Katherine Parker in Nepal

I don't think there is such a thing as a typical day for anyone working in community development, but since I get the question a lot, I though I would start to periodically write about my day (or at least the interesting ones). Here is what I did on Wednesday October 19. 5:30 am - wake up in my apartment in Phnom Penh and check emails. 6:45 am - still a bit sleepy, I stumble downstairs and over to my neighbor's apartment where we have our morning "bible club." My neighbors include 2 other missionaries (from the USA and from India) who are professors at the Royal University of Phnom Penh and my best friend Heng (also our landlady). We are reading through Luke right now. 7:10 am - hoping that the water pressure is back (it often drops off between 6:30 and 7:30am), I head back upstairs to shower and eat breakfast. 8:00 am - I'm heading out for 3 days in the province (country-side), so I pack an overnight bag, charge my phone and my battery lamp (n...

I just got back from a three day visit to a remote part of Kampong Speu province... actually one of the few "mountain" regions of the country. It was a lovely visit and the countryside is just gorgeous. This is the third month for us to be working with a new cluster of churches in this region. And so, on this visit I traveled out to actually meet with community members at their village - rather than just with church leaders at a central location for the cluster. One of the joys of meeting people in their home place is finding out small ways that individuals are living out their Christian service to their community. As is true for church members in the US and around the world, people of faith in Cambodia are active in their communities and partnering with various local initiatives to improve lives. Many church members are very active in health care ministry, especially accompanying neighbors to the local clinic or farther afield to the provincial referral hospital. CHAD pr...

Flood damage update. I've received several emails with questions and concerns about recent flood damage here in Cambodia. Thanks! I am fine, but there has been quite a bit of damage especially to many rice fields that were so close to being ready to harvest. Daneth Him just went up to visit Kampong Chhnang yesterday to assess the extent of damage to communities we work with there (the link is to her facebook page where she posted pictures). The flood levels have not been as high as during the typhoon in 2009, but the water has been very slow to recede, which is why the crop damage has been extensive. The Social Concerns Committee (SCC) of the Methodist Church in Cambodia (MMC) has already distributed some funds for immediate food aid to about 1150 families in 55 villages (in 9 provinces) who have lost their harvest, but this is still just a drop in the bucket so to say. The water festival has been canceled by the government this year in order to use those funds also to provide r...

One of my joys is working with Rev. Hong Phally as a co-facilitator of the Mobilizing the Church bible study for churches in Kampong Speu. She is an amazing young pastor (just 4 years younger than me) and I have learned a lot from her. While traveling to churches I hear bits about the other successful ministry activities with children that she has helped organize, and I wanted to share a bit about that here. At the time we started working together two years ago, Phally was the Assistant District Superintendent for Kampong Speu and the chair of the Children's Committee for the Methodist Mission (Church) in Cambodia (MMC). Her committee had an annual budget of $100, but the committed pastors on this committee used their own meager resources to meet together and travel periodically to facilitate a "Children's Fellowship" at various churches around the country. A children's fellowship is the Cambodian equivalent of Vacation Bible School (VBS); it is a one day e...

I'm not much of a birthday person, but one of the joys of being a missionary with the United Methodist Church is that my name is listed in the United Methodist Women's Prayer Calendar. Every year about this time I get emails and cards from amazing people who are passionate and committed to supporting the mission of our church around the world. It is very inspiring to me to know that so many people are praying for the ministry and in particular for their prayers for me at this time. I hope that others also have ways to know that, in their work for the Kingdom, they are supported by this great cloud of witness. I am grateful for the many birthday greetings and prayers that came to me through facebook, emails and cards. Many people asked if I did anything special for my birthday. In one email I wrote, "I had a lovely birthday tea with my housemates and some friends which included tea sandwiches with whole wheat bread (a treat since we mostly eat rice and the most available br...

I was really humbled about 2 weeks ago when I went to visit with a new cluster of churches in the hills near Kirirom (Kampong Speu province). I got the truck stuck in the mud and it was the one where the 4 wheel drive is busted, so I couldn't get it out on my own. This was only my second time to meet with these folks so they didn't really know me yet nor I them, but they got straight to work pulling out hoes to try and dig out the stuck wheel and machete to cut branches to try and get some traction, all to no avail. Finally someone went off by moto and came back with a winch which they tied to a small papaya tree and took turns cranking until they had pulled the truck out. I was humbled by the entire experience but not least because one of the most active men out there digging out the tires was an amputee who had lost his leg in the war. This man is now the leader of the men's group at his nearby church and quite a charismatic guy. While I am still just ge...

I continue to be overwhelmed by the rapid pace of change in Cambodia. I missed driving my normal route to the office for a week and next thing I knew they had paved the road in front of the Cambodia Methodist Bible College (CMBS) - how did I miss this? I almost got stuck in a pile of dirt on my way to Srei Som Pong church two months ago and during my following monthly visit there were another 5km of blacktop - cutting down my travel time by about 15 minutes! Of course, it is rainy season now and I still managed to get the truck stuck 3 times last month, oh well - good thing for 4-wheel drive and helpful church members. And there are new challenges. For example, power outages are more frequent in Phnom Penh  as the load on the grid outpaces the ability to predict and ramp up delivery. Likewise, the less predictable global weather patterns were reflected in droughts last year; this year many farmers in the north (near Siem Reap and Kampong Thom) are facing difficulty from...