God has brought us safely to Cambodia. We have now been in country three days, and are beginning to get a glimpse into the Cambodian language and culture. We have spent most of these days so far becoming acclimated to the heat, and getting our feet under us to navigate the city and the potential projects.
The first thing we noticed as we got off the plane in Phnom Penh was the heat. The country is generally above 90 degrees F with an incredibly high humidity. The script has a lot of minute intricacies and the language is nothing like any language I have ever heard previously. After three days of hearing the language being spoken around us, we are starting to pick out a few phrases and recognize cultural gestures and actions. We are no experts on Cambodian culture, but we are learning quickly.
Yesterday was our first look at the school we are partnering with. The church meets in the school building, and we were able to walk around the grounds for a little while and see what engineering project opportunities there were. This trip is specifically for assessment, so we are not going to try to tackle a large project during the remaining three weeks. However, we do want to scope out the needs and resources of the area, to see what projects would be most beneficial and feasible for the school we are working with. The children at the school are so great: energetic, outgoing, and so excited for anything we are doing.
Over the remaining weeks, we will be working to produce detailed descriptions of what currently exists at the school and in the local markets as resources for potential projects. The cities have many resources, such as machine shops, welders, and lots of raw materials.
Please pray that we would have discernment about which projects to start and which would be most helpful to the school. A need does not necessitate a call, yet it is difficult to not run to solve every need we see.We need wisdom as we seek to follow the work that God has laid out for us, rather than simply chasing each project that interests us. Pray also for continued health of the team. We have been blessed so far with minimal health effects from heat and country shock. Pray also that we would be able to glorify God in whatever situation we are placed in. That is our primary purpose in this trip, and must remain in our focus.
Thank you so much for your prayers and support. I will do my best to keep you updated on our activities, though the days have been quite full. God is doing great things here. We are simply doing our best to not get in the way.
The first thing we noticed as we got off the plane in Phnom Penh was the heat. The country is generally above 90 degrees F with an incredibly high humidity. The script has a lot of minute intricacies and the language is nothing like any language I have ever heard previously. After three days of hearing the language being spoken around us, we are starting to pick out a few phrases and recognize cultural gestures and actions. We are no experts on Cambodian culture, but we are learning quickly.
Yesterday was our first look at the school we are partnering with. The church meets in the school building, and we were able to walk around the grounds for a little while and see what engineering project opportunities there were. This trip is specifically for assessment, so we are not going to try to tackle a large project during the remaining three weeks. However, we do want to scope out the needs and resources of the area, to see what projects would be most beneficial and feasible for the school we are working with. The children at the school are so great: energetic, outgoing, and so excited for anything we are doing.
Over the remaining weeks, we will be working to produce detailed descriptions of what currently exists at the school and in the local markets as resources for potential projects. The cities have many resources, such as machine shops, welders, and lots of raw materials.
Please pray that we would have discernment about which projects to start and which would be most helpful to the school. A need does not necessitate a call, yet it is difficult to not run to solve every need we see.We need wisdom as we seek to follow the work that God has laid out for us, rather than simply chasing each project that interests us. Pray also for continued health of the team. We have been blessed so far with minimal health effects from heat and country shock. Pray also that we would be able to glorify God in whatever situation we are placed in. That is our primary purpose in this trip, and must remain in our focus.
Thank you so much for your prayers and support. I will do my best to keep you updated on our activities, though the days have been quite full. God is doing great things here. We are simply doing our best to not get in the way.
