About an hour after Malih fell asleep last night, she woke up itching, sneezing constantly and eyes swelling, she couldn't settle until I gave her some Benadryl.
This morning her left eye was still puffy from what ever she reacted to last night.
We leave the house early for a trip out to a friend's house in Kampong Cham province today.
Therefore, we grab breakfast "fast food style" from seller on the roadside and enjoy some chicken and rice in the car.
Both girls seem to get car sick, so I make them take medicine before we get in the car. Malih took hers. Mei mei spit most of hers out. An hour into our trip, Mei Mei tells me her head is hurting -not her stomach. She lays on me to rest. She closes her eyes and goes to sleep.
Ten minutes later, I am covered in vomit. I always come prepared with bags and changes if clothes and towels. But this time, I wasn't best prepared this morning.
I forgot my change of clothes on the bed. And the needed plastic bags weren't easy to pull out in the desperate moment. Since she kept saying her head was hurting, I didn't expect her to soon be throwing up. I was able to catch most of it in the sarong covering my legs, acting as a blanket from the air con. But unfortunately there was so much it soaked through, my entire lap was wet.
This incident put all four of us against each other. Malih wanting to help her sister, but also scared to death of being vomited on. Kosal driving and rushing me with his strong words to clean-up, (because he is likely to vomit himself from the terrible smell). I am trying to work as fast as possible with what I have to get Mei Mei and me somewhat clean and the largely soiled items tied in a bag.
Thirty minutes later, we arrive. Finally.
The Lord gives us a sweet morning of fellowship, playing outdoors and learning new things with these friends of ours. I learned how to tie a very common Khmer cake that is made in large quantities during this festival.
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Today is the first day of Pchum Ben, which is the last and biggest days of the festival that has taken place this month. Everyone travels back to their homelands to spend these days with their families. We spent today at a friend's house, but tomorrow we will go to Svay Rieng and visit Kosal's family.
I believe one of the best ways to experience and learn about the beautiful Khmer culture is by spending time in it. I have witnessed my relationships grow to a deeper level through these new and shared experiences. I thank God for the relationships he is building for our family in this season with other young families here. Days like today take me back to memories and God's faithfulness from my first term (2012-2015).
I went with my friends to spend a week in their homelands over the big holidays like Pchum Ben. There were moments that were awkward, people laughed, and everyone stared. There are times if I wanted to go hide. And often times, I felt being around everyone was just too much for me. Yet, the Lord stood by my side and gave me perseverance and showed me his love through my Khmer sisters. Their parents and siblings were unbelievers, but we had each other during these heavy holidays.
Even though we had a sweet day with our friends, those same feelings came up again. There are times I cried out to the Lord "This is too much for me." Most especially on the way to our friend's house and then again this evening, when my patience was low and exhaustion was high and neither of the girls got naps/rest time.
And it's like God would tenderly say "Yes, it is too much for you, but now you need me! And that's right where I want you -all dependent on Me! Because then it's me who shines. Not you."
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