La Sonya

Spent some time this last week working in a village in Kampong Speu. One afternoon Louise and I went exploring. It turned out to be well worth it! Here are a few photographs from that adventure: Lots of color and construction in the market area of town! Bumper cars without a barrier!  Louise photographing the market.  Some local chicken art work on the walls. My favorite place! Not sure what the bunting was for but I loved it! At the end of the bright alley was the river and a get-away boat. Local wooden house.

On Friday night last I went to the local Jewish community center (yes there is one here in Phnom Penh) and celebrated the opening of the Sabbath. I have a few things in common with the Jewish faith, as a Christian I also believe that Saturday is day that God set aside for worship. It's the day that we spend with God and family as a reminder that He is God and to slow down and be present. It starts Friday night at sundown and goes until sundown on Saturday. With the big difference in our beliefs being Jesus. Even with that difference I appreciated the connection that I was able to make with the way that Jesus brought in His Sabbath all those years ago. I went with Louise, the newest RAW Edu staff member and Olivia, the volunteer here for two weeks with an Eng literacy training team and who is actually Jewish. She was the main motivation for going, I wanted to help her find a bit of home in Phnom Penh. We arrived a bit late due to confusion of where it was. The room had a small d...

I am currently* sitting in a north bound Amtrak train towards Fresno. The sun is making it's way to the edge of the horizon and I'm reminded of the first time I made this trek north. It was the summer of 2009. I had just finished my year as a boarding school chaplain at Georgia Cumberland Academy in Calhoun, Georgia. I was headed up to Camp Wawona for my first taste of Yosemite ( yoh-sem-it-ee for all those Aussies)  National Park. It's the place where I would be a part of a dream team programing staff that would have a lasting effect on my friendship.  Side note: Chelsea, Anthony and I made dreams come true and magic happen at Wawona for some of the best summers ever.  I remember sitting in the train 7 years ago thinking about my life and careers I'd had, wanted to have and was going to have. At the end of the summer I was moving to Norway for what I hoped was a dream job working with a mix of cultures and people. I'd still not found my niche in life. I reme...