I apologize I have been lacking in blogging about Cambodia! I have been super busy finishing up my summer classes and catching up after jet lag! So here it goes:
Saturday free day in Phnom Penh-
We woke up early this morning and went to the Russian Market. THe other girls had already gone and told us it would be crazy. Thankfully, we went early enough that we avoided the heat and the crowds. As soon as we walk in people start calling out to us to be their wares. It was really overwhelming because it's kind of dark and yucky inside. It's hard to explain. The walkways are narrow and rough but we started finding our way around quickly. A little boy, probably around 10, quickly became our "guide." A lady that had a mamed face followed us aorund fanning us trying to get us to buy postcards. The first thing I did was buy some of the beautiful silk scarves! They were BEAUTIFUL! You can get them for about $2 each so I got several to give as gifts for friends. They also had some beautiful Cambodian scarves that are not silk. I do not know what they are made of, but they are beautiful.
Bargaining was not my strong point and I'm pretty sure that everyone can tell that! I got a silver ring with elephants on it and I love it! I also found some Khmer books I can use in my classroom. It's really hard to find kids books because they are all Buddhist or have a lot of underworld or depressing stuff. I found two books that are well made and have colors, shapes, musical instruments and stuff like that. They are excellent books and show Cambodian life! Those were definitely a good find! I bought some beautiful silk purses as well that were about $3 each! Great gifts! OUr little guide would try to help us with bargaining as well. He was hilarious. He kept calling Bud Greve "Mr. ATM" b/c Betty kept going to him for money. Very funny!
After our adventures at the market we went to a cafe that rescues girls out of prostitution and employees them. I think they said it was a Christian run place. They had delicious sandwiches. We headed back to the hotel to unload our market finds and then headed to Toul Sleng Prison.
Toul Sleng is where Pol Pot housed and tortured the educated and elited of Cambodia during his horrible reign from 1975-1979. The atrocities that took place in this complex were unthinkable. Our driver, Sopheak, went with us. He was about 7 or 8 when this happened and remembers it well. He would point to pictures of people that he knew. Many people enlisted in the Khmer Rouge not knowing what exactly it was. Later they were forced to torture and kill friends and family. One building housed pictures of every person that entered Toul Sleng. It was very overwhelming to see all of these children, teachers, doctors, lawyers, hard working people, etc. They were punished because they were educated. We walked through room after room in silence wondering how in the world something like this could happen only 35 years ago. This ended the year I was born and the world was clueless.
One of the leaders was named Duch. He later became a Christian. He asked God if he should turn himself in, and God said no; however, he was to go peacefully and share all his information when they found him. He did exactly that and is now in prison. He is the only person from the leaders that has done so and he has revealed many many things that happened there.
As if Tuol Sleng wasn't enough, we then drove outside of Phnom Penh to the Killing Fields and Genocide Museum. The day was overcast and raining. THere is a school not far from here and we could hear the children out playing. It was so overwhelming. THis is where they took people from Tuol Sleng to finish the job. THere were markers that said "Mass Grave of Persons Withouth Heads" or something like that. There was a specific tree that they used to beat and throw children against. There are mass graves all over. There is a large memorial in the middle filled with skulls. It was incredible.
I've been to the Holocaust Museum in DC and this was unlike even that. Maybe because I was there where it happened, maybe b/c I was younger when I went to DC or maybe b/c this Genocide happened during my lifetime... but it was incredible to think that something like this can happen even in this time.
Saturday evening we went to the Night Market. It was really nice just watching night life in PHnom Penh. Dr. Hardy and I did a little more shopping. We then went back to the hotel and hung out in the lobby of the hotel and used internet. It was a nice evening after a long, emotionally exhausting day.
Sunday we had the honor of attending the international church. Ann Greve was installed as pastor that day so it was an honor for us to see her installment. I loved watching everyone worship, singing the same songs that we do even in kids church at ET. There are 31 nationalities represented in that church.
After church we ate at Lucky Burger. I think we could compare it to McDonalds, but it was nasty! After lunch, we packed up and drove to Sihanoukville. It was a very long uncomfortable drive, but not horrible. We had all of the luggage in our van for both groups (the other girls drove down in a different van) plus Bewin, one of hte Cambodia girls. It was crunched! It was still a good trip and I took lots of pictures. Bewin taught us some Khmer so it was neat learning some of their language.
When we got to Sihanoukville, it was HOT and HUMID. WE first went to the orphanage. There were kids EVERYWHERE! There are 83 kids ages 7 months to 22 years old there. They were out playing and gathered around us. I immediately had several boys following me around asking me questions. Most of them speak English pretty well. They showed us all of their animals they raise. They have many dogs, pigs, fish and crocodiles! It was a lot of fun hanging out with them!
After the orphanage we went to our hotel. It was right across the street. It was NOT the SUnway in PHnom Penh! It was hot and we had to climb what seemed like a lot of stairs with our luggage to our rooms. Our room was very small and hot. There were ants in my bed! I had a break down once we got there! Dr Hardy encouraged me to make it thru dinner and I'd feel better. We went to dinner and then when we got back to the hotel. I spent some time journaling and in prayer and felt much better after that! Our bathroom is one big room. THere is no separate shower! It's jsut a hose on the wall with a shower head and you shower next to the toilet! It was crazy! We did get a nicer room though at the end with a little balcony. It faces the School of Hope where we will be working so that was nice. It was a very long, tiring, hot day and I went to bed early!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
3 Days of Teaching in Phnom Penh
I got 11 hours of sleep my first night and woke up refreshed and ready to go. We enjoyed a nice breakfast at the hotel. THey have a large buffet with several different types of food.
There are about 40 students in our first clas. I was surprised that they all seemed very young. We found out the average age was 30 but many of them looked like teenagers or early 20's.
The first couple of hours of instruction went well, but we realized we were going to have to adapt things a bit because of the language barrier. In the morning we taught on writing a behavioral objective. We are also implementing a lot of cooperative learning stratgeties to show them different ways to teach. In the afternoon we did the Knowledge level of Bloom's Taxonomy.
I had to make up a song for the teachers on the water cycle. That was a lot of fun! Lunch was a form of soup with stuff in it that you put on rice. I pretty much ate rice and soy sauce. I couldnt identify the meat!
We ate dinner at a restaurant called KWest. I had another cheeseburger. NOt as good as Java, but still pretty good for a cheeseburger in Cambodia.
We had fun lesson planning in the evening and just laughing and being silly. The heat takes so much out of you so we were all exhausted and goofy. I also got to Skype with my parents for a few minutes so that made my night as well.
2nd day of teaching-
Today was much better. We are more into a groove with teaching. THe students are still having a difficult time grasping the concept of higher order thinking with Bloom's, but they are getting there slowly. Today we did Comprehension and Application. The students are great. They are so fun and they are so eager to learn. All of them have some amazing story that brought them where they are today.
Lunch today consisted of broth and nooodles with boiled pork kidney. Needless to say, I ate rice and soy sauce. I know... I am so boring! :o) We did get fried banana on our break. It was still warm and it was amazing!
For dinner tonight we went to Khmer Siran. It was beautiful. We sat on this terrace caved in by amazing greenery. We sat on the floor. The weather and atmosphere were beautiful. It was an enjoyable evening, even though I was rather uncomfortable sitting on the ground.
We also rode in a tuk-tuk for the first time. That was an experience! It was fun and interesting to see the traffic so close and personal. We went to a park and walked around. There are street vendors every where and people dancing in large groups and the most amazing fountatins I've ever seen. It was memorizing!
After all of that Dr Hardy and I went and got foot massages at the hotel. Things like that are so cheap and so good! It was incredible! They bring us into this nice quiet room and bring hot tea and have relaxing music on. Then they turn on the TV and it was Cops! So we're trying to relax but all we can hear is Cops. Finally we just kept laughing and had them turn it off. It was a nice time of conversation and getting to know her better. She is an amazing person and I really respect/admire her a lot.
Last day of teaching-
This went well. We were not able to get all 6 levels of Bloom's. We missed Evaluation, but what we did get in, went well and the students are understanding now. Hopefully they will be able to take this back and use it!
We were able to bring them pencils, pens, rulers, calculators, tons of posters and shampoo, conditioner and deodorant. It was fun to bless them with all of that stuff! It was also hard to say goodbye to them! They are all amazing!
There are about 40 students in our first clas. I was surprised that they all seemed very young. We found out the average age was 30 but many of them looked like teenagers or early 20's.
The first couple of hours of instruction went well, but we realized we were going to have to adapt things a bit because of the language barrier. In the morning we taught on writing a behavioral objective. We are also implementing a lot of cooperative learning stratgeties to show them different ways to teach. In the afternoon we did the Knowledge level of Bloom's Taxonomy.
I had to make up a song for the teachers on the water cycle. That was a lot of fun! Lunch was a form of soup with stuff in it that you put on rice. I pretty much ate rice and soy sauce. I couldnt identify the meat!
We ate dinner at a restaurant called KWest. I had another cheeseburger. NOt as good as Java, but still pretty good for a cheeseburger in Cambodia.
We had fun lesson planning in the evening and just laughing and being silly. The heat takes so much out of you so we were all exhausted and goofy. I also got to Skype with my parents for a few minutes so that made my night as well.
2nd day of teaching-
Today was much better. We are more into a groove with teaching. THe students are still having a difficult time grasping the concept of higher order thinking with Bloom's, but they are getting there slowly. Today we did Comprehension and Application. The students are great. They are so fun and they are so eager to learn. All of them have some amazing story that brought them where they are today.
Lunch today consisted of broth and nooodles with boiled pork kidney. Needless to say, I ate rice and soy sauce. I know... I am so boring! :o) We did get fried banana on our break. It was still warm and it was amazing!
For dinner tonight we went to Khmer Siran. It was beautiful. We sat on this terrace caved in by amazing greenery. We sat on the floor. The weather and atmosphere were beautiful. It was an enjoyable evening, even though I was rather uncomfortable sitting on the ground.
We also rode in a tuk-tuk for the first time. That was an experience! It was fun and interesting to see the traffic so close and personal. We went to a park and walked around. There are street vendors every where and people dancing in large groups and the most amazing fountatins I've ever seen. It was memorizing!
After all of that Dr Hardy and I went and got foot massages at the hotel. Things like that are so cheap and so good! It was incredible! They bring us into this nice quiet room and bring hot tea and have relaxing music on. Then they turn on the TV and it was Cops! So we're trying to relax but all we can hear is Cops. Finally we just kept laughing and had them turn it off. It was a nice time of conversation and getting to know her better. She is an amazing person and I really respect/admire her a lot.
Last day of teaching-
This went well. We were not able to get all 6 levels of Bloom's. We missed Evaluation, but what we did get in, went well and the students are understanding now. Hopefully they will be able to take this back and use it!
We were able to bring them pencils, pens, rulers, calculators, tons of posters and shampoo, conditioner and deodorant. It was fun to bless them with all of that stuff! It was also hard to say goodbye to them! They are all amazing!
Sunday, June 7, 2009
First few days in Phnom Penh
I wasn't able to blog while I was there, but I did do a lot of journaling. I will be highlighting the trip using my journal to blog. :o)
Day 1-
The flight went well. On the way from Dallas to San Fran, my MP3 player bit the dust. I was worried it would make it a long flight over the ocean but thankfully China Airlines has headphones with movies and music. From Dallas to San Fran we also flew through a storm. Seeing the lightning above the clouds was incredible.
The 12 hour flight was not fabulous, but it wasnt horrible. Thankfully I was in an aisle and was able to get up quite a bit. I dozed, but didnt get much sleep. It was a new feeling being the minority! I was no where near any of our group on the plane so I was silent for 12 hours. Hard to imagine isn't it? ha :o) It was good though. Everywhere we go we definitely stick out in the crowd! On the flight to San Fran I sat by a lady and we did chat a little. She flew out of Kansas City and was also flying to Taipei so we chatted.
China Airlines served several meals and they were all different. I tried them anyway and only one made me feel a little yucky, but it was towards the end of the trip and starting to feel the fatique so it just didnt set well. There was this mystery salad with ham and apples and some funky dressing. I tried it but didnt like it. My favorite meal was the beef and potatos with gravy. Imagine that. ha
Day 2-
We arrive in Phnom Penh and the first thing I notice is the traffic! WOW! There are few traffic laws here and they are really merely suggestions. I am overwhelmed by the sites and sounds and smells!! The main method of transportation are moto bikes and they are everywhere. PEople are driving on both sides of the road, in and out of traffic. When you want to turn you just turn and hope people stop! I am amazed by this! The motos often carry 3 or 4 people on them and loads of other stuff.
We first go to Cambodia Bible Institute. Wow, it is HOT! We walk around the campus and get familiar with it. We meet Ann Greve and other people from the school. There is another group from Evangel already there working so we meet them as well. They are doing Khmer classes this week and then joining us in Sihounakiville next week.
Our hotel is gorgeous! THe service is also amazing. We have two full size beds in our room and a nice bathroom. We have a gorgeous view of the US Embassy directly across the street. It is comforting seeing the American flag flying high in front of the Embassy every morning!
We didnt tip the bellhop because we didnt know how much. The other girls gave them $2 USD. We were told later that probably made his week b/c a good tip is $1000 Riel, which is about .25 cents in USD.
Ann takes us to dinner at a place called Java. It was so good! I had the best cheeseburger and smoothie I've ever had! I'm not quite ready for Cambodian/Khmer food just yet! Ann tells us all about Cambodia and the school and the people. I am amazed at the stories she tells of the people and what they have gone through. It seems unreal that the atrocities that happened in Cambodia happened, especially after Hitler.
She tells us a story of a girl who is about 38. In 1975 she was 5 years old when Pol Pot took over. She was separated from her family and put in a work camp for 5 years. When Pol Pot lost power, they released all the children from the work camp but they had no where to go and had lost their families. She was only 10 years old. She made her way back to the home she lived in as a child and found her two siblings there. THey had been in different work camps and didnt knwo where to go when released so they did the same thing. Eventually the three of them made it on foot to their grandmothers house in the country and their mother was there! Later, they found out their father had been killed by the Khmer Rouge at Teuol Sleng Prison. They found out when they saw his picture there years later when it opened up as a museum.
After dinner, the five of us decided to walk around the hotel. It's a nicer area with a park nearby. As we walked down the streets we had several women approach us asking for money and food for their children. THere were lots of naked and half naked children running around. The women use their children to beg. It was very hard for us to see this and keep walking.
It's been a long overwhelming past few days. I can tell already that I love this place. I am amazed what Ann and the other missionaries have done. Ann came in 1991 when Cambodia first opened up. THere were no phones, cars, or much else for that matter. She flew into an airport htat had been bombed out. There were holes in the walls. She said they unloaded her luggage with a tractor and thent he tractor drove through a hole in the wall and they got their luggage off the tractor. It cost her $50 to send a fax from the one fax machine in the entire city. To hear her tell those stories and see where Phnom Penh is today is crazy. She is an awesome woman and I can already tell I'm going to like her a lot!
Day 1-
The flight went well. On the way from Dallas to San Fran, my MP3 player bit the dust. I was worried it would make it a long flight over the ocean but thankfully China Airlines has headphones with movies and music. From Dallas to San Fran we also flew through a storm. Seeing the lightning above the clouds was incredible.
The 12 hour flight was not fabulous, but it wasnt horrible. Thankfully I was in an aisle and was able to get up quite a bit. I dozed, but didnt get much sleep. It was a new feeling being the minority! I was no where near any of our group on the plane so I was silent for 12 hours. Hard to imagine isn't it? ha :o) It was good though. Everywhere we go we definitely stick out in the crowd! On the flight to San Fran I sat by a lady and we did chat a little. She flew out of Kansas City and was also flying to Taipei so we chatted.
China Airlines served several meals and they were all different. I tried them anyway and only one made me feel a little yucky, but it was towards the end of the trip and starting to feel the fatique so it just didnt set well. There was this mystery salad with ham and apples and some funky dressing. I tried it but didnt like it. My favorite meal was the beef and potatos with gravy. Imagine that. ha
Day 2-
We arrive in Phnom Penh and the first thing I notice is the traffic! WOW! There are few traffic laws here and they are really merely suggestions. I am overwhelmed by the sites and sounds and smells!! The main method of transportation are moto bikes and they are everywhere. PEople are driving on both sides of the road, in and out of traffic. When you want to turn you just turn and hope people stop! I am amazed by this! The motos often carry 3 or 4 people on them and loads of other stuff.
We first go to Cambodia Bible Institute. Wow, it is HOT! We walk around the campus and get familiar with it. We meet Ann Greve and other people from the school. There is another group from Evangel already there working so we meet them as well. They are doing Khmer classes this week and then joining us in Sihounakiville next week.
Our hotel is gorgeous! THe service is also amazing. We have two full size beds in our room and a nice bathroom. We have a gorgeous view of the US Embassy directly across the street. It is comforting seeing the American flag flying high in front of the Embassy every morning!
We didnt tip the bellhop because we didnt know how much. The other girls gave them $2 USD. We were told later that probably made his week b/c a good tip is $1000 Riel, which is about .25 cents in USD.
Ann takes us to dinner at a place called Java. It was so good! I had the best cheeseburger and smoothie I've ever had! I'm not quite ready for Cambodian/Khmer food just yet! Ann tells us all about Cambodia and the school and the people. I am amazed at the stories she tells of the people and what they have gone through. It seems unreal that the atrocities that happened in Cambodia happened, especially after Hitler.
She tells us a story of a girl who is about 38. In 1975 she was 5 years old when Pol Pot took over. She was separated from her family and put in a work camp for 5 years. When Pol Pot lost power, they released all the children from the work camp but they had no where to go and had lost their families. She was only 10 years old. She made her way back to the home she lived in as a child and found her two siblings there. THey had been in different work camps and didnt knwo where to go when released so they did the same thing. Eventually the three of them made it on foot to their grandmothers house in the country and their mother was there! Later, they found out their father had been killed by the Khmer Rouge at Teuol Sleng Prison. They found out when they saw his picture there years later when it opened up as a museum.
After dinner, the five of us decided to walk around the hotel. It's a nicer area with a park nearby. As we walked down the streets we had several women approach us asking for money and food for their children. THere were lots of naked and half naked children running around. The women use their children to beg. It was very hard for us to see this and keep walking.
It's been a long overwhelming past few days. I can tell already that I love this place. I am amazed what Ann and the other missionaries have done. Ann came in 1991 when Cambodia first opened up. THere were no phones, cars, or much else for that matter. She flew into an airport htat had been bombed out. There were holes in the walls. She said they unloaded her luggage with a tractor and thent he tractor drove through a hole in the wall and they got their luggage off the tractor. It cost her $50 to send a fax from the one fax machine in the entire city. To hear her tell those stories and see where Phnom Penh is today is crazy. She is an awesome woman and I can already tell I'm going to like her a lot!
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Back home!
I arrived safely home today around 11 am. Let me tell you, it was quite an adventure! I'll start with my return trip and then get into the trip itself at another time b/c I'm exhausted!
We were originally scheduled to fly out Saturday at 10:50 am. Early in the week our flight was cancelled. Thursday we got rebooked for Friday at 10:50 am with the same itinerary. We would be back in Springfield Friday at 10:50 pm (the flight was 24 hours but the time difference made us get there the same date we left!).
We flew from Phnom Penh to Taipei with no problems. We then go from Taipei to LAX which was a 12 hour flight. We had to get baggage, through customs, etc and to our connecting flight to Dallas in a very short amount of time. We get to our gate and our flight to Dallas was cancelled due to mechanical problems wiht the plane. The next plane doesnt leave for a few hours which means we miss our connecting flight in Dallas to Springfield. At that point it had been about 24 hours since we had slept. I was very sick with stomach stuff (normal traveling fun stuff!) and miserable but overall we were all doing good. The other girls camped out on the floor and I camped out in the bathroom and walking up and down the halls to stay awake. We finally left LAX around 6:30 pm CA time and arrived in Dallas at 11:30 CST. We got to ride in a Boeing 777 for the flight and it was really nice. It was a shame we couldnt have that plane when we did the long flight to Taipei. For the first time we were all 5 in the same aisle and on the emergency row so we had tons of room. I actually slept for a little bit. It was comfortable.
WE had obviously missed our connecting flight at Dallas to Springfield b/c we should have already been in Springfield. So we had to get a hotel, which took forever. We arrived at the hotel around 12:45 am. IT was a NICE hotel. I had my own room with a king size bed. It was WONDERFUL!!!! We weren't able to get our luggage which meant we couldnt put clean clothes on, but at least we were able to shower and put on our dirty stinky clothes again! This morning the Greves, Dr Hardy and myself flew out at 9:30 and got home around 11. The other girls flew out at 3:15 and got in around 4:30. We couldn't all get on the same flight. IT was a VERY long exhausting time. Right now I'm going about 5 hours of sleep in three days but holding up surprisingly well. I'm trying to stay awake until 8 pm to try toi get back on a normal schedule!
That was the worst thing that happened on our entire trip, so really, it wasn't that bad. The rest of the trip was amazing!
I wasn't able to blog while I was there so I will just do highlights from my journal over the next few days to tell you more about it! I will soon upload pictures to either snapfish or shutteryfly and videos to you tube for everyone to see.
It is SO good to be home but I really miss Cambodia and hte amazing people I met there. My cats are happy to have me home and have been purring an awful lot! I am unpacked and working on laundry now. IT wasnt too bad.
I appreciate everyoen who has been praying for us! It was an amazing trip!
We were originally scheduled to fly out Saturday at 10:50 am. Early in the week our flight was cancelled. Thursday we got rebooked for Friday at 10:50 am with the same itinerary. We would be back in Springfield Friday at 10:50 pm (the flight was 24 hours but the time difference made us get there the same date we left!).
We flew from Phnom Penh to Taipei with no problems. We then go from Taipei to LAX which was a 12 hour flight. We had to get baggage, through customs, etc and to our connecting flight to Dallas in a very short amount of time. We get to our gate and our flight to Dallas was cancelled due to mechanical problems wiht the plane. The next plane doesnt leave for a few hours which means we miss our connecting flight in Dallas to Springfield. At that point it had been about 24 hours since we had slept. I was very sick with stomach stuff (normal traveling fun stuff!) and miserable but overall we were all doing good. The other girls camped out on the floor and I camped out in the bathroom and walking up and down the halls to stay awake. We finally left LAX around 6:30 pm CA time and arrived in Dallas at 11:30 CST. We got to ride in a Boeing 777 for the flight and it was really nice. It was a shame we couldnt have that plane when we did the long flight to Taipei. For the first time we were all 5 in the same aisle and on the emergency row so we had tons of room. I actually slept for a little bit. It was comfortable.
WE had obviously missed our connecting flight at Dallas to Springfield b/c we should have already been in Springfield. So we had to get a hotel, which took forever. We arrived at the hotel around 12:45 am. IT was a NICE hotel. I had my own room with a king size bed. It was WONDERFUL!!!! We weren't able to get our luggage which meant we couldnt put clean clothes on, but at least we were able to shower and put on our dirty stinky clothes again! This morning the Greves, Dr Hardy and myself flew out at 9:30 and got home around 11. The other girls flew out at 3:15 and got in around 4:30. We couldn't all get on the same flight. IT was a VERY long exhausting time. Right now I'm going about 5 hours of sleep in three days but holding up surprisingly well. I'm trying to stay awake until 8 pm to try toi get back on a normal schedule!
That was the worst thing that happened on our entire trip, so really, it wasn't that bad. The rest of the trip was amazing!
I wasn't able to blog while I was there so I will just do highlights from my journal over the next few days to tell you more about it! I will soon upload pictures to either snapfish or shutteryfly and videos to you tube for everyone to see.
It is SO good to be home but I really miss Cambodia and hte amazing people I met there. My cats are happy to have me home and have been purring an awful lot! I am unpacked and working on laundry now. IT wasnt too bad.
I appreciate everyoen who has been praying for us! It was an amazing trip!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
I'm here!
I only have a few minutes but wanted to let everyoen know that I am here!
It's hot and humid but so far so good. We got in at 9 am yesterday and hit hte ground running! It is definitely a totally different culture, but I am acclamating pretty well!
I'll have more updates later!
Marti
It's hot and humid but so far so good. We got in at 9 am yesterday and hit hte ground running! It is definitely a totally different culture, but I am acclamating pretty well!
I'll have more updates later!
Marti
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Today is the day!
Last night Deborah, Leah and I went out for a nice dinner at McAlisters. Afterwards, we met up with Sarah, IVy and Gabby and went to Andy's. It was the first time all five of us have gotten together in a LONG time so it was very nice to see everyone! I love my friends!!!
I slept in this morning enjoying the comfort of my own bed for the last time in two weeks. I cuddled with my cats. They know something isn't right! Braxton has been very whiney for two days. I took my shower enjoying my nice clean American water and put makeup on for the last time in two days! ha :o) I love my makeup! I finished packing, loaded up the car and headed to church for a picnic. (I didnt go to the service, just the picnic). I said goodbye to the kids and talked with the Greve family for a bit. Their aunt is the one I will be working with in Cambodia and I have become very close to them all over the past few years. They're great people!
I met up with Leah, her brother and parents at Logan's for lunch and enjoyed a nice lunch with them. Now I am stuffed and sleepy just in time to get on a plane!
I am so incredibly blessed in so many ways. I have amazing friends, church family and family. I never dreamed I would have an opportunity like this and God has just paved the way. I am so excited about this. I will miss the comforts of home, my family, friends and cats for the next two weeks but I am excited about what lies ahead.
I appreciate your thoughts and prayers! My email is mj_netteler@yahoo.com if you would like to email me at any time!
God bless!
Marti Jo
I slept in this morning enjoying the comfort of my own bed for the last time in two weeks. I cuddled with my cats. They know something isn't right! Braxton has been very whiney for two days. I took my shower enjoying my nice clean American water and put makeup on for the last time in two days! ha :o) I love my makeup! I finished packing, loaded up the car and headed to church for a picnic. (I didnt go to the service, just the picnic). I said goodbye to the kids and talked with the Greve family for a bit. Their aunt is the one I will be working with in Cambodia and I have become very close to them all over the past few years. They're great people!
I met up with Leah, her brother and parents at Logan's for lunch and enjoyed a nice lunch with them. Now I am stuffed and sleepy just in time to get on a plane!
I am so incredibly blessed in so many ways. I have amazing friends, church family and family. I never dreamed I would have an opportunity like this and God has just paved the way. I am so excited about this. I will miss the comforts of home, my family, friends and cats for the next two weeks but I am excited about what lies ahead.
I appreciate your thoughts and prayers! My email is mj_netteler@yahoo.com if you would like to email me at any time!
God bless!
Marti Jo
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Well this has been quite a week! I dont know if I have ever been so tired! I was up late last night and early this morning so I better sleep in tomorrow morning and on the plane!
Tuesday I travelled to Sikeston for my nephew Jacob's graduation! I am so proud of him!!! It was a very short, but good trip. It was good to see my family before I leave. I didnt get to see my nephews Corey or Reid Thomas so that was a bummer, but I did see the rest of the clan.
This morning I have finally packed. There is no way I can get everything in one suitcase so I have a big one and a small one, plus my carry on. That is more than I wanted to deal with, but I just cant get it all in one and stay under the weight limit! I am more than likely over packing, but you never know what you are going to need for two weeks in a Third World country!
This afternoon I have a meeting with the girls for the trip and then I have some last minute things to do before tomorrow. Hopefully tomorrow I can just rest and take it easy....we'll see! ha!
I attached some pictures from my nephew's graduation as well! I will try to update periodically if we have access. I am sure we will at a couple of places. Please check back for updates and pictures!
PLease pray for us as we travel and as we do this work in Cambodia. Pray that we will have a safe and healthy trip, that we will be able to communicate clearly with the Cambodian teachers and that we will be a blessing to everyone we meet and come back changed!
PLease pray for us as we travel and as we do this work in Cambodia. Pray that we will have a safe and healthy trip, that we will be able to communicate clearly with the Cambodian teachers and that we will be a blessing to everyone we meet and come back changed!
God bless!
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