved teaching grade 5, but ESL is different. The only downside is that I have a 6am class on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday!!! I don't do mornings well but it wasn't so bad this week. By noon I've already put in a full days work!
-I also tutored two girls out at the orphanage. They are super fun girls. We had a great time this week learning our multiplication tables! In S.E. Asia skin color is a big deal. The darker you are, the more you are judged. They love white skin and see it a sign of wealth. If you have dark skin then your family must be poor and work out in the sun. These two girls have darker skin and have very low self-esteem. I'm thankful for the opportunity to help them because I can use it as an chance to assure them of their beauty, both inside and out. They are precious girls and I pray that God can help me inspire them to find their identity in Him rather than the color of their skin.
-Takam: I went out to Takam (the village) on Tuesday. I got to go there back in October while I was here and some of them actually remembered me!
-On Wednesday the youth group went out to the slums and played with the children. It was such a special time. The kids out there are so cute but you can tell that they are already hardened. They are tough kids. They have to be. Most of them are left alone all day to fend for themselves as their parents go out to beg or dig through the trash. About 50% of them are Vietnamese and are not recognized in Cambodia or Vietnam. This is the hand they were dealt and they have hardened themselves to be able to accept it. Julie wants the youth to start a program similar to a backyard Bible school program; singing, games, skits and a short Bible lesson. This week we went out there and played with the kids. Next time we go out, we'll have a program planned.
-I feel like God is reminding of some things that I have forgotten in the past couple of years. I've forgotten my passion for Him and for people. As busy I am here, I also have a lot of time to spend in the Word and listening to the Lord. I feel like I'm at a turning point in my life (one of many, I'm sure) and I don't want to miss what the Lord has planned for my time here. I realized that for a while this past year I lost my joy that I had in the Lord. I'm not sure why and I can't pinpoint when it happened. A couple weeks before I left Thailand I started seeking the Lord again for the first time in a while. I feel like the Lord is really starting to heal my heart and reminding me that in Him there is JOY. I'm thankful for His faithfulness to love me and keep trying.

Finally, as you may have noticed, I have revamped my site a bit. I've changed the layout and I'm trying to add some pictures and videos. I've actually been taking lots of pictures (insert applause)!!! I've spent the past 4 hours trying to download them but the internet and I are not on good terms right now. So, hopefully I will get some pictures up soon. I was able to upload a few of them to Facebook if you get a chance to check them out.

One long trip later...

After getting a later start than I had expected, I found a bus that would take me to the border between Thailand and Cambodia. The bus ride wasn't so bad. It was about 4.5 hours, but it was half empty (or half-full:) and I was lucky enough to have an empty seat beside me. I spent the hours reading, listening to music and anxiously awaiting my arrival to the border. Maybe it was the cup of iced coffee (on an empty stomach) that kept me from sleeping or maybe just the excitement of getting to Cambodia. Either way, I was extatic when I saw the signs for the border. When I got to the border this sketchy guy kept offering to help me. I was a little weary of his "help"... cautious of the cost of the "help" once it was all said and done. But, I had four bags, two full of books for the kids at the orphanage and I needed help lugging it from place to place. So I kept a close eye on him and gave him my two heaviest bags. If he was gonna ask for money at the end of it, I wanted him to work for it. :) He ended up helping me all the way through the Thai border and on past the Cambodian border. It was nice to have the help. He took me to his taxi driver and gave me an okay deal on a ride to Siem Reap. He ended up being quite helpful and not trying to rip me off or take any of my stuff. It was a nice surprise considering all the horrible scam stories I've heard about the Cambodian border. He passed me off to the taxi driver and we embarked on our 1.5 hour ride from the border to Siem Reap. The driver didn't speak a word of English and he ended up taking his sweet time getting to the city. What should have been a 1.5 hour trip at the most took us 2+ hours. Matt (my friend in Siem Reap) was worried and trying to figure out where I was. Thank God I got here safely and with very few hiccups along the way.

Matt got me all set up in my new room for the next few weeks. It's a comfy little room above the cafe that PCL runs. The cafe is great! Lots of good food and coffee and free internet!!! Whoohoo! After announcing my safe arrival to the Facebook world and sending out a few short emails, I called it a night. I slept very well in my new humble abode.

Today, for my first day in Siem Reap, Matt took me out to the orphanage to hang out with the kids for awhile. It was great. I was able to help a couple of the girls with their math and talked to Matt about spending more time with these two specific girls, Hannah and Sarah. They are little behind in their math skills and just need a little special attention. I figure I'm just the person for the job. The girls are sweet and so cute. They are about 11 years old... perfect age, if you ask me!! I'm excited about spending more time with them through the next couple months.

I'll be finding out more during the next day or so about what my scedule will look like for the next two months. I'll definitely keep everyone updated about what I'll be doing. Hopefully I'll remember my camera and post some pics too. Fingers crossed. :)

Almost There

After spending several days cleaning and packing and planning, etc... I'm finally ready to get on a bus for 5 hours and go to Cambodia. I'll be heading out in the morning and arriving in Siem Reap sometime in the afternoon. I'm really excited to get to Cambodia and start loving on some cute little kidos! Once I'm there and get internet access, I'll update and put some pictures up. Yay! :)

Oh and please forgive my lack of blogging skills.

Okay... Cambodia... Here I come.