Friends from She

 Here are pictures of some new friends from She - in the large group picture clockwise from bottom left: Erin, Christina, Christy, Mary, Haley, Lacey, and Dave. They are all from Australia except Christina who is from the US (New Jersey).

Pictures from the River Side and the King's Palace

Street vendor food: chicken, grub worms, cockroaches, snakes. Fortunately, we had already eaten dinner and were not hungry. Mary said, "I'm so full from ice cream that I couldn't possibly eat a snake." For some reason that just sounded so funny to me.

President Obama made history in November when he was the first US President to visit Cambodia.

The King's Palace and construction of the Mausoleum (below)

Some of My New Friends

I have been making a lot of new friends here in Cambodia. Many are from Australia and are associated with the She (Shaping Her Earth, Shaping Her Eternity) NGO where I will have the honor of visiting next week. www.sherescuehome.org She seems to have a mission that is well-aligned with that of Daughters of Cambodia. Their approach is a little different in that they provide safe rescue homes for the girls, ages 5-15, who are or are at risk of being sexually trafficked, victims of rape, or prostituted. Last night was my first night to stay up past 9:00 and a group of us (all the others from She) went to the River Side part of Phnom Penh for dinner. I will post some pictures of the group and also from a walk that we took along the river - past the King's Palace. King Norodum Sihanouk's pictures are posted all over the city. He passed away on October 15, 2012 and the country remains in mourning for him. February 1 - 4, 2013 is a national holiday and from what I have been told no one is allowed to laugh, play, or smile during that time. Children cannot be outside playing. Adjacent to the Palace a giant mausoleum is being constructed to host the King's remains. It is a huge, expensive project that is keeping construction workers up night and day to finish before February.

Yesterday I completed preparations for my first workshop, which will be held twice this morning. I met with Heather yesterday afternoon to review it and we met at the Sugar and Spice café that is run by Daughters. This is the most remarkable place I have been to in Phnom Penh. It is the kind of place where as soon as you approach and enter it you feel the peace and presence of God all around and through you. Behind the café there is a huge, beautiful courtyard with a high ceiling and skylights. Tropical plants enclose the perimeter, and they danced in the gentle wind that blew into the courtyards from the open sides. Above the café is a Prayer and Worship Center - an amazing place where, when I visited, I saw dozens of young children and their mothers participating in a children's worship time.

I am still trying to find my right sleep pattern here - I got up at 3:15 this morning. Good thing that there are really good coffee shops here!

New Pictures from Phnom Penh

Two monks talking with a woman at a business near the Russian Market

Two pictures of a place that Daughters staff call "Smelly Water" or "Smelly River" - where many of the young women who Daughters works with live. There is a collapsed bridge there and the homes are crumbling.

Update from Cambodia

Yesterday afternoon I met with Heather, the Volunteer Coordinator at Daughters. We talked about the plans she had for me over the next four weeks and she gave me a tour of the Daughters Centre and introduced me to many staff and volunteers. Beginning tomorrow I will be teaching a workshop on finances and visiting the different Daughters operations to observe and provide input into their POS system. The last week that I am here I will also teach a workshop on alcohol abuse and the day before I leave I have been asked to give the message at their weekly church service. I am deeply honored to have been asked to do that.

The last two mornings I have gone for runs on the streets around the Russian Market near where I am staying. The roads here are very uneven and dirty, plus there are "Motos" (motor scooters) buzzing all around so it makes for an interesting run. Yesterday I found a coffee shop that serves really great coffee and has a very peaceful atmosphere. I am planning to go back today. Last night I had dinner with some of my housemates: 3 Australians - Lacey, Christy, and Mary; and Christina from the US.

My new profile picture on this blog is a picture of where I am staying in Cambodia.

The Russian Market

First Morning

I slept 12 hours last night and slept right through an invitation to join my housemates (Kat, Christina, and Christine) for evening tea. I am a Sleep Number 30-35 and the bed here is a sleep number 90 (or whatever the setting is for wooden floor). But I will get used to it. I went for a morning run. Maureen posted great advice to just keep running and not worry about dodging the scooters - otherwise, there would surely be an accident. I heeded that advice and there were some near misses, but no accidents. It was dramatically evident that the air quality here is very poor. When I first started running it was like breathing in fine gravel, but then (perhaps sadly) I became used to the air and the rest of the run was just fine. I am meeting with the Daughters of Cambodia Volunteer Coordinator this afternoon.