i am thankful.

its amazing what a change in your environment will do for your thoughts. i think a part of it is that life in cambodia is slower--there is more time to think. usually i do my thinking on my bike rides around town... contemplating life as i profusely sweat and ask why its so freaking  hot. but, another part of it is how I experience completely different worlds, sometimes just hours, minutes, seconds apart. 

i work in a very poor community. the children wear the same outfits for a week and the only time they wash (may) be at our pre-school. but, they are also very happy and loving and affectionate. and (obviously as you can tell from my other posts) they are just so great. but, i see this poverty and then i leave. i bike for 5 min and I'm back at my safe haven.

i live in our teams wonderful house and as I write this, i'm sitting in a five star hotel's lobby (its pretty legit... you can come and use the internet for free). 

this paradox just makes me think. could i go and work with the poor communities... living with them... or do i need my comforts? do i need my bed? do i need my coffee? (i actually really think i need that one...)

well, needless of what the answers are, i feel very blessed to be able to experience both worlds. i am very thankful that i ate a wonderful breakfast today and that i slept in a mosquito net last night (btw: my mosquito count varies, but my max has been 35 bites at once... 20 just on my left leg. i think i was attacked by a swarm....). i am very thankful that i can wear a different outfit each day and that i can do laundry every monday and thursday (i smell like pee after work... so this is a blessing that pays forward). i am thankful that i have a computer so i can email family and friends and (lets be honest) i am thankful that i can go on facebook. i am thankful.

i am thankful that i continue to learn on this adventure and that i continue to see how blessed i am. i am thankful that these experiences challenge me to think outside my box and that they challenge me to really understand what Jesus meant by saying, "it is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick."

i am thankful.