Tuesday, September 28, 2010

The more things change...

Just past eight months here and the paradoxes (or maybe paradoxi; or paradoxen...?) never end.  What I mean is that the more used to this new culture I get, the more comfortable I feel trying new things and in doing so I again realize how far this life really is from everything I once knew to be "home".  To me that is a good thing, by the way (or BTW for the younger generation).  Following are just a couple of examples of how seemingly uncomfortable things turned out for the best.

First, I went back to my favorite "restaurant" yesterday (see post titled "Empty" if you want to know more about my favorite restaurant).  When he didn't have my usual, he offered me the house special.  I politely accepted and waited for it to be delivered.  My bowl of "soup" arrived shortly after and he proceeded to add some extra toppings on it, which I again accepted without protest.  Once he had placed the finishing touches on it, I began to dig in.  The noodles were fine.  I didn't hesitate at all either with the herbs and vegetables.  In fact, probably about 80% of the soup went down the hatch without any hesitation at all.  It was the other 20% or so that presented the problem.  I was sure that some of the meat products that were in the soup were only there for flavor and not intended to be eaten.  One piece looked like a wad of silly putty.  Another looked like a bone, until I poked at it and it was squishy.  I covertly looked at the man sitting at the other table eating the same dish and I didn't see him leaving anything in the bowl.  That is when, again not to offend as I am a people pleaser, I decided to consume the whole thing...mystery meat and all.  Most pieces went down without chewing the obligatory 20 times.  In fact they went down whole.  It was tasty, though and the smile on the guy's face was worth it.  Don't know why I can't just stick with PB&J.  I am glad that I can't though because while he was still smiling, I was able to give him the book "50 Reasons Why Christ Came to Die" by John Piper...in his native tongue.  He was pleased to receive it and I will be pleased to follow up with him many more times.

The other example comes with language barriers. For the most part, I can get by with English.  Almost anything we need can be purchased from someone who knows enough english to make the transaction.  However, I am in Cambodia and I want to learn their language.  However, since I am far from fluent in Khmer, I have to stick to English.  I am constantly in awe of the many Cambodians I come in contact with who can make me feel very comfortable with the level of English they speak.  But even though their English is lightyears beyond my Khmer, it still lacks many key components which cause it to make sense. One great example of how all of the right words might be placed in a certain text, the arrangement leaves you wondering: WHAT?  This is demonstrated in the sign above.  Another came in the form of a business card.  The well meaning business owner was trying to promote his computer servicing business by stating that he was the "One stop shop for all of you computer needs".  All of the right words were there but the end product was less than desirable.  It read: "One of your stop shops for all of you computer needs".
The cool thing about this is is that as a result of a different translation miscommunication (or miscommunilation), I am now meeting with a local businessman weekly to help him learn English while also introducing him to the Gospel.   God works in such cool and amazing ways.  It is so fun to be caught up in them.  I will keep you posted on both of them.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Desire

A sweet little girl I saw at a local market
I have been reflecting lately about our move to Cambodia almost 8 months ago. That always leads me back further to the year and a half leading up to our move. We had many people standing by us, cheering us on but we also had our share of people saying "what in the ... are you thinking?" or some derivative thereof. Believe me, I have been in the second camp at times myself but thankfully only for short periods.


Those questions always left me thinking, why did we move here? When we are walking down the sidewalk stepping over trash; passing naked, dirty, begging children; sweating almost constantly; being stressed out by CRAZY traffic; being so far from what is familiar; unable to find what you need and if you do, often unable to communicate with the workers selling the item you need...etc. Those don't even take into account the fact that it is the "wrong time" to move the kids, as we had many people say.  Wait until they get out of school...etc.  The list of reasons is so long as to why we shouldn't have moved. So what were we thinking?

A car amongst unusual traffic
A boy begging for money, presumably with his sibling.
We wanted to.  It was our DESIRE to move here. Really. It is not that we are overly spiritual but we just wanted to come. It sounds so counter intuitive. No one wants to move to one of the poorest countries in the eastern hemisphere, do they? Before we visited I even had to find it on the map. Not exactly a top 10 desirable destination for most. But that is where God comes into play.  He says: "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart."  Now, I am not sure exactly what we did to "delight" ourselves in Him except to walk in obedience to His leading.  And I guess when we boil it all down, that is really all He wants. Obedience.  "To obey is better than sacrifice".  As a father myself, I know that feeling.  I have told my kids before that there is nothing they can give me that I don't already have...except their obedience.  Which really represents the gift of your heart.  To obey is to trust the other person's heart for you, even if you can't see the end result.
Some sweet kids we brought clothes to after they were displaced by a fire.

So that brings us to where we are.  Enjoying our new home...trusting God's heart for us...excited to walk in His plan for us in Cambodia...the best place on earth to live.