Katherine Parker in Nepal

A little over five years ago, I showed up at the Global Ministries headquarters in New York and said in substance, "Here am I, send me." And they said, "Where we really need you is. . . Cambodia!" And I said, "OK." And what a joy it has been! Cambodia Methodism is a "mission initiative," an emerging church on a path to autonomy, and it has been my privilege to share with you some of the indicators of this over the years. Five years ago, I was one of 11 missionaries in Phnom Pehn. My departure brings that number down to seven. This is a great indicator of the strength of the mission as more programming and leadership is picked up by Cambodian nationals. Though the end of my term of itinerancy comes as an emotional jolt, it is with great joy that, as I leave Cambodia, the ministry continues in the hands of my friends. So Global Ministries said, "Where we really need you now is. . . Nepal!" And I said, "OK." True, I am...

I'm changing the way my newsletter goes out and will soon discontinue using GoogleGroups. Please take a moment to sign up for my new list through MailChimp if you would like to continue receiving my email newsletters. Two weeks into Lent, I'm still reflecting on the encouragement and hope I feel from the Ash Wednesday reminder that our lives belong to a story richer, deeper, and longer than our brief life’s span*. After a hectic month in January of running up and down the country to visit project groups , I spent most of February in the city doing various forms of report writing. When I get caught-up in these day to day or even annual tasks, I sometimes feel bogged down. It is helpful at these times to take time to reflect. I'm really proud of our team and the 2011 accomplishment that Mr. Thy summarized . This season of the church is also a reminder to me that the little that we each do in this life is a part of God's great love and work through humanity. We are part ...

The clock and weather always win.   The beginning of the year is always a busy time for the CHAD team. Every January, we visit all of the projects we support to bring encouragement, dialogue about any changes or challenges in the villages, and collect information for our annual report. After an exciting week of field visits, I’m back in Phnom Penh resting up at a café, sipping a cup of coffee, and eating mango chicken salad. Here are a few reflections on my experiences this past week, especial for those who are interested in details of my daily life. The planning for our field visits last week started about a month ago. We began by calling Rev. Sok Nora to inform him that we wanted to visit projects for three days in the Kampong Speu district because I was already scheduled to teach a workshop in that district in the latter part of that week. He agreed and said he would arrange our schedule. Then, unfortunately because of time constraints, he expressed a hope to squeeze the 1...

Plastic Christmas trees with glittery ornaments have been popular in the shops of Phnom Penh this December, but the anticipation and bustling preparations are distinctly missing. For me, listening to Handel’s Messiah and reading the lectionary every morning with my housemates has helped bring some definition to Advent here in the tropics. It is the harvest season in Cambodia, and the rice fields have turned that lovely gold that glows in the dusk as the wind brings the weary workers home. But, there is also a somberness this year since so many fields were destroyed with the flooding . Thanks to donations from around the world, the Methodist Mission in Cambodia was able to distribute relief packages to more than 1000 families in November and this week again to nearly 800 more families in the impacted regions. About 10% of the farmers in the communities where we work have re-planted fields with dry-season rice, if they have sufficient access to water. There is a story from Mr. Thy on ou...

Sometimes I get asked if I ever get homesick and usually my answer is no. But today I was reading an article (online) in the New York Times Home & Garden section about shopping for bathroom fixtures and it made me feel nostalgic for the summer when I helped to remodel the bathroom at my parent's house. I remember shopping with my mom to select the fixtures. Life in Cambodia is quite good. I have running water almost all the time. It is room temperature, which is sometimes warm and sometimes cool, but I don't mind not being able to adjust the temp at the tap. Previously, we lost water pressure every morning, but now we've got a system for switching to the water tank during that period, so no problems there anymore. I even have a faucet fixture that I can push open and closed since I dislike turning faucets. So what is it that I miss? Polished chrome. Construction is all low quality here. My faucet is often leaking and was rusted and unattractive within a few mon...

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...