Lao Blessing

Tonight was an emotional night. One of the ladies with C&MA set it up so that all the C&MA missionaries could have dinner together in a private room. It was wonderful to again be with the group in our own space because it has not been like that since the first week. After that one of the guys, Brian who I knew from ATS planned for us to do a Lao Blessing. First we all sat in a circle and shared our prayer requests with one another. Then we took strings like the Lao people do at special times to bless people and walked around the room and tied a string on another person's wrist. As we tied the string we prayed for the person and gave words of encouragement and blessing. All of this brought on tears as we shared with one another. God used the other missionaries to speak into my life and to lift me up in prayer we went away with great filling of connectedness and unity. God used these other people who are also going through the same type of transition as I am to encourage me.

Khmer

I have been at Wheaton for almost a month now and during my time here I met Oeuy and Chanthan Kes who are Cambodian and also missionaries to Cambodia. They are my tutors here at Wheaton for the 3 hours I get to spend learning Khmer (the Cambodian language). I just completed my second hour with them today - learning the sounds of the Khmer alphabet, repeating greetings, and learning dos and don'ts within the culture. It has been great.

Poem

I was reading this morning for my devotional time from Streams in the Desert included in the reading was a poem. The beginning part of this poem spoke to me - maybe it will speak to you as well and encourage your spirit. This is what it says:

"STAND STILL," my soul, for so the Lord commands;
E'en when your way seems blocked, leave it in His wise hand,
His arm is mighty to divide the wave.
"Stand still," my soul, "stand still" and you will see
How God can work the "impossible" for thee,
For with great deliverence He does save.

Rhythm and Melody

As many of you may know I really do not have any musical talent, which improves ones ability to hear intonations, so distinguishing them is very hard for me. I had my first class in rhythm and melody today and as I listened to the teacher say words in a rising and then in a falling tone I could hear that they were different but could not say the difference or know which was which when listening. This is going to take a lot of time, patience and practice. But who knows maybe after all of this I will have a better ear for both language and music.

SLA

SLA stands for Second Language Acquisition - the class that just began today. We spent the morning and half the afternoon in class ending at 3pm. Then we had homework which is time consuming. We are learning how to learn by begining with phonetics. I feel like I am back in grade school - but I know that what I learn will be helpful when I arrive in Cambodia and learn Khmer. Please continue to uphold me in your prayers.

Psalm 100:5

"For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." This is the verse that God has given me for this time.

Preparation

I have been in Wheaton, Illinios for the past 5 days for Pre-Field Orientation. This is a time for all the new missionaries going out to come together, learn about each other and learn vital information prior to going on the field. It has been both overwhelming and great.