Dear fellow laborers for Christ,
Chum riap sur!!! That means hello in Khmer. I can’t do the symbols but that is the phonetic way of writing it. I have been here for seventeen days but it seems like it’s been longer. I am currently in a state of culture shock. Even though I have traveled the world, there is a drastic difference when you know you are not going home any time soon. Then you say to yourself, “I am home.” I LIVE IN CAMBODIA. That is when reality hits you square in the face. So the adjustment is a process but I am beginning to feel “settled”. Here are some interesting details of my life.
I live with an Australian missionary named Michelle. She has been here for 3 months and is a tremendous blessing to me. She is able to show me where to buy food, where to load my cell phone, where I can get on the Internet, etc. She also has to handle all the affairs of our home as she speaks more Khmer than me. I bought a bicycle and ride to school every day. There are literally few traffic laws in Cambodia and there is no rhyme or reason to the flow of traffic. People also travel on the “wrong” side of the road and I must admit that I have done that myself. I have already experienced my first wreck but do not worry. My foot took the brunt of the fall so my bicycle would be spared. Priorities are of the utmost importance!
I have been sleeping well but I do have an interesting guest by my window. There is a lizard that resides in a crack somewhere and it makes an unusual noise all night long. For you southern boys, it is like it revves up its engine (throat) and then lets out 3-4 “uh-kah” sounds which are quite loud. I can still hear it clearly through my earplugs. My roommate assures me that I will stop noticing it in a few months but I am still skeptical. However, I prefer the lizard to the nuisances that follow me constantly in the house. The wretched mosquitoes!!! They follow me morning, noon, and night. Michelle rarely gets bitten but I average 5 bites a day. Even the bug repellant is no match for them. They are relentless in their quest for my blood. I do have peace at night when I sleep under my mosquito net. Pray that God would protect me from malaria or dengue fever.
My health has been adequate. My emotional state has been fair. I am only feeling homesick occasionally. (The notes from Northpointe church were absolutely wonderful. I have them taped on my wall to give me encouragement.) My spiritual state is wonderful. God has been right here with me and holding my hand throughout all this. There is no doubt He has me here for a purpose and He will work through me to further His kingdom among the Khmer people. Please keep praying for me. Pray for God’s grace on my language studies. I have a wonderful tutor and she is a Christian. Pray for my adjustment to the culture and the people. Pray for the people. They are so loving and sweet but they desperately need Jesus. Please keep sending me e-mails and I would love to get some letters.
“You need not fear the terror of the night, not the arrow that flies by day. Though thousands fall about you, near you it shall not come. And He will raise you up on eagle’s wings, bear you on the breath of dawn, make you to shine like the sun and hold you in the palm of His hand.” On Eagle’s Wings by Michael Joncas.
By the grace of God,
Christina
