Sorry for the long wait for this update, as usual, I've been keeping very busy!
Thank you all for praying for our boy Aaron, his wound from surgery has healed remarkably quickly and he's bouncing around the house as cute as ever! Please keep praying for him because of his TB...
Our community health initiative has been going well; We're starting with hygiene and then moving on to a million other important topics (:P). We've had about 40 people attending each class so far. It's been exciting to have some of the local elderly people come to our classes and join in the activities!
I am very excited about our New York team coming next week... can't wait to see my sister and of course everyone else. Some have never been here before, so it will be fun introducing them to the culture and our ministry. They'll be doing a lot at our Foundation Center as well as with all of our programs.
This past week I and my housemates "moved", although we really are right next-door to where we used to be. We recently were able to rent the adjoining building in addition to the one we have for Sak Saum, which is great since we were running out of room! Our landlords actually let us put a doorway between the two buildings so they are connected... It's a bit dizzying at first because the two houses are essentially mirror images of each other! But it's great to have more space; it will allow us to do more training and all the nuts and bolts stuff that Ginny and the girls do at Sak Saum.
Hope you all are well, God bless!
~Emily
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
Time Flies...
Hi everyone, I just realized that by the end of this week I will have been here in Cambodia for 6 months! I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by. Thank you all for you support and encouragement!
A lot has been happening here, to put it mildly. These past few weeks have been a bit difficult for some of us, but personally I am fine. You can keep our little boy Aaron in your prayers though... during a stay at the hospital to remove some inverted boils (not very fun for the poor kid), we were informed that he has TB and will have to be on medication for a year. He is home now, but his cut from the boil-removal is still healing.
On top of that, one of our Sak Saum girls had a bit of trouble recently when her parents decided that she was getting married, like it or not. They spun some very deceptive and upsetting plans to try to force her to go along with it, including following her to the hospital where she was visiting Aaron and trying to force a confrontation with the supposed fiance. They even tried to convince her that if she didn't marry him, her mother would be put in prison because of the dowry (highly unlikely). Fortunately, she was able to make her own decision and exercise her right to say no to the marriage. Now her family has essentially disowned her and is being very cruel.
Arranged marriage is a common and accepted practice here in Cambodia, and many girls are not even aware that they have the legal right to choose whether they will marry the person their parents choose. This is one of the things that we want to teach the women in Sak Saum and young girls in the province who think they are trapped in these situations. It's a difficult thing for them to say no to their families, but they need to know they have that choice.
Next week will begin a series of health teachings that Svetlana and I will be doing at the Foundation Center... Simple lessons such as handwashing, boiling water, brushing teeth, and keeping cuts and wounds covered are things that many rural people have never been taught. It is amazing sometimes to see how bad their living standards are simply because they don't know any better. Hopefully we'll be able to help the community progress a little on that front.
We recently gained custody of another Loaves and Fish orphan: Bora, a handsome little 10 year-old who had been living with his uncle's family, will now stay at the Foundation Center with staff. His uncle was becoming increasingly threatening and abusive, and so with the help of the local commune leader we intervened. I'm so glad that we could help Bora, and hopefully after we build our safehouse we'll be able to do more for kids in similar situations.
I'm looking forward to next month since we are having a short-term team come from NY, including my sister. Should be fun to see them all and hear how life is back in the US!
God bless,
Emily
A lot has been happening here, to put it mildly. These past few weeks have been a bit difficult for some of us, but personally I am fine. You can keep our little boy Aaron in your prayers though... during a stay at the hospital to remove some inverted boils (not very fun for the poor kid), we were informed that he has TB and will have to be on medication for a year. He is home now, but his cut from the boil-removal is still healing.
On top of that, one of our Sak Saum girls had a bit of trouble recently when her parents decided that she was getting married, like it or not. They spun some very deceptive and upsetting plans to try to force her to go along with it, including following her to the hospital where she was visiting Aaron and trying to force a confrontation with the supposed fiance. They even tried to convince her that if she didn't marry him, her mother would be put in prison because of the dowry (highly unlikely). Fortunately, she was able to make her own decision and exercise her right to say no to the marriage. Now her family has essentially disowned her and is being very cruel.
Arranged marriage is a common and accepted practice here in Cambodia, and many girls are not even aware that they have the legal right to choose whether they will marry the person their parents choose. This is one of the things that we want to teach the women in Sak Saum and young girls in the province who think they are trapped in these situations. It's a difficult thing for them to say no to their families, but they need to know they have that choice.
Next week will begin a series of health teachings that Svetlana and I will be doing at the Foundation Center... Simple lessons such as handwashing, boiling water, brushing teeth, and keeping cuts and wounds covered are things that many rural people have never been taught. It is amazing sometimes to see how bad their living standards are simply because they don't know any better. Hopefully we'll be able to help the community progress a little on that front.
We recently gained custody of another Loaves and Fish orphan: Bora, a handsome little 10 year-old who had been living with his uncle's family, will now stay at the Foundation Center with staff. His uncle was becoming increasingly threatening and abusive, and so with the help of the local commune leader we intervened. I'm so glad that we could help Bora, and hopefully after we build our safehouse we'll be able to do more for kids in similar situations.
I'm looking forward to next month since we are having a short-term team come from NY, including my sister. Should be fun to see them all and hear how life is back in the US!
God bless,
Emily
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