Islands, rivers and messy church (26/07/11)

Dear one and all,

Last time I wrote I was near the end of a hectic couple of months. This time I’m writing near the end of a much quieter couple of months. And I must say, I’ve appreciated the change of pace! It’s been good to have space and time to reflect and pray a bit more, catch up with myself and others and do the more admin-y jobs for the work I’ve been doing with the NGOs, Chab Dai and Love146.

It was good to get away at the beginning of June too. I went to a town called Kratie (pronounced Kra-chay) about 200 km north of Phnom Penh by the Mekong river. Really enjoyed just hanging out there, meeting some of the locals and trying out splatterings of language. The best bit was staying on a small island just opposite Kratie in the middle of the Mekong. Although it took just 10 minutes to get there by boat, it was like entering a different world. There were no cars (only bicycles, mopeds and horse-drawn carts), no big cafes or shops, no karaoke bars and where I was staying, no electricity. It was brilliant! Loved just cycling round the island (all 9 kms of it), smiling at and chatting with people and enjoying the greenness and open spaces.

                                     The noodle lady in Kratie                                     Kratie kids                    

                                       Island transport                                            and accommodation

Things are due to speed up soon though with two things happening in August: a prayer trip along the Mekong river and a group visiting CFC (the orphanage) from the UK. The prayer trip is part of a wider initiative called Rivers of Life organised by the mission I’m with, World Horizons, where five teams will be praying along the Mekong in five different countries.  This Sunday three of the teams will be gathering in Phnom Penh for a few days before going to Laos, Vietnam and northern Cambodia. The two other teams will be meeting in China before going to the Tibetan plateau (the source of the Mekong) and Yunnan province in China (for more info please see the Rivers of Life prayer sheet I’ve added as a separate page).

For the past few months I’ve been sorting out the logistics for the orientation and feedback times here but have had no desire to join one of the teams. However, yesterday we heard that the leader of the Cambodia team is unable to come due to health reasons and her fiance (who was also part of the team) will be spending time with her instead. So, Kris and MaryAnn, an American couple who are part of the WH team here and were going on the trip anyway, will be leading.  And if I want to, there’s a space for me to go too............

So, have been praying about it and much to my surprise, having been closed to the idea for months (a case of "choosing your battles"....), I feel a freedom within and sense of excitement to go. So please pray for me! We leave next Thurs (for more details see the prayer sheet). Thanks!

And finally........ just after the trip I’ll be dropping in to CFC to see the team that’s visiting and catch up with an old friend who’s part of it. Will also be helping with a “messy church” type evening when all the team, the CFC leaders and kids will be doing different turns (dramas, dances, songs etc) and praying for each other at the end.

                                              Preparations for the messy church evening in August

Will let you know how it all goes later next month!

Lots of love til then,

Fiona X