Finding a routine

This last week I seem to have finally found a routine! I catch a tuktuk into work with Erica, an individual volunteer-in-mission at the dump-site orphanages. We join in morning devotions with the other staff and the young men who are studying mechanics for three months with the "Faith Engines" youth employment training program. Then I spend an hour studying Khmer with Jantein.

Office work still feels like orientation as I work with Mr. Thy to streamline the process for receiving and processing project proposals. We have been making more trips to visit existing agric- and micro-enterprise groups. We are also planning for two big 2-day workshops in March on Wholistic Development (particularly using local resources for small projects) for the Kandal and Kampang Chhnang districts, and I am getting ready for some workshops on water quality and sanitation with a local church and a pastor group.

This month we were also blessed by a Volunteers-In-Mission Team from the Louisiana Conference of the United Methodist Church who came with a medical team to run a free health clinic at two churches in the Kampang Chhnang district. The medical clinics were well received and Missionary Irene Mparutsa, community health nurse for CHAD, is busy making sure that the individuals that need follow up care from the hospital here in Phnom Penh are getting the proper treatment.

The Louisiana team visit started with the dedication of a new church that was built with their support over the last two years. It was a wonderful experience to see that a conference that it still working on rebuilding the homes and churches damaged by hurricane Katrina is simultaneously reaching out in partnership with its neighbors on the other side of the globe. At the luncheon following the dedication service I sat with this group of high school students who were thrilled to practice their English with a native speaker for the first time.

From Dedication of...

At the end of the health clinic I was able to join the team as they traveled to Siam Reap to visit Angkor Watt and other temples. It was quite spectacular, much more than I expected. Here is an example of some of the beautiful bas relief carvings.

From Angkor Watt a...

I especially enjoyed Bayon Temple with its hundred faces.

As before, I have more (unorganized) pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/ktp.cambodia.01