So here I sit in a local's internet cafe' connected to the front of their home in Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia. I'll be traveling 6 hours away on Saturday to Siem Reap where I'll take root for the next year of my life!
After over 24 hours (21 of them in the air) traveling west, I was relieved to set foot outside an airport. The longest strip was over the Pacific. I do believe I was racing the sun for daylight. Stars blanketed the aircraft every time I cupped my hands to the window of seat 41A. Once in Taiwan I was set a good part of a day ahead of home. The time here in Cambodia is 11 hours ahead of the east coast of the good old USA.
Overwhelmed is a perfect term to describe my feelings between the time I landed and the time I crashed 12 hours later. Besides losing 11 hours of my life in time zone difference which probably contributed more than anything else, the mere essence of being surrounded by life of unfamiliarity almost demanded a few tears. This is when I found it worthy to induce self-talk. "Why should I feel instantly at home in a place so far from my homeland, family, and friends?" I questioned. It would be insane for me to think that I would. It's all right not to fit. Meshing is a matter of time and effort. I allowed myself a few deep inhale and exhales. The life bouncing about me will become familiar in due time. Even now I hear multiple upon multiple horns of chaos in order type of driving by motorbikes. They never stop or obey traffic laws. They're in a continual push and shove into each other to get to where they're headed. It's amazing, and I mean absolutely amazing, that accidents aren't occurring every 1/100th of a second. That is no exaggeration!
So I look forward to the days of near future when I may honestly write of feeling comfortable or at least accustomed with the new sounds, smells, tastes, sights, and textures of this Cambodia.
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Jane Failer
- About Me
- I'm just an ordinary gal from Florida trying to walk by faith. I haven't a clue about what tomorrow holds. Grace has brought me to where I am today. Yesterday and today's choices will make ready my tomorrows. Ofcourse He has a plan for my life, but it includes my present. I want to live every day I'm given. Nomatter where I find myself day in and day out, I want to be involved in the hurting and searching world about me. I want to fight the good fight. I want to take risks. Why play it safe? Life is an incredible adventure!
17 comments:
Jane, it is so good to hear from you, to know that you are doing okay. We all knew that you had arrived, but it's wonderful to actually hear your "voice" through your words saying that all is well, even if a little uncomfortable. Of course, this is easy enough for me to say as I am here and you are there. But if there is one person I know who can overcome such an obstacle, it is certainly you. You have a gift and a purpose, there is no doubt. I miss you Jane and I love you. Know that I am thinking of you often. I cannot wait to hear more of your adventures.
I know those first days and weeks can be daunting and completely overwhelming. Just try to focus on the adventure of it all and take it all in in tiny sips. For me, if I let my mind dwell on the enormity of the undertaking, well, it wasn't good, although a moment to reflect and freak out every now and then can do wonders- lol! Anyway, it will come, and before long you'll have a whole life built. I'm so excited for you, and can't wait to see what God will do with this year! Love you
Jane, I'm glad you made it safely! I can only imagine how overwhelming it all feels. I think you are so amazing for taking such a great leap of faith to go where God has called you. You are going to have such great stories for all of us. Know that you are covered in our prayers. We love you and send you lots of comforting hugs. Embrace the adventure!
Good morning Jane! It is with relief(knowing you are safely there)& excitement(for what you are/will experience, give/do for those you are involved with).I understand your tears(pure expression of the heart)...I encountered them myself upon your departure,overwhelmed by the hugeness of what you were about to walk into!We do miss you,you leave a big hole in your absence,,,but,those you are there to serve have an enormous hole which you are doing your part to fill.We pray daily for you!Many ask about you.Much love to you,mom
Hi Jane,
This is from the marriage group. We are gathering together tonight at the Strickhousers to continue to learn about our lives as married couples. We had a great meal thanks to everyone.
Glad you arrived safely in Cambodia. We will be praying for you. Glad to hear about the sights and sounds of Cambodia. Keep us posted. Love the Strickhousers
We love you and pray for you. Thinking about you you are not alone. Love the Hatelys.
I am typing without glasses!!!! Rhonda
Thanks for the card!! I am praying for you everyday!! We are happy that you arrived safely. Love the DeLanoys
Dear Jane;
We think that what you are doing is awsome! The lord will give you the strenght, and the wisdom and all His gifts to fullfill the call he has given you. We will be praying for you. Take care of yourself!
Love, the Metzgers
I am so glad I discovered your blog and we are now officially friends on facebook! I would be curious to hear how much more "at home" you feel in Siem Reap. I must admit I personally am a little partial to that city and the wonderful group of people who live there! Talk to you soon!
Jenn
Jane I'm so glad to hear from you.I can't wait to hear more of your mission. I think of your Faith in the Lord often and wish I had the courage to step out as you have.You are continusly in our Prayers until your safe return.
Hi Jane ~ wouldn't the apostles think this was a wild way to send letters out to the churches? We got your prayer card out tonight and started the search for your website. We love it!! We are praying that you can fully realize all the love and the prayer support that's sent your way. We are SO proud of you. We're confident that you are being led by God in your every word and action. Your bright smile will be the bridge that will warm hearts to your message. You must be learning so many customs and traditions. That will certainly open avenues for you to be able to share God's message. We mentioned your name in our Sunday night Bible study last night. A great big UBIC hug is coming your way. We look forward to every word you write. Pace yourself Jane. Trust God's timing in each situation. Remember this is a God-sized job. And He Who has called you is Faithful. We love you!
Dear Jane,
You've never settled into Cambodia for such a long time...I've never commented on a blog before. Big Doin's! But I am SO looking forward to reading all your reports! You do such a great job describing things...I can't wait to hear about the food, and the fashion, and the kiddies, and the culture...and ALL your experiences. Love, Deronda Meyer
We're praying for you Jane. Hang in there. Whether in Daytona Beach or Cambodia, God can use us all. You are very brave to go so far to a foreign land. Your time will pass quickly and you'll be home soon! Take care
Hey Jane!!!!
We are praying for you!!!
Is there anything I could send you that would will make you feel at home? I hope all is well. Your prayer card is hanging in our house and we say hi to you each morning. I hope you're smiling as big right now as in your photo. lol.
We love you,
Matt, Kara, Callie, Ian, Hannah (and our stuffed animals: Cromie, Puppy, and Beary)
Hey Jane its Abby. All around Calvary in the office are your prayer cards. I guess theres alot of prayer for you!!!! I can't wait til you get back.
We love you, So does God!!!
Abby
Dear Jane, we are so proud of you. I admire the faith and courage to do Gods work so far from home.Cambodia is lucky to have you and we miss you dearly. God will provide the strength and comfort that you are missing. Love,GiGi
Hi ya, Jane!
The Upper Room devotional has a little essay (for November 1) titled "Love Without Words." It was written by a Russian Christian who was recalling a time he lived abroad, and was unfamiliar with the language. One day on the bus, he wanted to help this little old lady with her suitcase but he was afraid to, because she might think he was trying to steal it!
Later, in thinking it all over, though, he determined that he should not let his fear of being misunderstood prevent him from doing what he WAS able to do--which is to show love through actions.
So anyway, that story made me think of YOU. There you are, wanting nothing more than to share the love of Jesus, but perhaps not feeling AS comfortable with the language as you might wish. Cambodian...wow. Me and Marisa are taking an evening class in Italian, and
ohhhh goodness, I about wept when I realized there were at least 4 ways to say the simple word "my." Darned msculine/feminine/singular/plural!
But I did have one good idea to help us conjugate the verbs "to be" and "to have." If this is at all helpful to you---feel free to use it, LOL. But what I did was memorize funny sentences or phrases to make it stick in my head. Like, for the he, she, or it form of to be, I wrote, "Andy e buffo." (Picture an accent over that e, by the way.) Andy IS funny. And for you, singular, for to be, "Marisa, tu sei bella." Marisa, you ARE beautiful.
For "they have" I used "Matt e Kara hanno bambini." Matt and Kara HAVE babies.
Things got a little wacked out when I imagined tiny imaginary people around me, and said scornfully to them, "Avete basso," y'all are short (for the you plural form of 'to be').
About this time, Marisa was looking up "crazy" in the back of the text to go along with mia madre, but you know what? It worked. I could tell I got a good grade, because of being able to instantly recall the various verbs and their proper usages.
Can't wait to hear your next report. Write soon!!
Hey Jane, We are so proud of you for committing your life to spreading the message of Jesus. You rock, girl! I know it must be hard to be away from home but I am confident that God will fill you with His peace and make this adventure you are on a huge victory for the Kingdom of Heaven. We look at your prayer card everyday and pray that God will keep you safe and healthy. I look forward to hearing how God is working through you and how well things are going. You do a great job of describing what is going on around you so keep us updated so we can feel like we're right there with you. Thanks for being an example for my kids. Have fun and enjoy this great adventure that God has you on. We love you! Scott, Edie, Abby & Andrew
Hey Janer it is so good to hear from you. We put your post card up on the fridge. I know that you will make the most out of this opportunity God has given you. Be carefull on your bike rides! Will talk with you soon.
Love the Hallstrom's
Hello Jane........I first read your blog about 2 weeks ago and typed up this long letter to you and when I went to sign up for Google blog acct., somehow lost my long letter to you and never got back to retyping/resending until now. Sorry about that. I am so curious as to what your day to day activities are like now that you have been there about a whole month (that means just 11 more to go)!! I get excited when I think of the impact you are having on the lives of the Cambodian people on the other side of our world. I think the hardest part for me doing something like that would definately be the food factor. You know what I mean. But on the plus side, I would surely come back half my current size. All is well here at the Grillo household. Andy is still standing by her man; he is being ordained in 2 weeks and we will fly up for that wonderful celebration. Ashley is in the midst of wedding planning. Roxie is currently healing from and eye ulcer but will be ok. Mr. G is doing well, traveling a lot. Business remains good. I am doing well, same ole, same ole. I went to a McCain rally here in OB last week and I saw your dad off in the distance. I hope you voted in absentee. Will be interesting to see how our politics plays out in the media over there. Let me know.
Your mom sent us a nice letter and told us about your departure here and your arrival there. They must be so proud and pleased of the work you are doing in the name of the Lord. You have much prayer and support back here. We were watching the video of A & A's wedding and it was so funny when you were walking down the aisle and Aaron (who was miked unbeknownst to Andrea) whispered "pond scum", so now that is part of their wonderful memories. Have to go for now. Love and blessings to you and your team...........Virginia
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