Blessings

Like reaching an oasis in a desert, my roommate and I decided to check into a hotel for a night this long weekend. It’s the Water Festival. This hotel was NICE. Cable TV, internet, a/c, HOT showers, clean sheets, swimming pool and complimentary breakfast buffet where they provide fancy dishes to put jam in! I swam once that day and the next morning before we checked out. Heavenly.

The night before, I got to call friends and family on my cell phone too. Talked to my mammy for the first time in 2 months :) The excitement continued with skype chats with friends, my brother and my mother again at the hotel. Ah... internet! Talked to friends on msn, got new music and watched youtube! It was quite the weekend in my books.

But then as some of you might have seen from Facebook, I also rented a moto and took it for a spin in an empty soccer field with cows grazing around. Unfortunately, I took a turn too sharply. And the next thing I remember was my elbow on the ground and my butt a little sore. And then I saw a cow stomp closer and closer. And my friend shouting in the background: “Run! Run! Run!” I tried to run but my legs were stiff with confusion, fear and thinking: Is this for real?

Suffice to say the cow was more interested in sniffing out the moto and all I had to do was step back and let it scold the moto for making crashing noises and scaring her calf. But I left proud of the slight scrape on my elbow, and a ridiculous story that will live on for generations. The moto refused to start after that fall but some nice local boys playing soccer helped us get it started. Anyways, I think I’m getting better at the moto although the fall shook me a little and I’m more weary of the turns. But if I can manage the roads next time, it’ll be my ticket to freedom (now, I just need to get the language down). Especially with my friend putting ideas in my head about buying an electric-powered moto for $200 from Phnom Penh that is lighter, smaller and perfect for my size. Maybe next time… Open road, blue skies, endless beach here I come!

But all in all, a weekend full of God’s providence. I am so blessed to be living here. I am blessed with an amazing family who prays for me back home. Friends who encourage me from thousands of miles away. And every hot shower that is like dew from heaven!