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| Starting our trip around the world at Newark International late on 9/24/11 |
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| Kai watching airplanes during our layover in Taiwan |
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| Keeping busy while awake on the last leg of our journey to Phnom Penh |
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| A VERY happy reunion - and we think Simon missed us, too! |
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| Jet lag has not been easy on any of us - and sometimes you'd just rather sleep than eat! |
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| Visiting with Sokheang (former dorm director) while he was in town (Nyaw, our helper, beside Bethany) |
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| Prayer time at PPMC our first Sunday back |
As you can see from the above, we're back in Phnom Penh, getting over jeg lag and readjusting to life in Cambodia. It's good to be back, but we're finding our "re-entry" both smoother and still not-as-smooth as we might have thought. We assumed since we've already lived here three years and had a house and friends waiting for us that this transition would be no big deal. And God's grace has been carrying us these last days in a special way. But living in a cooler place full of comfort and convenience for five months has given us a bit of culture shock again - we're being reminded how long it can take to do anything, how many things can break/not work at the same time, and how much the heat saps one's energy. So, to give you an idea, I've made a list of blessings and challenges we're experiencing to share with you...
(in no particular order)
Thanks for keeping us in your prayers during this transition - we know from experience that "this, too, shall pass" but it's sometimes hard to keep it all in perspective. But we DO believe the sun is there even when we can't see it shine - as is the case now fairly often here in the rainy seaon!
(in no particular order)
We're grateful...
1. for teammates who met us at the airport (after months of tending things for us in our absence).
2. to sleep in our own beds again.
3. for a supernatural joy that Bethany experienced the first three days straight. : )
4. that we all slept in until 7:30 am this morning (our 9th morning back).
5. to reconnect with our wonderful househelper Nyaw (affectionately called Om/Omie) and for her delicious cooking and hard work on our behalf.
6. for the warm welcome we received on Sunday at "Khmer church" and to see many familiar faces and reconnect with friends at "English church" (as the kids call our two services).
7. that we haven't seen any rats yet and only heard them one night so far.
8. that we recall a lot of Khmer - haven't forgotten it all!
9. that Aslan has fairly quickly readjusted to the heat and his initial heat/diaper rash has cleared up.
10. that for the most part this feels like home.
We struggle...
1. with wanting to wage war on every mosquito, ant and strange-looking bug we see in our living space.
2. to patiently wait for the end of jet lag and the return of the energy we once knew.
3. to accept that one cannot get as much done here in a day as one can in America - that's just how it is.
4. (at times) to communicate well in Khmer and to remember some words that once came easily.
5. with getting time alone with the Lord, especially when the whole family wakes between 5:00-7:00 am.
6. with wanting to get everything sorted and organized NOW so we can find the things we're looking for...
7. with the way our children have seemingly regressed in knowing how to behave - their version of culture shock and transition stress?
8. with feeling out-of-place, like this isn't as much "home" as we'd remembered.
Thanks for keeping us in your prayers during this transition - we know from experience that "this, too, shall pass" but it's sometimes hard to keep it all in perspective. But we DO believe the sun is there even when we can't see it shine - as is the case now fairly often here in the rainy seaon!
