GRIFFITH GLEANINGS APRIL 2018
DEBThe local village health clinic is a space surrounded by beautiful manicured gardens and is an inviting place to visit. Free health care is provided for those in need, or others pay $1 to see a Doctor, Nurse or Midwife.The health centre opens doors to building relationships within and around the village we live, having around 60 clients visit most days with their supporting family members.It is cleaned daily as it is situated beside a busy red dusty road. Half-way through the day I need to use the “feather duster” to clean desk, chairs and everything. Additionally I am improvising with equipment. The other day I was humbled by not being able to use my two hands for a procedure when I needed to use one hand to hold my phone for a light. Really I am privileged and stretched as each week I am exposed to many different generations of Khmer people in this setting and listening and observing them helps me in the processing of the Khmer language and culture. Thank you for supporting us to come beside the Khmer people in all their seasons of life.
Presently in my language stage I go around the local village to deepen relationships; part of this is by listening and recording various people’s stories. Later listening to them and going through them with my language nurturer. This brings up new words and the flow of content the Khmer use when talking together. I met up with a client in her families garden that I had met at the health clinic previously as I was sharing with her grand mother and hearing her story. This client I had silently prayed for when I met her through the clinic due to her extenuating circumstances. God facilitated this extra appointment with her to bring encouragement and connection. Remember my friend Mrs ‘H’ as she shared she believes she has three ghosts following her keeping her sick for four months now. I told her I pray a lot to Jesus; she has asked that I pray too for her and her family. May God bring his blessing of healing and shalom to Mrs ‘H’.
ROB
We are very thankful to receive our work permits and my new 12 month visa in the past month. Foreigners in Cambodia are now required to have a contract of employment with an organisation approved by the government, even if they are volunteers. It has taken us quite a number of months to navigate through the changing requirements of living in Cambodia. The highlight of getting the necessary documents is certainly eclipsed by the opportunity that came about to engage with so many of our neighbours and the life of the local school to set up a garden and learn the life skill of nutritious food production.
The Chreav Primary School has never had a garden of this type and a fair bit of work is required to clear an area of rocks and weeds, as well as install a fence to keep the volley ball games clear. The average school classes are as large as 50 to 60 children, so there is no shortage of hands to help with the work from the 4 classes engaged in the activity! Volunteering one day per week has come with some new stress factors, such as managing so many children at once to safely work with hoes, picks and shovels and know what to do with the first snake a child had dug up and started to play with in a crowd of children! But by far the main challenge in his environment is to speak in a new language about everything from technical terms for soil management, to mundane things like crowd control to move so many year 5 and 6 students to and from a class room. It is certainly helping to support one of our other main activities at present that remains learning to speak and read the Khmer language. |
