Another Brief Update

Well, since I can't figure out how to actually copy and paste posts I've written from word and notepad, this is the best I'll be able to do, and I need to keep it brief because internet costs money here. We are keeping busy--on Tuesday, a doctor and her grandson from TX left--they'd been here 5 days, and a team from AK came yesterday, and we saw over 180 patients. It's amazing. I'll write more about clinic in the future, but trust me, it's a powerful thing. There are so many, and the need is so great--not an urgent need for medical care, just for care, I think. The little kids are wonderful. I like them best, because you can communicate so much to them without language. I made a couple of friends in the last village we were at, and they came down to visit me a few times, including Friday before the ship left. I also love the old ladies, who are the most fascinated by my white skin, big nose, and freckles. I continue to help the crew with their English, and I really feel like they have become my Khmer family. They are really all fantastic people, full of kindness and wonderful smiles--beautiful spirits, I think of them, as Hai the electrician says something remarkably beautiful, or I watch Piseth or Bun Roth play with the kids (they both have such a gift for kids!). I am learning so much about the culture and the people. I am at peace even in frustration. I love it.
And I do need to say--I spent last Saturday in Phnom Penh. We visitd both the Palace and the Killing Fields. The latter was so powerful--to really be in a place where history occurred, such a history of great cruelty. It's not something I could begin to understand.
But to end on a happy note, there was a woman the other day who just sat down and smiled at me while I took her blood pressure. She only had one tooth, but the smile was so beautiful.
Sorry to be so brief. I promise more later, or at the very latest when I come home. Love and blessings to everyone. Thanks for listening :)