Cambodia

Cambodia, having not long come out of years of war and turmoil is struggling to keep up with the speed of development here.  Most of Phnom Phen now has bitumen roads but are still very dusty, and beside the roads it’s still mostly dirt and unpaved.  Many of the smaller roads within the city and those out of the city are still not covered.  People riding bicycles and motorbikes often wear face masks to help protect them from the dust and traffic fumes.  Traffic on the roads within PP is chaotic!  There are usually two lanes of traffic but this can become four with only a small lane for the oncoming traffic to squeeze through, with motorbikes and bicycles travelling on both sides of the road in every direction.  And I mean every direction, some cutting right across in front of the cars to get from one side of the road to another as well as driving down the road in the opposite direction.  Motorbikes with five members of the family all riding together, baby clutched in mothers arms as dad nurses the toddler on the petrol tank with another child squeezed between the parents.  Motorbikes piled high with goods to the extent they look as though they will topple over.  Trucks, bulging at the seams with merchandise and with people perched on the roof, jostle for position on the road while swerving at every pothole and pedestrian as they dodge the rest of the traffic.   Pedestrians take their lives into their own hands as they manoeuvre their way through the traffic which dodge and weave around them.  It truly is a scary sight to behold!

On one occasion I went into the CBD with Martin and Deborah.  Completing our chores we headed home which would have been about a half hours drive if the road had been empty.  This evening the traffic was so congested we were stuck in a four lane jam.  There were four cars abreast on this two lane road, two cars on our side of the road and another care taking up most of the oncoming lane.  Unfortunately the oncoming traffic was doing the same and the cross road had nearly come to a standstill as there was no where to move. We were going nowhere fast!  Martin, one of the culprits in the oncoming traffic lane, was fortunately on the outer lane, well kind of, Deborah asked the motorbike with his 4 meter trailer to move up a bit before doing a U turn.   We then went back to the shopping centre where we did some shopping before having dinner out to wait till the traffic had cleared.  We left nearly 2 hrs later and although the traffic was better this particular intersection was still jammed so a back route was taken which took us to another main road out of the city.

Cambodia has three seasons similar to Thailand hot, dry and wet season but my interpretation is hot, hotter, and hottest!  We are approaching the hottest season in April with temperatures in the high thirties accompanied with high humidity.  At the moment we are having 35-37c degrees and 60-70% humidity.  So hot and sticky all round except when we enter the shopping centres or restaurants which have air conditioning as well as Martins ute which is the time to cool off.  The school, children’s centre and offices and our apartments are not air conditioned.  I’m not sure if it is the humidity or just doing too much but I have felt very fatigued lately.

I am sharing a flat with Yu Jin from Korea. Yu Jin has been with His Child for 2 months out of a one year stay, she is teaching at the school and helping with the bus ministry.  She also studies Khmer so she is very handy to have around.   The other day she was trying to explain to the motorbike driver how to take me to His Child premises.  It is fairly straight forward just up to the roundabout turn right then straight down that road till you see it on the left.  I of course had no idea how to instruct him so we took off with me hanging on behind.  We got past the roundabout then he gestured towards several buildings on the right side of the road.  ‘No’ I said and signalled him to keep going.  He was making me anxious.  What if we missed it or I didn’t recognise the place, had we gone too far already?  I prayed and felt the Lord’s peace as I committed things into His hands.  I knew He would guide me.   Sure enough I spotted it on the left hand side and pointed it out to the driver who muttered something under his breath as we manoeuvred around the back of a huge truck which was coming in the opposite direction.  Safe at last!  Yu Jin sent me a text ‘Sally – If you arrive, please send me a message.”  I smiled, she of course mean ‘when I arrive’.  My reply ‘Arrived safely. Thanks <3’ to which she responded ‘Wow. Thanks God. ^^’   I had to laugh.  Was she that surprised her instructions worked or was she surprised I had arrived at all?  LOL

Our flat is on the second floor of an apartment block which is accessed by exterior stairs to verandas which surround the apartments giving us both back and front access.  We use huge heavy padlocks to secure the doors and there are bars on both doors and windows which is common in Asia.  You enter the apartment into a lounge room with a hall at the other end which takes you past the first bedroom which is unoccupied and has a window looks into the lounge.  At the end of the hall is the kitchen and off this is the downstairs bathroom.  This is my bathroom. It is about one meter by two with a full size washing machine, western toilet, basin and a typical Asian bathing set up, a large bucket to collect the water which you then scooped up and splash over yourself.  The bin size bucked for storing water is filled by a hose with a shower nozzle but the wall attachment for the shower is behind the washing machine so it defeats the purpose. So it’s just a splash wash!   I do miss my hot shower!  Oh yes, no hot water.

Between the kitchen and the downstairs bedroom, are stairs to the upstairs bedrooms.  Yu Jin has the one on the right overlooking the lounge with her own bathroom which is a reasonable size.  My bedroom is to the left of the stairs with a window looking over the neighbour’s yard.  The windows fortunately have screens which helps to keep the mosquito out and at night and during the early morning there is usually a lovely coolish breeze.

This flat has been set up by ministry teams who have stocked the house with various things including kitchen utensils, fridge, washing machine, bed linen and even some clothes left behind by the previous Korean woman who just happened to be my size!  Thank you Lord!  Check out my new the blue outfit.

My daily routine usually consists of waking up before 6am having my litre of warm water and lime juice before doing my daily exercises (push ups, squats and crunches – I’m not sure if the Cambodians would appreciate me jogging along their streets in a singlet top and very short shorts!).  Check my email and messages on line, breaky (fortunately I have been able to find muesli here which I soak with Goji berries overnight and add mixed nuts [which you can only buy salted so I have to get as much salt off before chopping them up] and banana to before eating)   Then it is either off to the Children’s Centre to teach at 8 am, lunch with the children and help the local English teacher with his classes in the afternoon.  If I’m not going to the CC what I enjoy most is going to the local restaurant to have a cappuccino which also comes with a hot pot of tea.  Two for the price of one!  And it only costs $2.50 US the same as what I would pay in Sydney.  Mind you I rarely bought coffee in Sydney as I had my own machine.  Often in the evenings the Chan’s would invite me to join them to eat out.  On Thursday night we drove into PP to an Italian restaurant and had a cheese tray, pizza, pasta and a desert.  Martin and Deborah shared a Tiramisu while I indulged in a chocolate mousse with 75% dark chocolate.  Wow! What a treat!

Twice during the week I left the house with Yu Jin, at 6am to join the bus ministry team. The bus ministry goes out five times a week to various locations within Phnom Phen.   I accompanied them to a location where we ministered to the street kids whose families seem to live in the centre of a large roundabout, the second location was beside a slum.  Strangely, at this location we parked the bus outside the gates of a large Catholic church, The Compassion of Christ, which I’m told has no outreach to those in need living beside them.  The His Child bus is well known to the children who swarm in from the surrounding area to participate in the games and activities the team provide.   It is not only activities that are offered but basic hygiene such as cutting the children’s fingernails, then before the children leave, bread and flavoured milk is given out.  That which is left over is given to families in the area who are in need.  There is also a similar ministry into a village which is about an hour out of PP.

This week I also ventured out on my own.  On Thursday after my English classes I decided to see if I could find my way to the local markets.  I had run out of bananas and needed some garlic and onions to add to my rice and noodle dishes.  Striding out in the direction Yu Jin had taken me to wait for the bus ministry the previous day I found my way to the main shopping complex.  Here I took a short stop in the air conditioning to cool down before heading up the main street towards the roundabout.  I dodged between the vehicles’ that bore down upon me threatening to engulf me or cut me off before I reached the other side.  I crossed three streets before I entered the alleys of the market, lined with stalls of fruit and vegetables of all colours, shapes and sizes.  Some of which I recognise, others new and untried.   There was no haggling today as I had no idea what the normal price was.  In fact I had no idea what any of the prices were, neither did I have the language to be able to haggle, so I just paid the price asked and if it was too much then I bought less.  I came away with a handful of my favourite bananas, two head of garlic and one onion.  That would keep me going for a few days.

 

Pictures:  1. Family on motorbike.  2.  Me in tuk tuk.   3.  Traffic conjestion, note the overhead wires.    4. Yu Jin and me.   5.  Bus ministry  6. Beside The Compassion of Christ Church Phnom Phen (my new outfit)    7. Bus ministry.     8. Out reach at village church. Shoes are taken off before going indoors.

Prayer & Praise Points:
Praise the Lord for the opportunity to help out at His Child and for the ministry they are doing here with the underprivileged children.

Please continue to pray for mine and the team’s safety on the roads.

Please pray that I will know the Lord’s will in regards to the length of stay here, if I am to extend my visa or continue on with the outbound ticket to Thailand on 26^th March.

His Child has three visiting teams this month.  Could you please pray for the teams and for Deborah who is organizing them.  Pray also for someone who would like to teach English to the primary school aged children at the centre.  This is mainly a fun class for conversational everyday English incorporating games, songs and activities. If you or anyone you know is interested please contact Deborah at office@hischild-international.com   No qualifications needed.

I thank God for good health, please continue to pray that I remain in His divine health that I will quickly adjust to the high humidity here.

Thank you also for your prayers for my Mum’s health.  Please continue to ask the Lord to keep her in good health.  The scar on her face if healing well, still no word concerning the results of the growth that was removed.

Please pray for His Child ministries especially for the finances needed for the International school project and a long term primary school teacher.

Thank you all my mighty prayer warriors.  I would not be going out without your prayer covering.