Christmas Shopping

I used to feel a pang of guilt spending my own money to buy a few gifts for family and close friends.

This year I spent other people's money and came back from Bangkok with a heap of gifts for over a hundred kids at a local pre-school. Consumer guilt? Nope. Nothing. It was fantastic!

...will let you know how the distribution and play sessions go : )

Christmas 2009

It's Christmas eve. I have guests staying at my house tonight but I have no idea who is coming or how many people I should expect! This is Christmas 2009.

Tonight there's a combined Christmas service in Poipet. It's just one denomination but all of the village churches are meeting together with the Poipet churches for the event. While the celebration is just for the regular church attenders, about six hundred people are expected to come. Weeks ago I offered to host some of the travellers who need a place to stay for the night. Great idea. We just don't know how many people will turn up yet! : )

Mary and Joseph were looking for a place to stay in Bethlehem but every time they fronted the guesthouse reception desk there was "no room at the inn". We have been waiting for Jesus' coming for a long time. Today I will count mattresses, buy some new sheets, check how many pillows we have and stick around this afternoon to unlock the door for some strangers. I don't want them to have to front up to reception at local Poipet guesthouses. Counting mattresses. Waiting. Being ready to receive guests. This is Christmas 2009.

The Geography of Thought

The Geography of Thought; How Asians and Westerners Think Differently... And Why.
Richard E. Nisbett

I bought this book last weekend to learn more about how I think differently to Cambodians. I was expecting an easy-read mix of armchair sociology and pop psychology. Part enlightenment. Part entertainment. The Geography of Though started out as an enjoyable read.... until I discovered that, according to many of the tests, I now "think Asian"! I wasn't trying to rig it. It seems I perceive, process and respond to things differently to how I used to growing up in Oz. New social and linguistic patterns have become intuitive.

At first this realisation was a bit disturbing. However, Nisbett acknowledges that "thinking Western" and "thinking Asian" are broad categories. And I'm sure there's a growing band of bicultural thinkers across the globe. These mix-mix thinkers are not wrong. Not weird. Not always mixed-up. Just different ; )

ANZ Poipet : )

Last Friday I blogged about grace. It was timely. On Friday afternoon I went to the bank to withdraw some cash. I was thankful... came home and scribbled these words in my journal with donors in mind:

If cash is simply a sign of a promise,
I receive your pledges every month.
We distribute payments in three different currencies
and try to share it out well.
The hope is that these promises
will bring life- not just livelihoods-
to individuals and families and communities in Poipet.

Great words. So imagine how my stomach flipped when I counted the money at 6:30am on Saturday morning and realised that almost half of it was missing. I immediately knew that an error had been made counting the notes at the bank. I also knew a) there was no proof of the mistake and b) there was nothing I could do about it over the weekend. All I could do was a) pray, b) ask a couple of friends to pray too, c) try not to worry and d) worry a little...

After the weekend I went back to the bank, wearing my best pants and a clean, long-sleeved button shirt. I was ready to argue my case but I wasn't very hopeful. The manager greeted me in Khmer when I walked in, "Please go to teller number two". I paused for a moment, then started to explain that I wanted to speak with him personally. The manager interrupted, "...about the money on Friday?" Uh-huh!

Teller number two told me they'd realised their mistake as soon as I walked out of the bank last Friday afternoon. In fact, a few staff members had run out of the bank and down the street trying to catch me. But I was on my moto and was half way down the street already...

I was impressed by their honesty, their open apology and their help when I should have been more careful counting the cash. I came home and left the money in the office. Next stop was the cake shop at the casino where I bought a chocolate mud cake for the staff at ANZ Royal to share. I announced it was a small but sweet gift; a sign of my appreciation.

check one

Over Easter 2008 I updated my 'bucket list' (i.e. life goals). One of them was to run a 10k in under 45 minutes. Yesterday I ran Siem Reap in 44:10. Check one running goal from the list...

Malis came along and entered the '5k Lady Race'.

Emily and I both wore our Bangkok marathon tops from two weeks ago.... The light blue singlet set a good pace for me to follow at first, but I wasn't even close in the final kilometers. Emily finished second in just under 42 minutes. I think I finished fourth (same as in 2007). If so, I'm happy that my role is to make the first three earn their prizes!

a word of Grace

I want to speak a word of Grace

to my brothers and sisters in faith

whose teeth aren’t as white as the people on TV.

For those who don’t always exercise portion control,

and don’t always exercise.

For people who sometimes let a bad word slip

when idiot drivers do stupid things in peak-hour traffic.

For those who don’t dust the bookshelves as regularly as you ought to:

Grace.

To my fellow pilgrims and saints in God

who only bake if all the ingredients are in a box

with a picture on the front of what it’s meant to turn out like…

Ordinary people who don't buy clothes in size small and don’t look good in yellow,

regular people who sometimes forget garbage night

and whose gardens aren’t as pretty as their neighbours'.

For those who leave things, lose things, spill things and sometimes forget:

Grace.

This is your pass to relax a little.

Wash the car next weekend instead of this weekend,

let someone else unstuck the dishwasher tonight,

pick up the bible and read it for as long as your feel like,

then put it down and daydream instead for a while…

Turn down a social event that you have no desire to attend

and hang out at home with your family instead.

Tell people that you’re not sure that you have a strong opinion

on who should lead the opposition party

or whether 30 000 additional troops is enough to finish the job.

You have permission to:

receive God’s peace that passes all understanding,

run the race marked out for you with joy,

and rest in the confident assurance that He creates and sustains all things.

You are free to learn that it’s ok to keep learning,

discover hope in life, even in the midst of death

and believe that you are the light of the world.

PostSecret

This isn't my secret... but I like it!