Parent Teacher Interviews

A new experience for us... parent teacher interviews, yes I know we have done them before. But as you can see from the photo, there is a student present at this interview. Okay that is not completely unusual either.... So what is so interesting about this? ...

The student was present to act as an interpreter for the parents as they do not speak English. The parents are over here with the Korean Presbyterian Church. The interview was not for her, but for her younger sister. (Actually it did strike me that the language that we share the most with these parents is Khmer and I can see if we were here long term we would have interviews with some parents in Khmer rather than either of our native languages.)

Graham and I are the tutor teachers of year 7. Before parent teacher night all the teachers who teach year 7 jot down any notes they have on the students on a proforma. Then instead of the parents seeing all of the teachers, they see the tutor teacher who fills them in on the students progress and manner etc. This works well and cuts down on the number of interviews you have to do, though each interview is 15 minutes long. The reason Graham and I are the tutor teachers of year 7 is because we teach them for 5 of their subjects, so we are able to provide the most relevant information anyway.

Fiona

Daily routine of a school day

Hi all
Well we have now been here for three months. Our daily school day routine mirrors below.
5:45 wake up, QT, shower ( cold, there are no hot taps), get ready and walk to school.
7am School Staff Devotions / notices for 10-20 min
8am Students line up for notices (or assemblies Mon and Fri) then off to tutor group
8:20 First Period commences.
The school day is 4 x 50 min Periods followed by 2 x 45 min periods after an hour lunch break.
2:30 Finish the school day
2:45 attend a staff meeting ( Tuesday and every third Wednesday), or undertake an after school activity. ( Myself: Film Making on Mondays).
5pm find fresh bread somewhere?? It is usually dry white stuff that goes mouldy quickly.
6pm dinner, boil water for washing up (no hot taps), clean up, time with kids, filter the next days drinking water, arrange mosquito nets, coils etc, shower (yes again, and cold), pack up/lock up and stow everything of any valuable that could get stolen overnight- laptop, phone, wallet, camera, flash stick, keys.
8-9:30pm ish head to bed, turning on a fan just as you lie down because the room is still 30 degrees and will drop one or two degrees at most throughout the day and night. (Hence two showers a day).

That all flows fairly well, though it is tiring in the heat. Regular blackouts keep you on your toes and help you not rely too much on electricity for anything. Quirks here and there must be seen as freeing, because the only alternative is frustration. Time and time again plans go haywire and you learn to just say, "There is nothing we can do about it" and adpat or wait as required. I do see this as a valuable area of growth for each of us, including the children, who are becoming quite adept to adaptation and problem solving.... as well as prayer about daily needs. Further the staff and students and Khmer Nationals all face challenges and hence the sense of community is very strong.

Better toddle and read a great book with Nathan... Thanks to the thoughtfullness of Belinda Finlay.

Fiona

Sold into Slavery - prayer point.

Slavery, sexual slavery, prostitution, abuse and neglect. These practices are all too common in Cambodia and demonstrate the desperate need for these people to know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour, who came to set the captives free.

Pictured above is Isabel, the school French teacher, and her son Matthew. I can't say her "adopted son", because that is, and may never be, the case. No one knows when Matthew was born, or how old he is. What we do know is that Matthew's family sold him to another Khmer family when he was a baby. He was to be brought up to live in their household as their slave. Before he was a year old this impoverished and beaten boy was rescued by an orphanage, where for the next few years he was withdrawn and cried every day. Isabel was invited to the orphanage to meet this little boy, but also was introduced to a little girl whom the orphanage hoped she would "adopt". She prayed about it and God clearly spoke to her during the night to take home the little boy not the little girl. Matthew is now about 5 years old and attends our school. He is a lovely child and has a gorgeous smile.

Isabel would like to adopt Matthew. In fact we know of a number of western families living here with Khmer children who would love to adopt them. The problem is that registered birth dates, parents, names and the like are not automatic when a child is born. Some children are not registered, others have been registered by parents, a secondary family and an orphanage all with conflicting information. The fact is that there is not the clear cut paperwork and consent to allow these children to be adopted by western countries with their strict regulations. Isabel cannot leave Cambodia with Matthew and she will not leave without him. You could pray for the many many families in similar situations. Families who cannot return to their home countries because, in some instances they have quite literally rescued a child from abandonment, are bringing them up as their own and are not able to adopt them legally.

Out of the darkness

Last weekend we headed out of Phnom Penh with friends for a long weekend. This was the Chhum Benh Holiday during which the Khmer believe that their ancestor's spirits are released for 15 days. They believe they must appease these spirits, visiting the temples, buying gifts for monks and so forth. It is a very dark and often fearful time for many Khmer.

We took the opportunity to head to Siem Reap with the children. It took us 8 hours on the bus to undertake the trip of just over 300km. But the kids were very well behaved.

In Siem Reap we enjoyed access to a hot shower and bath, (we do not have hot taps or a bath at home), air conditioning and a swimming pool.

Our tuk tuk driver nick named Tommy was a humble and lovely English speaking Khmer youth. He was a friend of one of our group who has been witnessing to him over a two year period. He was carrying a previous injury and the 11 of us sat around him and prayed for him, which was an incredible privilege.

We visited the Angkor Wat Temple Ruins and also the Vietnamese floating village. The kids and I got up at 4:20am to go out and photograph Angkor Wat at sunrise. It was surreal to think "I am sitting in front of "Angkor Wat", and reflect back 2 years to our NAC trip.

Nathan was keen to get a landscape photo for the 2009 Aussie Kids Photo Festival (which now has an older age category also that Naomi can enter.) Above is one of Nathan's photos of the sunrise. No reds and oranges, just somber blues and blacks, He is very happy with the result.

Back to the grind today of teaching in a humid, noisy city. We shared Tommy's story with our pastoral group and will continue to pray for him. Pleasae join us in prayer that his foot is healed and that he will also come to know Jesus.

God Bless

Fiona