Discernment

So. I wrote this poem back in April. I wrote it as I was waiting, sitting outside the room where momentarily I would be having my interview for the Cambodia country program.
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It is
swirling thoughts
and drumming heart
with a thousand worries
and a thousand joys
in one brief moment
lifetimes long.
It is
groaning sighs
and whispered pleas
and falling onto battered knees.
Is it
rushing wind
or still small voice?
Listen.
Listen to the silence.
Find the calm within the storm.
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Companionship

companionship (n):
          the good feeling that comes from being with someone else *

Yesterday before dinner, I walked to the riverside with my host mother. On our journey back, night had already fallen, so we walked under a blanket of darkness. We walked in silence. It was a comfortable silence, a peaceful silence, but it was a silence that waited to be broken. It was a silence that was holding its breath, opening its mouth to speak but not finding the words, and subsiding again.

I was out walking alongside this beautiful woman, one who holds my hand as we cross the street to ensure our togetherness, who points out "tuhk" (water) so that I don't walk through the mud, and who congenially performs charades to tell me the wind is chilly or that we were to go on this walk.

You see, my host mother does not speak English, and lamentably, I do not speak [intelligible] Khmer. So on this walk, we walked in silence, and we walked in peace. I eagerly await the moment when I can chat with her about my day, when this walk is filled with words and laughter.

But for yesterday, I was overwhelmed with a feeling of companionship and of comfort. I was comfortable walking alongside this woman, sharing this experience with her.

Yet, I was struck by how different our experience could be. While I was walking, I was thinking about how dark the street was, how nice the temperature was, how glad I was that we were together... in English. I was thinking in English. Perhaps my host mother was thinking about how dark the street was, how nice the temperature was, how glad she was that we were together... in Khmer. Perhaps those were not her thoughts, but perhaps she thought something similar. Regardless, my stream of consciousness was running in English while hers was running in Khmer. Our experiences would be described differently by our contrasting languages. The same, yet different. Intertwined, yet distinct.

It was a lovely moment, that walk, that shared experience. I felt that good feeling that comes from being with someone else.

While I walked, I thought about what I could say in Khmer to be understood, and I have a feeling that she was thinking the same thought, too. We lacked the words to acknowledge the moment.

So we smiled.


(*definition from Merriam-Webster online)

Biding Your Time

Hi all,

So I'm still settling into Kampot...  and still establishing a means of regular internet connection.

First things first, Cambodia is a beautiful country, filled with beautiful people. As I struggle with language acquisition, I am ever-grateful that a simple smile transcends any language barrier. Life has been wonderful; life has been challenging; life has had ups; life has had downs. I've had moments of humbling experiences. I've had moments of joy.

I anticipate the day when I begin to tell my story of my journey in Cambodia. For now, I'm still searching for the words, for the way to encapsulate my experience in a blog post, or a newsletter, or an email... For now, I'm witnessing life, and taking a few pictures along the way.

While I'm busy collecting my thoughts (and finding the opportunity to connect to the internet and publish said thoughts), I encourage you to read blog posts from my fellow YAGM in Cambodia, as well as the blog post by our country coordinators, Jen and Matt. You can find links to their blogs on the sidebar of my main page.

Amanda, Kurt, Rachel, and Savannah serve with Life with Dignity
Ashley, Lindsay, and Mallory serve with the Lutheran Church in Cambodia
Jen and Matt live in Phnom Penh


In future posts, I'll share more about these lovely individuals and the partner organizations OR perhaps I can get one or two to guest-post and tell you about it themselves! Meanwhile, please peruse their blogs.

I wish peace, blessings, and love to you all. When you smile today, remember it's more than a reflex or coordinated muscular movement; remember, and recognize, the power it holds to brighten someone's life and the power it has, especially when words fail.

Love,
KMJ

Instagram Roundup

Greetings, Readers/Followers/Supporters/Everyone Else!

Today is Day 17 (what!) of life in Cambodia. Orientation is drawing to a close... Tomorrow morning, I leave Phnom Penh for Kampot! Tomorrow, I leave for my placement. Tomorrow, I meet my host family.

Orientation has been a complete whirlwind. We've had conversations about logistics, fears and expectations, how to communicate our stories; we've taken trips to the markets, taken a Khmer cooking class, visited the Royal Palace, Silver Pagoda, and Wat Phnom, and took audio tours at the genocide memorials; we've had Cambodian history lessons, church history discussions, and Khmer language lessons... It's been full, and it's been intense.

I'm still processing, so I haven't completed any blog posts or newsletter articles. Those are pending, but TBD when they'll be published. In the meantime, here is a roundup of photos that I've posted to Instagram. I've included modified captions for each of the photos, but this should give a glimpse of my Cambodian journey thus far.

Banana Flower Chicken

I had the joyful experience of an hour of anticipation waiting for our order of chicken seasoned with banana flower. When they say whole chicken, they mean whole chicken...

Lion statues can be seen all around Phnom Penh

We explored the Royal Palace and the "Silver Pagoda" (Temple of the Emerald Buddha), learning more about the rich history of Cambodia. The lion- symbolizing protection- stands guard outside the throne room of the King.

Tofu A Mok with Dessert

The CamFam took a Khmer cooking class! We took a trip to the market to learn more about the ingredients typical to Khmer cuisine, and then we made Green Mango Salad, A Mok (chicken, fish, or tofu), and Chek Ktis (a coconut cream, tapioca, and banana dessert). It was a delicious, educational experience.

Ice cream

Who would have thought that a "rainbow" paddle pop would have "toffee and butter caramel" flavor?? So confusing.

View from the balcony of Casa Bishquist
(our country coordinator's apartment)

"Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord; his appearing is as sure as the dawn; he will come to us like the showers, like the spring rains that water the earth." Hosea 6:3 ... I took a moment to be still and enjoy the cool, refreshing rain that swept through the city today. It reminded me of this verse (and LCM Atlanta).

A notes page of transliterated Khmer

Su'suh'dei! Khmer is a beautiful language. It is also unlike any language I have attempted to learn thus far, because I don't know the script, so I must attempt to write the words as they sound... A positive to this language is we don't have to conjugate verbs! My vocabulary is growing, but unless it's asking names, asking "what is this?", or ordering fried noodles, conversation doesn't get too far. At least there's room for growth...

Homecooked meals!

Cooking food with the CamFam has been one of my favorite activities during orientation. We've gone to market(s) to select our ingredients and brought them "home" to la Casa Bishquist, creating some stellar meals. The first meal was spaghetti with garlic toast and fresh spring rolls (the latter was lovingly given by a community partner). The second meal was a variation on a delicious Khmer Crepe we ate at a restaurant one day. The third was chicken kabobs with corn and watermelon. And the fourth was fried rice with chicken and fried egg (and Hoisin sauce). Definitely some fantastic bonding time while we braved shopping and new cooking experiences.

Genocide Memorials

I have a painful heart. (Warning: this Instagram synopsis does not do justice to the tragedy that occurred.) By 1975, Cambodia had already been suffering from a tumultuous period of civil war AND carpet bombing by the U.S... In 1975 the Khmer Rouge took control of Cambodia, establishing a 4-year regime where the policies and atrocities resulted in genocide and the deaths of an estimated 30% of the population. We visited Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and the Choeung Ek Genocidal Center, and here are some photos of the memorials. (L) preserved remains of victims, (Top) Choeung Ek's Memorial Stupa, (Bottom) Fourteen Graves, on the grounds of Tuol Sleng

Friendly silk worm

I held a silk warm! We road a boat up the Mekong River to visit a Silk Village. We learn all about how silk is made, from butterfly to fabric. The women working the looms were so impressive with their dexterity and their memory for the patterns.

Rachel and Amanda

We celebrated September birthdays with some festive purple and green, coconut and lemon cake; that was such an experiment for the taste buds.

If you stuck with me through all those photos, I hope you enjoyed viewing them!

Cheers! -KMJ

Newsletters

Quick update:

So it turns out that I'll be sending newsletters out approximately every two months.

That's in addition to this blog, which I'm planning to update more frequently. There's no guarantee for that frequency, though- it could be every 3 days or it could be every month. It will depend on internet access, motivation, and whether there are interesting remarks to write.

Regardless, there will be newsletters. These newsletters will include stories, observations, and experiences... I'm sure you can imagine what a newsletter will contain.

If you're interested in receiving a newsletter, please comment below with your email address, or email me your email address, or comment on Facebook with your email address, or PM me on Facebook, or text me... You know, just make sure I have your email address!

Cheers!
-KMJ

Prayer Calendar

So, unless someone can guide me otherwise, I cannot find a way for you to edit my prayer calendar without inviting every.single.supporter to my calendar one.by.one. This, I do not wish to do.

Therefore, I have a new idea. See the "Contact Me" section on the right-hand side of my home page. You can include your name and email, and in the "message" part write the date(s) that you choose. It will send me an email that includes this information. Make sure you add the date to your own calendar so that you don't forget! I will at various points update the calendar here on this blog to reflect those selected dates.

Now, why should you select a date? I need prayers, and I need happy thoughts, as I embark on this crazy awesome journey. I would appreciate any support that you feel willing to provide!

For what can you pray?
- Courage
- Strength
- Peace
- Understanding
- Growth
- My fellow volunteers
- My host family
- My host country
- Like, literally anything you think is applicable...

What can you send me?
- An encouraging note
- A favorite Bible verse
- A funny joke
- Like, literally anything you think is uplifting or supportive

Thank you a million times, from the moon and back, and many more, for your interest, your support, and your encouragement. You might not be able to imagine how the littlest smile has even meant so much.

Peace & Blessings!
-KMJ

Placement

Greetings, all!

The most exciting news to date arrived in my inbox: my placement!

My vision is less nebulous, and I can finally share more information about what life might look like in Cambodia. It's like a life-size jigsaw puzzle, in a way, without having the image on the box as a guide. I started working on the outside edges, piecing together the border and the framework. Sure, I knew the general idea what the picture looked like, but image was blurry, unclear. I even attempted using pieces from other experiences to fill in the gaps, but as one could imagine, the pieces didn't quite fit. It was an approximation, a substitute, not legitimate. You following?

But now, the image has sharpened.

I'll be living in the town of Kampot, which is about 149 km southwest of the capital Phnom Penh. Also, it is about 5 km from the Gulf of Thailand. In Kampot, I will serve with the Reproductive and Child Health Alliance (RACHA), a Cambodia-based Non-Governmental Organization (NGO). RACHA has a focus on community health programming.  Their mission is:

To improve the lives of individuals and communities in Cambodia by making essential health services including reproductive health, newborn and child health, nutrition, clean water, sanitation, hygiene, infectious diseases, HIV/AIDS and other related services safe, available, accessible, and sustainable.

I'm not yet sure what my role will be with RACHA, but word is I "will be serving alongside them in that mission, both at their office and in various surrounding communities". I am incredibly overwhelmed by this placement- and I mean that in a positive sense. When I received the email, I teared up. It sounds perfect. It sounds like an amazing fit, and I cannot wait to learn and discover by working with this organization. I have a feeling that I will learn more than I will teach, but I am continuously grateful for this opportunity.

Over the next few weeks leading up to orientation I will be receiving more information about my year in Cambodia, but it is a journey in progress. My puzzle won't be complete until I return home to the United States next year... In fact, it probably won't be complete for years, as I will carry these memories, experiences, and lessons with me into the future. I feel like I have travelled so far, AND I HAVE NOT EVEN GOTTEN THERE YET!

Continue to pray for me. Continue to ask questions about my journey. Thank you once more for your support.

Cheers!
-KMJ