a few things I will remember

I rode down the road and through city traffic on the back of a motorbike; sidesaddle.

I learned to eat fish with the head and tail still intact.

I communicated in a language different than my mother tongue.

I learned to read and write; again.

I wept.

I prayed more often.

I was humbled.

I learned to draw blood with a simple needle and syringe.

I answered questions about my marital status and weight upon just meeting someone.

I ate rice for breakfast by choice.

I learned. and learned. and realized how much more I have to learn....

I was sick for a full week.

I took three or four showers a day.

I was welcomed in to strangers homes.

I went for morning runs on dusty gravel roads with children calling out after me.

I grew to appreciate the 5am rooster crowing and welcoming another day.

I learned to drive a motorbike.

I drove a motorbike through lakes of mud.

I fell off my motorbike.

I became charmed with the things that once bothered me.

I was invited to eat lunch with people I had never met.

I learned about thyroid disease, how to perform an EKG, and use ultrasound.

I drank coffee at a casino on a regular basis.

I bought eggs and coconuts from my neighbors.

I used a tiny bathroom with no sink.

I never needed hot water showers.

I made new friends.

I was pointed at and laughed at.

I was admired and complimented.

I felt hopeless and encouraged in the same day.

I wore jeans and long sleeves outside on hot days.

I thought in Khmer first.

I found Cambodian words and phrases more useful and appropriate than English ones.

I ate a cricket and a duck fetus.

I woke up to wat music too many mornings; and never got used to it.

I never did grow to love Cambodian music. I didn’t like it either.

I found cockroaches on my bathroom floor.

I went barefoot most of the day.

I received more compliments than ever in my life!

Thank you Cambodia.

I will remember with much fondness and much love.

  To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory. 

 -Isaiah 61:3

dear sister, 
you are now away from us here- 
and we miss you. 
but we rejoice you are with Jesus 
and your pain is gone! 
you will not be forgotten.
you raised your hands up in victory this day when you stood up, it now reminds me of the victory of where you now stand. praise God for his love for us! 
with all our love...