Close of Week 1 in Phnom Penh

It is hard to believe that it has only been a little over one week since I have been back in Phnom Penh; so many things have been done in this time. Today (Thursday) I am feeling like more of an official Cambodian because I opened a Cambodian bank account and also now own a moto. In my daily neighborhood exploration I found a terrific restaurant about ½ mile from my home. (There are a lot of other restaurants closer in that I have still to try.) I also found out that there are two modern hospitals within ½ a mile of my home. Neth tells me that one of these hospitals is known to be the best hospital in Cambodia, although it is expensive. “Expensive” is a relative term, however, given that many Cambodians who work as professionals make less than $5,000 year in salary. It is amazing to me that even on salaries that even after being adjusted for cost of living differences are still very low by American standards most Cambodians are very generous with their earnings, especially toward supporting their families.

My moto

My $5 "Honda" helmet

The restaurant I found is called S-Café. Today I had a delicious fried rice, shrimp, egg, and vegetable lunch with tea and Premium New Zealand ice cream for dessert. All this for under $5. This morning I posted my blog from a nice neighborhood coffee shop that has free wi-fi. I almost felt guilty because I was there for over an hour and paid less than a dollar for an ice latte and tea.

This is the coffee shop that is next door to my apartment - it is very fancy and since I don't have Wi-Fi yet I do online work from here or the athletic club that is in my apartment building

My first time out on the moto was fun, but I actually feel more in control and safer riding my bike. Still, I will probably use the moto a lot since I can get to places further away without arriving dripping sweat.  Since I bought a used moto I didn’t really have any choice in color or style and so my moto is yellow and white with a Winnie-the-Pooh floorboard. My Honda helmet cost $5; new, but probably is not really made by Honda. I am somewhat surprised that the logo on the front of the helmet doesn't read "Hondah"

It has been interesting meeting the people who have helped facilitate my setting up a Cambodian bank account, getting my Visa extended, and getting a Cambodian driver’s license. The people here are just as interested in why I am here as my friends in the US were interested in why I was leaving. This has provided a great opportunity for me to share about my faith. Most of the people I have met who live in poverty here desire very strongly to have more wealth and to live in a nicer place (like the US) and so they have a difficult time wrapping their minds around why I would leave that kind of environment. I don’t have a great answer for that other than God wants me to be here now and I love this adventure. Also, that at least for me the accumulation of things or money does not interest me and is not healthy for me. I do miss family and friends. I miss Gizmo. I miss clean air. I miss being able to communicate easily. But as Oswald Chambers stated, in the strain is the strength and I do feel like I am growing stronger here - in large part because of the difficulties that I am experiencing.

Last night (Friday) I took the moto out at night - trying to get to the church where Neth was recording a CD. It was pouring down rain and traffic was horrible. I got soaking wet from cars and trucks splashing up water that was pooling up on the roads, from the rain that was coming down so hard, and from putting my feet down in puddles when traffic was at a standstill. I also got a headache from breathing in all the exhaust fumes. So, I never made it to the recording, but chocked this up to experience and a lesson that I don't want to go out in Phnom Penh on a Friday night in the rain.

This morning I read this from Oswald Chambers, "Notice God's unutterable waste of saints, according to the judgment of the world. God plants His saints in the most useless places. We say - God intends me to be here because I am so useful. Jesus never estimated His life along the line of the greatest use. God puts His saints where they will glorify Him, and we are no judges at all of where that is." True, true, Amen.