Baptism

The highlight of my trip this past week was being able to celebrate with the churches in Siem Reap in a baptism ceremony. There was 8 people who recieved baptism. The event was held at the lake. We gathered together first for a time of singing, prayer and a short message about baptism which was followed with a local pastor baptizing the 8 individuals taking this very important step in their Christian walk.

Sharing and Sugar Cookies

Today I was invited by one of our Vietnamese missionaries to help with a youth meeting by teaching them how to bake sugar cookies using a recipe in English. Since today is a holiday (no classes) I agreed. These youth speak both Vietnamese and Khmer and some of them speak a little English. First I shared my testimony and since I am still working on it in Khmer I shared in English and Kim translated into Vietnamese for them. When we baked cookies I got to use a lot more Khmer since most of them do not know English. It was somewhat a challege trying to give directions but most of the batches turned out good. I also was able to speak Khmer with a few girls over lunch. It was a nice day. This was the first time since I have been here that I was able to do this kind of ministry it was a joy.

The Rabbit

I found out the other day that the rabbit is a symbol of wisdom. Made me think of King Solomon. Then I read a fable about a rabbit and discovered that the rabbit maybe smart but doesn't always use it for good. The fable did not end well - there was no moral lesson. The rabbit gets caught in a trap. Along comes a toad and the rabbit convinces the toad that if he helps him out of the trap he can cure the toads skin problem. Well once the toad helps the rabbit the rabbit tells the toad that he will always have the skin problem and hops away.
I was a little confused about this kind of story. It makes me think that there is kind of a lesson -but the lesson is be careful who you help they might turn their back on you. Well I read this but did not have a great feeling about this story. Is this insight into the way Cambodians think?

Sudy Subjects

At the University I am studying about letter writing. I am not sure when I will ever need to write a letter in Khmer language, but in case I ever do I now know how. We not only studied how to write a letter but in our book is a sample 3 page sample letter for us to study. The subject of the letter is the benefits of breast feeding a baby. A great comfortable subject in which to study in class and words that are really useful for us in every day life (not really). Well I just find this a tidbit of Cambodian culture that I find interesting.