Baaaah! This is real!

Baaaah!  This is real!

Those were my thoughts as I bought a plane ticket earlier this week to fly to Bangkok (my first week in mission is at the annual SE Asia Retreat/Conference for Maryknollers held in Thailand).  This life plan has been in the works for a while.  I have been in orientation for eight weeks.  But, somehow buying that ticket made me realize how many days I have left in the states, start thinking about what needs to be bought/packed, and start reflecting on being away for 3.5 years.  Insert minor panic attack here :)  Next week, we sign contracts and the following we sign covenants and have our sending ceremony. A couple days ago we received word that our apartment has been set up (it will thankfully be furnished and ready for us to just move in, best way to relocate in my opinion).  So many long awaited unknowns are falling into place.  So, as all rational human beings, insert another panic attack here :)

With just over a month to launch, people keep asking me how I am feeling and excited, terrified, enthusiastic, happy, sad, alive - so many emotions - rush up.  I jokingly told one of the nuns that I am going to write on my mirror in Cambodia, "you wanted a challenge."  Since that is what I was looking for, I can't complain when the going gets tough :)  At the end of the day, after all the AHHHH! going on in my head, I am ready for this next step.

As I have mentioned before, broken record time, I so appreciate being able to take so many of you on this journey with me and wanted to make two more offers of ways for you to come along!

Maryknoll Lay Missioners has a bi-annual mailing called Voices of Compassion that they put out, if anyone in interested in learning more about the work of Maryknoll Lay Missioners, in general.  If you are interested in being added to their mailing list - receiving this publication, as well as their various appeals- please email me your mailing address ASAP (bortvedt09@gmail.com).  I believe it is about six mailings per year.

My other pitch is for those who have talked about coming to visit Cambodia.  Maryknoll Lay Missioners runs a program called Friends Across Borders.  It leads multi-week immersion programs to all the countries where MKLM works - including Cambodia!  There is, of course, a fee associated with the trips but that includes all your in-country expenses - only additional cost is international airfare.  So, for those that are thinking of coming, it is an option worth considering.  The 2014 and 2015 dates are already set :)

I hope you all have a marvelous Thanksgiving weekend and know how thankful I am to have you in my life!

Photos, Commitment, and Email Request

I wanted to bring a personal touch back to the blog, after two weeks for information.  Here are some photos from my first six weeks of orientation and reflections.

 

We got some snow!  I am trying to soak the cold into my bones to release once living in 100 degree weather... That works, right?

 

This is Team Cambodia!  We are the newest recruits.  Hang is the woman with me and Wallace is the bear.  After much deliberation on whether or not to bring Wallace, it was decided he should come.  Hopefully, he won't become infested with something.  Hang is a Chemical Engineer turned Public Health Professional with a focus in nutrition - hopefully, she doesn't get infested with anything either ;).

 

This was our Dia De Los Muertos altar for prayer on Halloween.  You can take the girl out of the Mexican culture, but you can't take the Mexican Culture out of the girl.  It was a lovely way to share one of my favorite traditions with my community and a great way to reflect as a group on those who have helped to inspire and guide us all to this place.

 

Just as Coco the Dog so enjoys watching life fly by the window, I feel like the last six weeks of training have flown by me.  We have talked a lot about transitioning to a new culture and taking the time to sit back and observe first - a skill I think Coco definitely possesses (Coco will not be coming to Cambodia but will continue to live in her happy home in DC).

 

For those who don't know, these are my former-housemates Sara and Kari.  We lived together in El Paso, 3 year ago.  We lucked out and were both in DC last weekend.  It was a great reminder to me that true friendships can continue despite distance and years of not seeing one another in person.  All of you fabulous folks in my life currently, will soon be in the years-between-hugs-crowd and seeing these two was reassuring that the Universe always brings friends back together.

 

These are my newest friends. AKA Maryknoll Lay Missioner Class of 2013.  From the Left: Joe (El Salvador), Michael and Ashley (Tanzania), Peter and Melissa with their kids Evey and Eli (El Salvador), Hang (Cambodia), Some Crazy lady with bare ankles in the cold (Cambodia), Kristle (Tanzania), and Caitlin (Bolivia).  This has been an amazing group to be trained alongside.  Each comes from such a different background and with such great insights.  I am very excited to follow where their paths lead.

 

We have fun together, too... We all just went through our commitment retreat this week - discernment is officially over and now it is just preparation.  The MKLM folks have verbally said they think we are a good fit for mission and we have agreed we still feel called there.  Ya, Commitment! (I practiced saying I Do for weeks ;))

 

As I proceed down this path in life, unsure where it will lead or what waits at the other side of the bridge, I have a request.  As I get settled, especially through my first year, I know there will be challenging times.  One of my classmates mentioned having a support email group.  If you are willing, to commit to emailing me on a certain date next year.  There is a spread sheet found at this link.  You can either put your name or Taken by the date you will email me.  Knowing how I deal with transitions and the 'honey moon' time, these are times I thought I may need a pick me up so wanted to be pro-active in ensuring I will have that support.  Emails can be about anything, the weather works, just to provide that connection.  Feel free to sign up as often as you like, add dates, or have multiple folks sign up for the same date.  AND, THANK YOU, in advance for your support.

Catholic Church in Cambodia

As a way to further add introductory knowledge, I thought I would talk a bit about the Church in Cambodia – as that is also a recurring question. A Portuguese Dominican was the first person to bring Christianity to Cambodia, way back in 1555. The first Khmer person to be ordained in Cambodia occurred in 1957. Shortly afterwards, when Pol Pot came to power with the Khmer Rouge, all but two of the 121 church buildings in the country were destroyed. As with all religion, the Catholic Church became non-existent in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge. Many committed religious folks were killed. The Catholic Church officially returned to Cambodia in 1990 – with a decree from the government. The church is significantly smaller with only 20 official Catholic Church buildings.


There are currently around 20,000 Catholics living in Cambodia – depending on who you talk to, this head-count varies. 14,000ish are native Vietnamese and make up the largest percentage of Catholics. 5,000 are Khmer, or native Cambodians. 1,000 are Ex-Patriots – people like me that are living and working in the country.


Maryknoll is specifically responsible for tending to the needs of the English-speaking Catholics by request of the local bishop. Service in Cambodia, however, draws those from many Christian traditions on Sunday, as the ex-patriot community is religiously diverse and not all have churches which they can attend in Cambodia. On any given Sunday, the Catholic Mass will have Catholics but may also have Lutherans, Anglicans, Episcopalians, and even Mennonites! The current Bishop in Phnom Penh, Cambodia was the third youngest to be appointed to the position at 35 years old, I believe, and is a native of France. Maryknoll was one of the first religious organizations to re-enter the country after the governmental decree in 1990. The community I will be joining consists of two Maryknoll priests, five Maryknoll Sisters, eight lay-people (one of whom is a diocesan priest), and two Filipina Lay Missioners.