Katherine Parker in Nepal

According to my Grandfather Wendell, one of the Methodist traditions for pastors is to keep a weekly journal. I think John Wesley kept a very detailed daily journal, which prompted this tradition. I keep a day planner with my notes for meetings and notes from meetings, workshops, etc. , but I haven’t had the discipline of sitting down and reflecting from time to time about what has been accomplished. Actually, I don’t do a very good job of writing up reports from my field visits either. I just trust that I get enough down in my diary that I can later remember. But I’m trying to do better. As a trial, I am reporting on this month’s activities here on my blog. So, January. I've moved into a new shared housing arrangement with my friend Heng , a professional Khmer woman who is about my age. This has been a lot of work, since we had to make a lot of improvements to make the house more livable. A contractor came in to install three new sinks (How can you build a bathroom without a sink?...

My prayers continue to go out to the people of Haiti and the tremendous loss, especially the family of my co-worker Sam Dixon and to Clint Rabb, who was still in critical condition in Florida last I heard. I am glad to be part of a church family that has been and will continue to be actively involved together with our members in Haiti for the improvement of the country. http://www.umc.org/haiti for updates. On the other side of the world, 2010 has started off at a sprint. The annual report is not yet done for 2009, but the planning meeting with the Social Concerns Committee was great and I've already got the first quarter of workshops scheduled in Kampong Speu with 6 churches and the district pastors' group in addition to ongoing work in Kampong Chhnang and some tentative plans in Kampong Thom. We're also getting ready to host our first volunteer team on Wednesday. I'm really excited! You can be too with a donation . This month is Human Trafficking Awareness Mon...

My cousin Wes sent me this article on Human Trafficking and it got me thinking about recent experiences that I have had. I love going to the Tropical Oasis Spa down by the Toul Tem Pong market. It certainly is not as upscale as some others, but I like to support the young women who are studying there. It is part of an NGO run by friends of mine that works with at-risk girls and those who have escaped from trafficking. There is a great cafe downstairs and I often run into other friends from around town. The Methodist Mission in Cambodia has a similar training program in beauty, cooking and sewing skills for at-risk young women. It is called Emmaus. Last year, we held a two-day meeting of the Social Concerns Committee (SCC) at the center to expose more of the Cambodian pastors to the program so they know about the opportunity as an option for at-risk young women in their communities. It is a great program and I love visiting its relaxing and beautiful campus. It is a bit out of Phnom Pe...