Here is yet again another of Ducky's wonderful update! I was going to give this next update to introducing all my new family members but I haven't been able to collect all their pictures yet so I'm going to delay that. It'll be so boring if I actually just say their name and describe them so its better that you wait I guess. In the meantime, this blog is going to be about my week(s) here in Cambodia and it's quite fun and happy!
Happy Times!
Well, first off, I would like you guys to know that I just bought a motocycle! Yippy! I'm so happy and stoke about it. It took awhile for me to pick one out but when I saw this beauty, I knew she had to be mine... ALL MINE! And here is a picture of her!It had troubled me quite a bit since I got here because I had no mode of transportation. I felt like I was bothering my roommate because I had to always asked him if he can give
me a ride. But after a month wait, he helped me picked out a beautiful motocycle. Bear with me as I describe to you her beauty and grace. Oh, by the way, her name is Bumblebee (because sh
e actually look like one from the front end). Her heart is a 125cc 4 stroke Honda which purred like a little kitten but roar like any lioness would when they're hungry. Equipped with custom wheels and Xenon headlights, she cut through the darkness with ease. Her slender seat fit three people and she was born in the year 2002. Its always fun with her since she cut through the traffic and wind with grace; and of course her beauty turns a few heads =) Oh, I am so in love right now! LOL And here's another picture with me on her. Oh and the bride price was $560 USD, which is very reasonable for a beauty such as she.
The second thing that I had established was a weekly Sunday dinner (with the ministry gift money support). Every Sunday, the guy dorm get together and cook a good meal. It is a great time of fellowship and fun as we work together in the kitchen to prepare a delicious meal. We each took the liberty to make meals that we specialized in so it is quite a feast. Because we eat very little food during the rest of the week (and of course the quality isn't something to brag about either), Sunday was a day that everybody look forward to. After the meal, praise would follow accompanied by the guit
ar and time of fellowship (mostly sharing our journey with God and where we're at). Now I really understand why Jesus just love to eat with people. It truly is an amazing experience because there is so much joy in shared food (especially when they're good), intimate conversations, and time to adore our Savior, who by His blood, made all this possible. Here is one of the meal on Sunday.Another fun thing that we did this past week was that we celebrated m
y birthday. It was such an awesome experience and it was such a blast! I never celebrated my birthday before (except a few time we went to a restaurant, but that doesn't count because that's not a party). So it was my first time and it was incredible. Since it is Water Festival next week (where most of the students go back to their province), it was so sweet of them to delay their trip to Sunday so that they could celebrated my birthday and threw me a big party. One of the girl, named Ma-ria, has her birthday within a week of mine so we celebrated our birthday together. And there was such a big party with lots of food and fun. If you look to your left, you can see that we made quite a bit of food! And don't they all look yummy? 
Too bad you guys were not there to share in it. =)
The day started at around 4:00PM when all the girls went to the boys' dorm to help out with the cooking. It was so much fun because we all crowded into a small kitchen and were such busybodies that we end up spillin stuffs, ran into each others, and just simply fooling around and making fun of each other. It was quite the scene. Here is a picture for you guys to get a good visual.
After we finish cooking, we brought all the food over to the girls' dorm (because it was much bigger than the guys'). It was really sweet because before we can eat, each one of them went up to Ma-ria and I to wish us a happy birthday (and happy life, good health, etc etc). It felt more like a wedding, which made me feel awkward at first until I realize that this is their culture then I was more at ease.Then finally we got to eat. After eating, we spent time doing group activities, which mostly consisted us sitting in a circle and talk about our personal life. It was like the ultimate Truth or Dare game except there is no Dare. It was really fun to watch because people would get personal questions and everybody would laugh about their answers (even though I don't understand most of it).
Afterward, we end up cutting up the cakes and it was such beautiful cakes! And delicious too! After the eating the cake, I manage to snag two present. It was so sweet because Ma-ria knew that I had lost my necklace and she bought me another one. It look almost the same as the one that I had before. It's a simple silver cross (that look rough, but I like it because its more authentic) with thorns in the middle. So awesome! And Suk-Kung, another one of the girl, knew that I bought a motocyle so she bought me a cute chain with a big fluffy teddy bear on it. They're so nice! So it's probably the best birthday party I had so far (my only one actually, LOL, which I will celebrate more often if it's this good).
After the cake and present, it was definitely photo time. Since camera were expensive here, people don't usually take lots of photo. But this time, everybody went all out. It was photos after photos on my camera (since its digital and they can save the pictures on their computer). During photo time, I was abled to convince all the guys to do some pretty cool post. Here are the pictures. We did the pyramid, lean on each other and not using any of our hands, and just some random fun pictures. Hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did. =)It was such a good and happy week and I had so much fun. I got to know them a lot better and since I was teaching them English regularly, some of them even started to speak English with me. Their English improve so fast too! Of course the opposite is true. They forced me to practice my Khmer also, which is such a good motivation. I'm starting to feel really at home here and I just wish it would last o so long. I guess home is where God calls you to be. If I really put my heart and energy into living in Phnom Penh and loving the people, I realize that this is home for me, at least for now. I hope I can remember all the wonderful lessons (and some difficult ones as well) that God has been teaching me.
Interesting Things
1. After
my birthday, it rained like crazy! For the first time ever, I experienced a flood so bad that it overflowed into our house! It was such a fun and crazy time because we all panicked. After we got our act together, we systematically unplugged all the electronic and had to move the refrigerator unto two chairs. Afterward, my roommate and I decided to barred ourselves into our room by using towels to block the bottom of the door so water won't get in. It was an interesting time.2. Another interesting thing that I noticed here in Phnom is the sheer amount of thunder and lightning during the rainy season. I see lightning every night (roughtly about 1 every 5 secs) and throughout the night I hear thunder. Pretty interesting and annoying because I usually get woke up by it.
Praiseworthy Mentions
1. For all those who prayed for my landlord lady, I have very good news! It is definitely a testament to the faithfulness of God regarding prayers. The government decided to cancel all the roadwork debts and fund the whole thing with their own money. That is pretty surprising because it is virtually unheard of, especially in Cambodia. Praise God for His faithfulness, grace, and mercy.
2. It was really encouraging to me and the rest of the Cambodia CAMA team to have the VP of C&MA Canada Mission (Jim Foster), Regional Director (Brem), Lorna Doeke, Joanne, and Tim to visit us. It was really cool because I got to connect with them as we have lunch together. I learn so much from my conversation with Brem and Jim and even got contact with Tim for future accrediation (which will definitely be helpful). They were here for about 3 days and I even got a chance to talk with Lorna (Adam's mommy). She is here to do a sort of documentary on Mission in Cambodia and have a focus on the New Hope ministry. Her TV program is especially gear toward the unreach and its so encouraging to see such creative ministry happening everywhere. The mission field is definitely bigger than I had imagined.
Spiritual Lesson
This week, I was really touch by God as we spoke and discuss about my experience here in Cambodia. As I reflected on my fellowship with the dorm guys sharing our testimonies, on my relationship with other Onsiters, and on my Christians readings (The Shack, Great Divorce, and Miracles), God had impress something very significant on my heart. I came to appreciate community in a deeper sense. I previous learn that community was God primary purpose for Creation and that it was the telos of all that He planned but it never really mean much more than that for me. It all got stuck in my head and not necessary my heart.
This past week, as I was talking with my heavenly Father, it really struck me that I am in community. A community that transcend space, time, and differences. This community is so vast and diverse that it is really mind boggling. It consist of people of the past (like Paul, Adam, Enoch, you name it) to the present (other Onsiters, Ambrose students, teachers, professors, pastors), to the future (those who haven't even been born except in the mind and heart of God). It trancends space. I don't necessary have to be in close proximity to experience this community love and grace. And it trascend differences. It has so many face, so many different views, so many cultural lens that it really is like a mosaic instead of a clean painting. And despite all this differences, it tells of one story, a story of Christ and His redemptive work to redeem humanity. This community only have one story and each individual's tale tells of a grander plot.
When I think about that deeply, I can't help but feel that even now Paul the apostle is still alive. My mentor (C.S Lewis) still speaks with me today through his written words. I learn to appreciate their views and really learn to engage myself into conversation with them. Even testimonies of other people can be claim as my own because it really tells of the grander plot which I am also a part of. I learn to really sympathize with my dorm guys as they share their testimonies and really learn how to be truly joyful when they grow in their faith.
With this new attitude, it really make me genuinely interested in what my brothers and sisters across the world is doing. It really change my attitude about prayers too because now when I pray for somebody, it is not because I'm obligated to because I'm a Christian but because their stories and mine are one and the same: our stories intertwined together to tell of Christ's redemptive works. It is such an awesome privilege to be a part of it and I'm so excited for my brothers and sisters. I'm so glad that I am in such a great community of saints that share in Christ's selfless joy. Praise God.
