"...I recommend getting a manicure and a cute helmet"

Well I've been in Cambodia about a month now, and I've got a new language, a new name, and a motorbike with pink flowers on it.

Welcome to Asia

(hahaha Who is that person??!)

My impression of Cambodia so far is that it's an intense place. Either laid-back apathy, or full-on chaos. There seems to be no middle gear. And the last few months have been full of the unexpected. It feels like everything is new- even my name.

(Melissa is kind of awkward to pronounce in Khmer, so instead you can call me " លិសា ")

But I've gotten used to life here pretty quick. The language is tough, but getting easier; the food is mostly simple healthy and good; the climate, well, I'm getting used to that too :) ;navigating downtown traffic on a bike, while wearing high-heel shoes (haha) -that is truly an art!

Fields That Are Ripe...

Someone very wise explained to me once that getting to know a new culture should involve more than just speaking the language. It's important to know about the people and the things that matter in their lives. You should try to do what they do and feel what they feel... walk a mile in their shoes. I agreed that sounded like some pretty wise advice... And the next thing I knew, I was barefoot in a rice paddy.

I'm living in the city of Phnom Penh now, but last week I went to visit some friends in the countryside of Takeo.

It's beautiful out there this time of year with the bright green rice fields and sugar palms.

The brothers there were all busy with the rice harvest, so we went to help them one afternoon after service. When we asked if we were "good workers", they laughed and said 'No! We were slow and wasted too much time playing and taking pictures.' (hahaha) Whatever do they mean??

But rice isn't the only thing being harvested in Takeo. There's a small group with about 12 publishers and their territory includes the entire province- a large part of which has never been witnessed to before. This is how to get there...

And this is me trying to speak Khmer! (haha) Is she smiling because she's interested... or just laughing because she has no clue what I'm saying?? Talking to Budist people is so different from what I've been used to in Ecuador! But I'm having fun trying to understand that religion and figure out how to reason with the people.

Just about everyone here is very polite, curious about our message, and willing to listen. This woman was from Vietnam and didn't speak much Cambodian, but she was nice and accepted a Watchtower in Vietnamese.

We traveled an hour or so to reach this family's house, where a new bible study is being started.

She can't read well and didn't have a pair of good glasses, but it was really touching to see how much effort she was putting into trying to understand the information. Her little grandson (in the picture on the left) is deaf, but doesn't know sign language at all. Way out in the country where they live, there are no resources at all for families with deaf kids. I showed him the bible stories book and tried to get him to mimic some signs, but he was too shy. *sigh* So many people need help...

There's no Kingdom hall in Takeo, so guess where they have the meetings?

When they take the attendance, do you think they can count the chickens too?

A Cambodian Cooking Show...

It's 7am on a Saturday morning and I'm standing over a boiling pot of green goo, with a stick and a dictionary. Who says there's nothing fun to do here on the weekends?!

We're making something called "lot". After harvesting and cleaning the rice, it's soaked in water and then ground in a stone hand mill, together with some leaves that give it the delicious green color.

We boiled it for what seemed like an eternity, then some mysterious white powder was added (baking soda maybe?) After that, the mixture turns into something like glue and is poured into a press. The noodles that come out are cooled and rinsed in water. Then we break to meet with the service group and go preaching...

...when we came back, I helped grind and squeeze fresh coconut milk, that was served with the finished product. A bit of palm sugar syrup is drizzled over the top and the end result is pretty good.

But the job didn't stop there. After lunch it was off to the market to sell the stuff. Local people thought it was hysterical to see a foreigner doing this job, and we attracted a fair bit of attention. Everyone had a good laugh! :)

One bowl sells for about $.25 cents US. The sister I was with does this 6 days a week to help make money for her family.

Back in Phnom Penh...

One of the things I prayed about when I came here, was to find a bible study who I'd be able to communicate with. (I was thinking along the lines of someone who spoke a little English?) But I should know by now that prayers are seldom answered in the way we expect them to be... At the first Sunday meeting I attended, a young deaf woman showed-up with a tattered old copy of the bible stories book and a huge smile. (That's her standing next to me with the pink shirt) After the meeting, I was simply informed that she was now my bible study ("excuse me, what??") She knows a little ASL, is enthusiastic about her study, comes by herself to almost every Sunday meeting, and wants to comment.

This is us: the 5 of us in the sign language group, 8 deaf who attended the meeting that day, and a few visitors from the US. This meeting was pretty good attendance, but actually there are even more deaf people who come to the meetings sometimes. According to Google there are an estimated 50,000+ deaf people in Cambodia... with 5 people preaching to them... it's a lot of territory to cover! So, there you have it: the story of how I was abducted by a sign language group in Cambodia ;)

If you're wondering what it's like.... The Cambodian alphabet has about 67 letters in total (give-or-take a few? I think? ...actually, I'm really not sure how many there are :) Every time I think I've learned them all, a new set appears. They multiply like rabbits) Each of the 33 consonants can be used in either a major or minor form. So that means that each letter has 2 different ways it can be signed also. Then there are 23 different vowel punctuation marks that are added by touching the corresponding point on your finger or hand between signs for the consonants. It looks something like this:

Apparently, the people who thought-up this language decided that it was just not complicated enough, so to make it more fun, Cambodian letters are not necessarily written (or signed) in the order that they are pronounced (or understood). Its a big bowl of alphabet soup

There's so much more I could tell you about.... meeting people and going places and lots of visitors... but I'll save it for next time :) And leave you with a view of the Cambodian countryside

11/19/10 "...Today we went to Phnom Chiso, climbed the stairs up to the temple ruins and saw the endless views from there. We went on some studies in remote area of the countryside and had a great time. The roads were wild on the motorbike... catching air on the pot-holes and almost blowing-up in the slick mud. The brilliant green rice paddies, set against a sky streaked with impending thunderstorms and sunshine; the skies here have a bi-polar personality -It is this place- You look around and just can't help but feel like anything can happen..."

A Slight Detour to The End of the World

It all started in Egypt....

My grandma and I were with a Meander tour group of JWs, many of whom have long records of faithful service to Jehovah in all kinds of fascinating places. For more than 2 weeks we were like a traveling congregation of gypsies.

First was a 3-day Nile cruise. As we sailed, we toured the ancient ruins along the way: Luxor, Karnak, Valley of th Kings, etc, etc...

And we learned a lot about the world that the Israelites would've known before the 10 plagues and Exodus. We saw the areas where Moses would have grown-up and ancient straw and mud bricks that were probably made by Israelite hands.

Also the incredibly old Step Pyramid that Joseph and Jacob would've seen when they were in Egypt. At that time, it was the tallest stone building on earth. And of course, we stopped at some of the more traditional sights too.

There was also time for shopping, swimming, good food, Nubian music & dancing on a sailboat, a Watchtower study, the Aswan dam, and a botanical gardens.... it was... wow! There are stories upon stories...

We wore badge cards everywhere that read simply "Bible Tour" and some people asked questions about it. I'll just say that it lead to a couple of very unique and interesting conversations that won't soon be forgotten.

From Egypt, we traveled by bus through the wilderness of the Sinai peninsula, and stopped at many biblical sights along the way, such as: Suc'coth, where Israel's exodus began (Ex. 12:37); The shore of the Red Sea near the place Israel crossed and they sang the Victory Song for the first time (Ex. 15); Ma'rah, where Moses made bitter water sweet (Ex. 15:23-25); The wilderness of Sin, where Jehovah began providing Mana and the Sabbath was observed for the first time (Ex. 16:1-3,13-15, 22-24); and Reph'i-dim, where Jehovah used Moses to provide water from the rocks and the Amalekites were miraculously defeated (Ex. 17:1-13). Seeing and standing in these places has given me such a new perspective. It was like reading the bible in 3-D.

We slept in simple little cabin at the foot of Mount Sinai, on the same desert plain where the bible says Moses brought the people to "meet the True God". It was the middle of the night and I sat awake, looking up at the silhouette of the massive mountaintop against a star-filled sky. I tried to imagine things the way they would've seen it thousands of years ago; the mountain smoking and trembling before them.... (Exodus 19)

At 1am it was time to get a coffee and and a camel. (Ok, maybe two coffees ...or was that two camels??) Anyway, the plan was to climb to the top in time for sunrise, and there was an option to either walk or rent a camel. Mostly, I just think it's really REALLY fun to ride on camels and wasn't about to let an opportunity like that pass by! So, off we went. It seemed like there were thousands of people making their pilgrimage to the top, most with torches or candles. Against the dark night, the trail became a tiny ribbon of light snaking it's way up, and up, and up into the rocky hills.

(I know you LOVE the socks, don't you??! Haha It was really cold up there!)

It was awesome to think that these are the stones where the presence of Jehovah touched the earth. My imagination opened wide and I found so much to think about up there.

One of the highlights of the trip wasvisiting Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus. But, it's certainly changed since the first century.... now it's considered a Palestinian settlement and surrounded by a HUGE grey security wall with guards, barbed-wire, and machine guns. The Palestinian side of the wall is covered with colorful and sometimes pretty imaginative graffiti. I think this one says quite a lot...

The small sign reads: "Welcome to Bethlehem"

As tourists we were able to get through security, and so we spent a few nights there in a restored antique palace. Being inside the wall has all the charm of a prison camp, but we found the people to be kind, hospitable, and friendly. The best part of all was getting to attend a special meeting with some of our Arabic-speaking brothers and sisters (although you won't see their faces here).

Later, we visited the branch in Israel and met friends from all over the world who speak Hebrew, Russian, Arabic, English, and Hebrew Sign Language. It's a really wonderful bunch of bro's & sisters there and it was a really special privilege to be invited as their guests. (Sorry, I can't show you photos)

Around Jerusalem there are amazing historic sights everywhere you look. These sure aren't the kind of road signs you see every day!

We went to the top of the Mount of Olives and looked out at the place where Jehovah's temple once stood. The brother taking the lead had us read from the bible about numerous events that took place on that spot. Then we walked down to the city- by way of the same road that Jesus likely used in his triumphal procession recorded at Mt. 21:6-9, and eventually came to the Garden of Gethsemane. There we were invited into a private grove of ancient olive trees and listened to a fascinating bible talk about Jesus and his apostles; around the same spot where Jesus himself would've sat and talked to them.

There was so much more... we went to where the Sermon on the Mount was given, Jericho, Nazareth, Joppa, Ceasarea, Masada, the Dead Sea, Qumran (where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered), and Megiddo. (I was given a hat from the "Armageddon" gift shop! hahaha)

We went to the Synagogue in Capernaum and saw the place Jesus taught and healed a demonized man (Mark 1:21-28)

Grandma and I waded through Hezekiah's Tunnel

On a boat at the Sea of Galilee we got a real life fishing demonstration. Even more fun though was just being together with some good friends, who also happen to be expert fishers [of men] in, shall I say, "particular countries". Keep up the good work!

After the tour had finished and most of our friends had left for home, a few of us continued on into Jordan. First stop: Wadi Rum. Spectacular! (If you've ever seen the movie Laurence of Arabia? this is where it was filmed)

Climb-up. Slide-down. Shake-sand-out-of-underwear. Repeat!!

We had the pretty incredible treat of being invited as guests to a Bedouin BBQ...

Deee-licious!! can you guess what animal that is/was??

Where are we???

COFFEE SHOP? Out here??! HahahA Now that's what I call an "OASIS"!!

Petra. What can I say? There's a reason it's one of the wonders of the world. It's remarkable...! (I'll have more pictures from this trip in Picasa web albums soon)

We had a great time! But what goes up, must come down.

This was the capital of an empire built by the Nabataeans, or Edomites (descendants of Esau). On our tour we learned that it had become a "lost city" until 1812 A.D., and (although it contains over 4,000 tombs) to-date not so much as one single bone has been found here. There's no DNA evidence, or record of any kind to prove who these people were or who are their descendants today. This amazingly wealthy and advanced civilization just slipped into extinction without a trace. Very interesting when you consider what Jehovah said would happen to Edom in the Bible book of Obadiah and other prophets.

I always knew that one fine day I'd come to the edge of the world! Turns out it's in the middle of the Jordanian desert. Who knew??

And when you're there, it actually does feel like the edge of the world. Clinging to the side of a cliff is a traditional-style Bedouin tent with carpets on the floor and a collection of teapots nestled in the fire. Just inside was a bird- a falcon- the kind used for hunting. It sat on it's perch with a fitted leather hood over it's face. "This is my best friend" said a man in black, and invited me in for a cup of tea.

It's a touristy place and I figured that either the tea was going to be outrageously expensive, or I was to expect a hard sales pitch for some tacky plastic souvenirs (made in China). But it was such a pleasant spot, with cool breeze and shade from the relentless sun, I decided to sit for a while and enjoy the moment.

Instead of trying to sell me something, the man removed the falcon's hood, showed me how they use it to hunt, and let me take pictures. Another guy began playing music on some traditional instruments. Later, when it was time to go, I tried to pay for my tea and he wouldn't take any money. "No, I invited you as my guest. No money." he said. Wow. We live in a world where nothing is free anymore.... but apparently if you travel all the way to the very edge, a few things still are.

proof that even if you go over the edge, you can climb back

There's something about being on top of a mountain... alone with the wind and the sky. No matter how many places I go, there's always a new mountain to climb, and I'm always happy to be there.

As I reflect back on this last month, I feel so grateful to Jehovah for this trip. The fascinating Bible lectures, coupled with the amazing association of the brothers and sisters traveling together, and the natural beauty of the places really touched my heart and made my imagination run wild. It's given me thing to ponder for a long time to come.

The last day, I got up early and went snorkeling at a coral reef in the Red Sea (relaxing and incredible) Then spent 6 hours being interrogated by Israeli security in two separate airports (not relaxing and horrible) Yikes! That place is ridiculous!

Next stop: Cambodia. Stay tuned for what comes next...

"Trust in Jehovah with all your heart and do not lean upon your own understanding" -Prov. 3:5