Srey Moot

I think I'm turning Cambo already. I only speak in complete sentences to my husband Dave & here on the blog. The rest of the time, I speak easy for you to know good (typed in the Cambo accent LOL). Ruth took me out for a western supper & it tasted funny to me. I turned the fan off because I got chilly. And, the real clincher: I saw a couple barang (white people) in our neighborhood & got suspicious. BAH-Hahahahahaha!

Srey Moot (western pronunciation: Sree Moot, proper pronunciation: sree mt)

I have been given an orphan of my own! Well, sorta'. Ruth has given me charge of one of the older girls, 14 year-old Srey Moot. She's my new roommate & we're rarely apart. When I do have to leave her at the house or at school she cries a little & begs, "Quick, quick," meaning she wants me back very quickly.

Srey Moot is from the province (the countryside), so she's a bit different from her housemates who were born in the city. She's not into clothes & make-up & magazines like the other "big" girls. Srey Moot prefers books & games & working along aside me or the new housekeeper. She's a very reserved girl....at first. Once she's warmed up she's a real hoot. She loves to laugh & joke around.

When Srey Moot's mom died some years ago, her dad put her & her little brother out because she's a girl & they were too small to work in the fields. She has other family, but they, too, are unwilling to take care of them. So, they're LIA children. It's the best thing for Srey Moot really. In the province, opportunities are very limited. There girls can either escape to the city (which is never as wonderful in actuality as it is in theory), become farmers' wives if they work hard enough, or become "for rent" girls (a form of forced prostitution in which the girl gets raped & the parents get paid). Yeah, LIA is the best thing for her really.

Ruth let her come stay with me because Srey Moot is a great help & will fare better away from the other girls her age who pick on her for her simple country tastes & ways. It was God's good timing too! Just a couple days after Srey Moot moved in with me, a man came by the girls' house asking for her. The lady of the house told him she lives at Ruth's now. Later that night he phoned Ruth saying he wanted to pick Srey Moot up for a visit & that he is her big brother. Uh...Srey Moot doesn't have a big brother. Then the guy says he's her father, then said he wasz calling for the father. Please, pray for this perv.

We're not afraid of the guy, whoever he is, but we're taking some precautions. Jame & I take her to & pick her up from school every day & have instructed the administrators that only I bring her & only I pick her up. We also keep her with us as we run errands & make visits & such. She's never beyond my arm's length. Actually, she's very rarely out from under my arm because she's so affectionate toward me. LOL Whatever we're doing, she's doing, if at all possible. When we do have to leave her at the house, someone else is always here with her & the gate is locked.
Srey Moot knows very little english & I know even less Cambodian, but we're helping one another learn. I can count all the way up to nine now! We've worked out a pretty good system of communication which includes gestures, facial expressions & acting things out. It's really quite fun...& funny. I think we're both progressing in our own made up language than in each other's languages. LOL Some things just don't need words tho'. We developed a closeness during my first two visits & that's increased tremendously since living together. Many times we can just look at each other & know what's being "said." Love knows no language barriers, praise the Lord of Love!

7/18/10
Praise God for...
• my Zephaniah Sisters who came thru with the needed funds for a new passport/visa!
• being glorious in the storm, I mean literally, a monsoon rain. Awesome!
• love beyond words that breaks the bounds of language barriers.
• small town bankers who know you well enough to get around the rules.

Petition God for...
• the salvation of lost souls. Nothing makes Him happier.
those precious souls who swiped the bag. God loves them & so do I.
• postal mercies. Dave has to mail me a new ATM card.
His wisdom in loving each child well.
• *especially* for Dave's family as his dad is now receiving hospice care.
• Jame to understand that it's OK for visiting teams to treat me like a servant because that's what I am.

A big honkin' thank-you to:
• Mike & Shirley for keeping me at the top of the prayer list!!
• The Zeph Sisters for bailing me out.
• The Turner Family for faithful financial support.
• Ruth Golder for the loan of a digital camera.

Personal Notes:
• May Group, came thiiiiis close to smoochin' a monk today.
• Kate, how far are you in your Bible reading plan?
• Isaac Roe, I love you to the moon & back 62,000 times.