One month in!
Today marks one month in Cambodia already! Not sure how that is possible. Time is a funny thing. I can hardly keep track of the days here. They are full, but not the same way they were back home.
It's weird to think about just how different life is in New York compared to life in Takeo, Cambodia. When I worked at NYU's hospital in Manhattan I walked about 1.4 miles from Penn Station to the beautiful medical facility every morning. I couldn't have counted all the people, cars, stores, coffee shops, restaurants, businesses, flashing signs and advertisements that encompassed just a few blocks in that space, even if I wanted to!
It's weird to think about just how different life is in New York compared to life in Takeo, Cambodia. When I worked at NYU's hospital in Manhattan I walked about 1.4 miles from Penn Station to the beautiful medical facility every morning. I couldn't have counted all the people, cars, stores, coffee shops, restaurants, businesses, flashing signs and advertisements that encompassed just a few blocks in that space, even if I wanted to!
I was thinking about that yesterday as I walked from the orphanage to "work" {{the school}} and I realized how free my life is of distraction right now. On my daily 0.25 mile commute here, I pass a few little family-run stands selling snacks and gasoline in old coke bottles. Nearby roosters chase each other across the street, narrowly avoiding being hit by passing motos and cars.
Village life is simple but it certainly is not easy. People work unbelievably hard all day long in the fields and pastures. Many homes don't have electricity or running water.
Village life is simple but it certainly is not easy. People work unbelievably hard all day long in the fields and pastures. Many homes don't have electricity or running water.
But people are content here. They just want to be able to provide the essentials for their families.
It's made me do a lot of reflecting on the things that matter in life, and the things that don't.
I haven't seen an ad {{in English}} in almost a month, I haven't seen a commercial, or a billboard, or a magazine telling me all the many things my life is missing. I have scrubbed my clothes by hand in a cement sink and hung them up on the roof to dry for the last 4 weeks. It's funny to me, as I call to mind how much I would procrastinate going to the laundromat back home...I thought that was inconvenient.
I used a washing machine a few days ago for the first time since coming here and let me tell you, I felt like pampered royalty.
Most of the vegetables we eat are grown in the garden at the house-- they are so fresh and bursting with flavor! Does not get more organic than that, people. All the meat we eat is grass-fed and free-range too ;) So free-range that it is literally running around the front yard. Rice is served three times a day, but whatever meat/fish/produce accompanies it is always tasty and usually has some spice. {{Most of the kids at the orphanage love their homegrown red hot Thai chili peppers, and they make them the star of every meal. Jokingly forcing me (and the BC kids when they were here) to eat the peppers is a source of entertainment for lunch and dinner on the daily}}
Coming from NY, where you can eat anything you want, any time of day you want, I've realized just how spoiled I am. We have more options than we could possibly ever choose from or truly enjoy!
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that it's inherently bad to have more, I'm just wondering what the point is. Because clearly, having more does not equal being satisfied.
It's made me do a lot of reflecting on the things that matter in life, and the things that don't.
I haven't seen an ad {{in English}} in almost a month, I haven't seen a commercial, or a billboard, or a magazine telling me all the many things my life is missing. I have scrubbed my clothes by hand in a cement sink and hung them up on the roof to dry for the last 4 weeks. It's funny to me, as I call to mind how much I would procrastinate going to the laundromat back home...I thought that was inconvenient.
I used a washing machine a few days ago for the first time since coming here and let me tell you, I felt like pampered royalty.
Most of the vegetables we eat are grown in the garden at the house-- they are so fresh and bursting with flavor! Does not get more organic than that, people. All the meat we eat is grass-fed and free-range too ;) So free-range that it is literally running around the front yard. Rice is served three times a day, but whatever meat/fish/produce accompanies it is always tasty and usually has some spice. {{Most of the kids at the orphanage love their homegrown red hot Thai chili peppers, and they make them the star of every meal. Jokingly forcing me (and the BC kids when they were here) to eat the peppers is a source of entertainment for lunch and dinner on the daily}}
Coming from NY, where you can eat anything you want, any time of day you want, I've realized just how spoiled I am. We have more options than we could possibly ever choose from or truly enjoy!
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that it's inherently bad to have more, I'm just wondering what the point is. Because clearly, having more does not equal being satisfied.
In the last month, I have probably spent a total of $20 on lots of tropical fruit & fresh veggies from the market, many glasses of ice coffee in the village shops, and a couple of t-shirts.
My friends in New York -- you know how far $20 goes there ;)
{{Hint: It's not very far}} I guess that goes for most of the US, but New York is my current frame of reference. Everyone knows NY is amazing, but a very expensive place to live.
My friends in New York -- you know how far $20 goes there ;)
{{Hint: It's not very far}} I guess that goes for most of the US, but New York is my current frame of reference. Everyone knows NY is amazing, but a very expensive place to live.
I literally feel like I have lived in two different worlds and they couldn't be more contrasting to each other. I wonder what the kids here would think of the lights and crowds of Times Square. And I wonder what my NYC/Long Island friends would think of the spacious unobstructed skies and landscapes here. Where the tallest thing around is the three-story orphanage I live in.
Getting to know the kids at the orphanage more has been so special too. I just adore them. I finally know all 27 of their not-so-easy names! I was worried that would take wayyy longer. To hear them share their stories with me is both humbling and amazing. To see first-hand the power of redemption at work in their lives, how God plucked them out of their unstable and broken homes and brought them into this family where they would learn of His love and see it in action.
It is this unconditional love has transformed their lives. It is the only thing that can change hearts and it is changing mine as well. I pray that as these kids continue to grow up and enter into adulthood, that they will never stop following Jesus. I pray that He will use them and send them out to keep advancing the ripple effects of this tidal wave called GRACE.
Sure, there are a lot of disparities between living near one of the most affluent cities on the planet and living in the farmlands of a third world country.
The differences are obvious, it's the similarities that can be easily overlooked.
The thing I'm being reminded of daily is this: people are people everywhere you go. They have the same need for love in a crowded, bustling city as much as they do in a quiet, remote village.
This need is universal. It's in all of us. It's what really matters.
The last month in Cambodia has already been the experience of a lifetime and I'm only 1/3 of the way into it! It's honestly more than I can put into words. The things that made me squirm at first, I'm noticing less and less. I guess that's a sign that I might be falling in love...Sometimes my heart just feels like it's going to burst.
Getting to know the kids at the orphanage more has been so special too. I just adore them. I finally know all 27 of their not-so-easy names! I was worried that would take wayyy longer. To hear them share their stories with me is both humbling and amazing. To see first-hand the power of redemption at work in their lives, how God plucked them out of their unstable and broken homes and brought them into this family where they would learn of His love and see it in action.
It is this unconditional love has transformed their lives. It is the only thing that can change hearts and it is changing mine as well. I pray that as these kids continue to grow up and enter into adulthood, that they will never stop following Jesus. I pray that He will use them and send them out to keep advancing the ripple effects of this tidal wave called GRACE.
Sure, there are a lot of disparities between living near one of the most affluent cities on the planet and living in the farmlands of a third world country.
The differences are obvious, it's the similarities that can be easily overlooked.
The thing I'm being reminded of daily is this: people are people everywhere you go. They have the same need for love in a crowded, bustling city as much as they do in a quiet, remote village.
This need is universal. It's in all of us. It's what really matters.
The last month in Cambodia has already been the experience of a lifetime and I'm only 1/3 of the way into it! It's honestly more than I can put into words. The things that made me squirm at first, I'm noticing less and less. I guess that's a sign that I might be falling in love...Sometimes my heart just feels like it's going to burst.
One thing is for sure, I am beyond grateful to be here. Something about it takes my breath away.
God is so incredibly good. He is receiving much glory in this place.
God is so incredibly good. He is receiving much glory in this place.
p.s. anyone recognize the cutie in the red bow? she was the first girl to welcome me here, the one who followed me on her bike!
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