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