10 March 2020
This letter has been started many times even before 10 March. I've created a more recent update but thought the older version would be helpful to see where things have been. Hold on for a crazy ride of updates:
10 March 2020
Dear friend,
I hope this letter finds you happy and health!
I can't believe I've almost been in Cambodia working for RAW Impact for 4 years! This is the longest I've ever worked outside of the United States. It's been such a great experience thus far, I love living in Cambodia and I've learned so much from my Khmer friends.
This year, 2020, is turning out to be quiet a big year for me. In January I became the In-Country Director at RAW Impact, which means I help communicate between our Australia and Cambodia offices, I get to sit in a lot of meetings and help mentor our staff as well as still helping to fill in the hole left in the education area of RAW. I am loving the challenges and ready to continue learning how to best blend the Khmer and Westerner cultures.
Year round we run mission trips for high schools, universities, corporates and churches, they partner with us in helping build a safer village for for families in poverty and debt by supporting the projects financially as well as working alongside our local builders and the Khmer families to build bamboo houses during their time on the ground. However, the global outbreak of the coronavirus has greatly affected us at RAW and we have had to cancel all the team trips till at least November 2020 if not January 2021. There are many factors that created this problem as you can imagine. At first this was very shocking news to myself and other coworkers, but with the facts of the situation, it's a decision I respect and support. Our first action was to make sure we are all safe and healthy (which we are!) and now we are quickly working on a fundraising campaign to help replace the mission trips so we can weather this year's storm.
My personal concern is making sure our local Khmer staf are taken care of, I don't want to have to let anyone go as we are a RAW Family and value everyone. I trust that all will be okay in a year and back to normal in a year's time. I'm largely concerned for my Khmer coworkers in the meantime. They have families and extended family to support, loans and many other things they need a good salary for. We've already cut all extra expenses, including our rented space to park our motorbikes for work, we now park them on the first floor of our office! Unfortunately that alone is not enough money saved to keep everyone employed. This is where you come in. I've given up my take-home salary to help keep our crew employed and am turning again to you to ask for your help to keep me self-funded for the rest of 2020- 9 months.
I know from living here the last 3.5 years that I can survive on $100 a week- $400 a month. In helping me, you would also be giving our Khmer crew the chance to continue working for RAW Impact. I won't be doing a Go Fund Me as they take a medium sized portion of the donations but would instead just ask that you send it to a "Cambodia Salary" bank account with Bank of America.
This year will be a harder financial year for me but hey, that's what makes life exciting. God never promised us easy, He just promised that he'd always be with us. In learning to speak Khmer I've learned that Sonya in Khmer means promise. I no longer read Hebrews 10:23 the same, "Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we say we have, for God can be trusted to keep His promise". In fact I read, "Let me hold tightly to the hope I say I have, for God can be trusted to keep me, Sonya".
No matter how you are able to support me (prayer and/or financial), I pray that you can remember that God can be trusted to keep His promise and hold tightly to that hope.
Please feel free to reach out with any questions.
Love always,
Sonya xx Promise.
10 March 2020
Dear friend,
I hope this letter finds you happy and health!
I can't believe I've almost been in Cambodia working for RAW Impact for 4 years! This is the longest I've ever worked outside of the United States. It's been such a great experience thus far, I love living in Cambodia and I've learned so much from my Khmer friends.
This year, 2020, is turning out to be quiet a big year for me. In January I became the In-Country Director at RAW Impact, which means I help communicate between our Australia and Cambodia offices, I get to sit in a lot of meetings and help mentor our staff as well as still helping to fill in the hole left in the education area of RAW. I am loving the challenges and ready to continue learning how to best blend the Khmer and Westerner cultures.
Year round we run mission trips for high schools, universities, corporates and churches, they partner with us in helping build a safer village for for families in poverty and debt by supporting the projects financially as well as working alongside our local builders and the Khmer families to build bamboo houses during their time on the ground. However, the global outbreak of the coronavirus has greatly affected us at RAW and we have had to cancel all the team trips till at least November 2020 if not January 2021. There are many factors that created this problem as you can imagine. At first this was very shocking news to myself and other coworkers, but with the facts of the situation, it's a decision I respect and support. Our first action was to make sure we are all safe and healthy (which we are!) and now we are quickly working on a fundraising campaign to help replace the mission trips so we can weather this year's storm.
My personal concern is making sure our local Khmer staf are taken care of, I don't want to have to let anyone go as we are a RAW Family and value everyone. I trust that all will be okay in a year and back to normal in a year's time. I'm largely concerned for my Khmer coworkers in the meantime. They have families and extended family to support, loans and many other things they need a good salary for. We've already cut all extra expenses, including our rented space to park our motorbikes for work, we now park them on the first floor of our office! Unfortunately that alone is not enough money saved to keep everyone employed. This is where you come in. I've given up my take-home salary to help keep our crew employed and am turning again to you to ask for your help to keep me self-funded for the rest of 2020- 9 months.
I know from living here the last 3.5 years that I can survive on $100 a week- $400 a month. In helping me, you would also be giving our Khmer crew the chance to continue working for RAW Impact. I won't be doing a Go Fund Me as they take a medium sized portion of the donations but would instead just ask that you send it to a "Cambodia Salary" bank account with Bank of America.
This year will be a harder financial year for me but hey, that's what makes life exciting. God never promised us easy, He just promised that he'd always be with us. In learning to speak Khmer I've learned that Sonya in Khmer means promise. I no longer read Hebrews 10:23 the same, "Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we say we have, for God can be trusted to keep His promise". In fact I read, "Let me hold tightly to the hope I say I have, for God can be trusted to keep me, Sonya".
No matter how you are able to support me (prayer and/or financial), I pray that you can remember that God can be trusted to keep His promise and hold tightly to that hope.
Please feel free to reach out with any questions.
Love always,
Sonya xx Promise.
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