Wow...one more week.

I have one more week left in Cambodia until I fly back to New York. What a life changing experience. I have grown, matured, found courage, pulled out weeds, and changed in every way possible. I have done something I thought I could never do. I have denied myself the comforts of life in the USA, and replaced it with a priceless experience. I have gotten way out of my comfort zone in so many ways. I don't recognize the person who got off of the plane five months ago. I have changed physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. My relationship with God has grown exceedingly and has gotten so much deeper. If you ask me who I was when I first came, I wouldn't know that person. 

Yesturday I sat in on a class 'Set Free' here at the center. The lesson was about the meaning of our names and walking in that meaning. During the lesson a verse was mentioned in Isaiah 43. 

Isaiah 43:1-2 

“But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.”

Lucia means light. After the class I went and studied out the word 'light'. It means: The natural agent that stimulates sight and makes things visible. The bright form of energy given off by something (as the sun) that makes it possible to see. An area of something that is brighter or paler than its surroundings. Synonyms: illumination, shine, glow, brighten. Antonyms: darkness, extinguish, put out. 

I have been learning how to walk out the meaning of my name and Cambodia has helped me. My prayer and desire is to fulfill the meaning with humbleness and selflessness. I can only do this if I lean on Gods understanding and strength. I have tried my way and it doesn't work. For reasons I don't yet know God has called me to Cambodia. I am eager to be heading home, to see my family and everyone else. In October I am coming back here for three years, and I am beyond excited about that. I am so blessed by everyone here and the amazing examples I get to live under and learn from. 

Who I was

Who I am in God

Party Hardy!

These past couple of weeks haven't been to exciting, but I did have a party. We played all sorts of games that the kids had never played before. We played pin the tail on the donkey, musical chairs and freeze dance. We had to pop balloons by sitting on them and we danced around. The kids had a yummy sweet drink after the games and we just hung out. We all had a blast! 

There has been a lot of activities going on within the past couple of weeks. The new building at the center is almost finished and part of Sak Saum was able to move in there. There is a lot of excitement buzzing around here. There is always something new happening everyday. 

I also made cheesy potato chips with onions, pork chips and scallions. It was so good! 

Three months!

DThis week marks three months of me being here in Cambodia. In my last post I told you all that I have committed to three years here at IHSI beginning in October. I am so excited to be coming back here. It's going to be a big adjustment, but I couldn't imagine doing anything different. 

I have gotten myself a new ride which I am so happy about. A bicycle! I won't need to drive a moto which is a bit nerve racking. I took my first trip to the market last week by myself. When I got back everyone was so shocked that I was able to communicate and tell people what I wanted without speaking English. I know more Khmer than I let on. I really enjoy riding around on my little bicycle. It also has a fun little basket on the front! 

Sunday school has been a blast and I love teaching stories from the bible. Every week I get to figure out a craft to do with the children. It's a lot of fun and easy to understand. The children are really liking it. We just got done learning about Joseph, and we have moved on to Moses. 

I have one more thing to report. I ate a silk worm. It was really gross. I won't go into details. Do yourself a favor and never eat one. 

3 Years!

So I know it's been a month since my last blog post, but I have been pretty busy. There has been a lot going on and I have made a big dicision. I have committed to three years here at IHSI! I leave here for New York on July 10th, and I will be returning back here October 22nd. My main focus when I come back will be the preschool. The vision for the preschool is that it one day will be a credited school. I enjoy teaching and organizing it so much! It's so much fun and exciting to be apart of something bigger and better than myself. My main focus when I come back to New York is to raise support for myself and the preschool. 

I attended another wedding this past month! That's the third wedding I have been to since I have been here. A lot of people are getting married. The first two I went to were here at the center. They were very simple and nice. This past one I went to was not at the center. It was a traditional Cambodian wedding. It's very different than weddings in New York...very different. It was really fun to experience the difference in culture. 

This past week was the Khmer new year. We had three days off and then the weekend. It was very relaxing at the center. I took the time to chill out and relax. I played some volleyball and watched movies. One day I did go to a movie theatre with a group of people. It was a lot of fun and I got to have popcorn! 

Living here is so different than in the US. There is a lot of things that I don't have, and the way that they do things here is so different. I'm used to it now and don't mind the different way of living. I do miss my home, family and friends. I miss my church and New York. I miss the woods and the trees. I miss the flowers and the squirrels. I miss the different seasons and I miss snow. I miss the crickets and frogs at night. I miss the streams and fields. I miss the mountains. I miss home. But I know that whenever I come home it will all be there waiting for me. I am so thankful for New York and home. 

Woohoo! A Month And A Half!

Hello everyone! It's been a while becuase we have had no internet at the center. I have been here for over a month now! I really, truly love it here. The past weeks have been busy. I rode on a moto quite a bit and I love it. It's so much fun but I don't know if I could ever drive one myself. I have had a whole bunch of different things I have been doing. I found out that I love to teach! I helped start a preschool and I'm teaching in it. It's so much fun and it gives me a chance to use my creativity. 

I have had some funky things to eat. I have gotten very adventurous about trying foods. I ate some crocodile, funky fish and bizzare fruit and veggies...I love most of it. I have been missing my family a lot but they have been very supportive about what I'm doing here. I have made amazing relationships and met fantastic people. I even attended another wedding! 

27 Days

Wow! I have been here for 27 days already! It has been so amazing. This week I was able to talk to my family and grandfather. It was so nice seeing everyone. We had our second Sunday school class and it went really well. On Saturday night everyone in fathers house played a game where you lay on each others stomach and say 'ha' and the next person says 'ha ha' and so on. I laughed so hard! It was so funny. 

One night Rhiannon, (a staff member who lives in fathers house), and I made Mexican burritos for everyone. It was so good. I helped start up a small preschool this week. It will take a few days for the kids to get it, but it went well. I saw one of the kids walking around with a soccer jersey on that had the name of the bank I worked at on it. So random! I'm learning so much from being here and this experience is life changing. I'm enjoying it so much here and can't wait to see what else the Lord has planned for me.