Dear Weekend, Please come soon!

Dear Weekend,
Please come soon!
Love,
Your Biggest Fan

After four papers, a speech, and a test.. I'm ready for the weekend.
I'm ready for the weekend so I can start working ahead on:
1) A Theology exam
2) An Evangelism/Global Outreach presentation
3) A World Civ. exam
4) A Poverty report
5) and a Speech exam
all due next week.

Also, I will enjoy spending Friday night with my sister and six friends at my suitemate's house an hour away. Her mom is throwing us a Fall party! A home-cooked meal, family-friendly games, and seven girls in a mini-van... I'm expecting a good time! Then Saturday afternoon I will return to my desk and start working endlessly on those five projects listed above.

On a side note, I just uploaded this video to YouTube. Suprisingly, I'm not embarassed to upload this video of me dancing, I think only because it was so much fun! It was back in June, my last night in Kratie, Cambodia, and my hostess and English students threw me a great going-away party. There was snacks, games, prizes, music, dancing, laughing... and most importantly: some really good friends that I miss very much.

Because it's Wednesday, and you're probably expecting a Random Dozen.

I'm happy to participate in another random Wednesday meme, hosted by Lid at 2nd cup of coffee. Trace the link above to visit Mr. Linky and read the randoms of other bloggers.

1. On an average, how often do you splurge and buy something for yourself?

Never more than once every other week, which is when my paycheck comes!

2. What is the last creative project you began/finished? Feel free to post a pic of it.

My 2009 Cambodia scrapbook! (Scanned pages to come soon?)

3. OK, Goldie Locks, do you consider your house too big, too little or juuuust right?


I’ll choose to answer according to my dorm suite, because it is definitely not too big, and in reality not too little, I suppose it is just right!

4. What is your favorite outdoor chore?


I love outdoors, but I don’t necessarily enjoy chores like mowing or raking or shoveling. Planting flowers is fun... painting fences... washing cars... again, not my favorite things to do, but semi-pleasurable things to do outside. I do enjoy hiking, and some others may consider that a chore!

5. If you knew that cigarette smoking was not bad for your health but would be a weight loss tool, would you use it? Why or why not?

I wouldn’t. My roommate works at a bingo barn and smoke smells so dirty!


6. On a road trip, would you rather drive or ride?


There is no debate, I prefer the passenger seat!!

7. What do you consider a trivial pursuit?

The streets of India. Most because of it's portrayal in the movie Born into Brothels. Click HERE for a blog I wrote after watching the movie.

Born Into Brothels is a documentary which follows the lives of several unforgettable children who live in the red light district of Calcutta, where their mothers work as prostitutes. Zana Briski, a New York-based photographer, gives each of the children a camera and teaches them to look at the world with new eyes. It deeply portrayed the hopelessness of a life in the brothels -- very sad.


EDIT: I thought the question said TRAVEL pursuit. So that is how I chose to answer it, and now I realize it says TRIVIAL, and I'm not going to change my answer. :)

8. How long do you watch a movie or read a book before giving up on it?


I certainly won’t quit if I have already invested a good amount of time, or if I’m considerably closer to the end than the beginning. I’m quicker to turn off a movie if it’s cheesy, and to put down a book if it cannot be easily understood.

9. Is there a song that you really love but are embarrassed to admit because it's not cool or it's racy or because it's by Hall and Oates?

I enjoy the Gaither Vocal Band very much. There isn't another voice in this earth that gets to me like David Phelps. Oooo baby!




10. On a scale of 1-10 (10 = extremely) how spontaneous are you?

I have a hard time answering this question. I’m not a very spontaneous person, but I do enjoy it! So.. I’m going to choose any number bigger than 5, but probably smaller than 9.

11. Are you a food and/or beverage snob?


No? HA. I don’t think I can identify a food or beverage snob.

12. Who/What are you trying to control in your life?

I would love to have control of my future. Right now I'm waiting for a response from World Hope in regards to my application for a TESOL (teaching English as a 2nd language) internship in Kratie, Cambodia next June/July.

My life is average.

She told me my eyes were red, and they were. I said that it had just been a long hard day. She assumed I smoked dope, but in reality, I had just been crying. MLIA.

My life is average.

Little Baby Face has an announcement!!

A Day With C.S. Lewis

I have spent most of the evening with C.S. Lewis, and a good part of yesterday also. If you read yesterday's post, you know that the first thing on my weekend to-do list is finishing Lewis' Mere Christianity and writing a four-mat reflection. I have special news that I will share with you later, because for now I only have time for a short passage from Lewis' book:

Some people nowadays say that charity ought to be unnecessary and that instead of giving to the poor we ought to be producing a society in which there were no poor to give to. They may be quite right in saying that we ought to produce this kind of society. But if anyone thinks that, as a consequence, you can stop giving in the meantime, then he has parted company with all Christian morality.

I like it.

Look forward to my exciting news in the next day or two!

A new fashion of "to-do" lists.

Sorry about the quality of this image; it was taken with my phone. It's also off-centered because my camera takes horizontal pictures, but presents the images on a vertical screen.

ANYWAYS, those notes taped across the top of my desk are my new to-do list for this weekend. Every time I look up, these notes haunt me. Hopefully it will keep me disciplined, but right now it's only overwhelming. But, it's only eight things right? I can do it.

1) Finishing Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis and writing a four-mat reflection due Monday.

2) Writing a practicum and devotional reflection and identifying my "Key Result Areas" for my Evangelism and Global Outreach practicum (Tuesday.)

3) Answering questions for chapter 2 of my Development Theory class. Which is interesting, because we were already quizzed over chapter 2's material.. but we are just now doing the chapter questions.

4) Reading and reviewing my notes for my first World Civ. exam on Tuesday night.

5) Writing a speech of self-introduction and preparing my devotions for Speech on Wednesday.

6) Choosing a book about globalization, reading it in its entirely, and writing a report for Development Theory class on Thursday.

7) Completing extensive research about evangelistic meta-narratives, in preparation for a group presentation meeting next week.

8) Starting my Theology handbook and preparing for the 1st exam next Monday.

I anticipate being productive tonight considering it's Friday and all my friends are going out to enjoy the weekend, and I'm staying in my room with the door closed and the music off (maybe). However, tomorrow morning and afternoon I will be volunteering at the homecoming information desk, and then my sister, bro-in-law, and niece are coming to visit.

I wish I could tear the next 3 weeks out of my planner. :(

Friday's Fave Five -- Khmer Things.

Happy “Friday’s Fave Five” blog, hosted by Susanne at Living to Tell the Story. Click on the linky to see what 5 things other bloggers found pleasurable this week!

First things first, I love Cambodia. It is absolutely my favorite place in the whole entire world. With that said.. I've been thinking a lot about Cambodia this week, as I do most weeks, but this week especially. So, I have chosen 5 things from Cambodia to blog about. =)




1.) This is Vandy, Tess, and Titus, 3 of my very best friends in Cambodia. Tess is a Filipino missionary that I lived with for 2 weeks during my last trip to CAM. For quite a few years, Vandy and Titus co-pastored a small village church in Kratie, where I met them 2 yrs ago. Vandy is currently the President at the Wesleyan Bible College in Phnom Penh, he was also married to Tess Sep 30, 2009 in the Philippines. Titus is currently working to translate materials for a Christian organization [Cambodian Generation for Christ], and just recently passed his national graduation exam and has plans to attend the university once the funds are raised.

2.) If you know me well at all, you are probably very surprised [and you should be] to see a picture of an animal on a post of "my favorite things" for I am quite far from being an animal-lover. I love the zoo and especially walk-through aquariums, but my pleasure for animals stops there. However, I have found 1 exception: this lovable mutt Shrek. Shrek belongs to Vandy, and while I lived in Kratie, he would walk me to school most evenings. Tess knows my love for Shrek, and in a recent email she wrote, "Shrek is fine too! I showed him your pictures.. he wiggled his tail hehe.. he still knows you!" When I live in Cambodia, I plan on raising a Shrek puppy or two!



3.) Have you ever ridden an elephant? I've done it twice, and it has been two of the most incredible experiences of my life! The first time, my adrenaline was rushing like a barrel over Niagara Falls. Last year we rode around some old temples at Angkor Wat, but this year we climbed a mountain! Even on the steep and narrow paths, I was too excited to be nervous and it was absolutely beautiful.


4). Teaching English. I love standing alongside the pastors, the excitement in the kids' faces, and the students' deep cravings to learn. I love that I can teach 5 lessons using 1 children's story book. I love hearing the funny mispronunciations, and I love hearing my students FINALLY grasp the correct pronunciation! Teaching English is an opportunity to build meaningful relationships, and can be an opportunity to share my faith.
Back in June, in my exam/scholarship prep. class, I used simple stories to focus on pronunciation and vocabulary, and I also tested comprehension. I would ask my students to find the moral of the story; I still remember this one, "Even as the dog keeps barking, the moon keeps shining" and our conversation about the deeper meaning.

5. With the exception of my friends the the people of CAM., what I miss most is hearing and learning Khmer [the language of Cambodia.] Here are a few useful phrases written phonetically: Knyom cha-muah Jewelle [My name is Jewel]. Knyom moak pey praw te Ameleka [I am from America.] Knyom m'peh ch'nam [I am 20.] Knyom chang rien phiasaa khmer [I want to learn Khmer] pruah knyom chang ban p'dai Khmer [because I want to marry a Khmer man.] I learned two Khmer songs while I was in CAM, and I sing them everyday!
This isn't one of the two, but it is in Khmer:






If you're interested you can follow my "Cambodia 2009" tag to read more about my most recent adventures in Cambodia.

The Rage of Typhoon Ketsana

As of this morning, the death toll from the rage of the recent typhoon Ketsana topped at 325: at least 246 in the Philippines, 74 in Vietnam and nine in Cambodia. I hadn't realized how serious it was until my sister, Jessie, who traveled to the Philippines in May, heard from a cousin (Franci) of one of our good friends (Richard) in Manilla, where the flooding was the worst. I talked to my friend Chamnol last night (Cambodian friend, who was the best man in Tess and Vandy's wedding in the Philippines yesterday.) He said they are expecting another storm today or tomorrow, but it cannot be predicted when or how great it will be.

Francis writes:
my house was flooded with water upto the roof. good thing my parents, 2 brothers and 2 cousins were safe. but the aftermath is worse than the typhoon. all our stuff have been drowned with mud and water even now, which is about 3 days after the floods have already subsided. my family have no clothes to wear but thank GOd for his provision, some of the members of the church were able to provide some food and some shirts. i'm staying at the church in san juan to see if i could help other people and to see how i could help my family. am currently at work. but my family opted to stay at home and guard it from looters.

i wasn't able to go home when the typhoon struck. there was an overnight fellowship at the church. when saturday morning came the typhoon hit. the rescue team in our comunity was unprepared and they lacked the necessary supplies. but thank God someone was able to lend us ropes. the people we pulled to safety, we lead to the church. the church then became an instant refugee center. some of our generous members were able to send money to feed about 30 people (men, women and children). but they left as soon as the floods subsided.

like i said what we found out in the aftermath was devastating. 2 kids drowned when a wall collapsed on them. 20 kids are have gone missing. houses were destroyed. and people would be prone to catching diseases.

from what i've heard some areas are still affected. like cainta, palmera and taytay.

no one knows why GOd in His infinite wisdom would allow such a tragedy. but in this experience, i've learned that God is with me during the storm, He reminded me of what He did to Noah. that the real beauty of that story is found in their unity and hope. i know for sure we could stand up again.

8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 2 corinthians 4:8-10.

anyways, please continue to pray for us. May God bless you!

Francis

I am impressed with Francis' upbeat attitude, and I'm sure it is the same of many other believers there, but the situation and the conditions are torrential. Below are pictures taken by Francis of his house and his street, and the refugees in his church.

Refugees in Francis' church..

what a ministry this will be for their church!

Finding places to go... while the rains keep coming down.

Notice the basketball backboard..

Many Most things were ruined, and some family remained behind to keep looters from taking anything that still had any value.

Francis' younger brother's drawer of clothes, destroyed and caked in mud

"At least the rice is dry" (How they managed this, I don't know!)

Showing the home's damage..