Yesterday we celebrated Crystal’s birthday in full lockdown. We’d been planning to go visit an elephant refuge in distant Mondulkiri province for her birthday but as the COVID-19 situation in country has worsened we had to abandon those plans. Then, when Phnom Penh went into full lockdown, it became clear that we’d need to celebrate…
Author: Charles
COVID-19: Full Lockdown
By many metrics, Cambodia is still doing well during the pandemic but the situation is much worse than it was just two months ago. On Friday, we saw our highest increase of cases with almost 700 people diagnosed followed by almost 500 people on Saturday and another 300 people yesterday. These are not high numbers…
The Holy Week Meditation: Jesus’ Journey to Calvary, thence to the Empty Tomb.
This reflection was written by one of the pastors we work with in Myanmar. Name and identifying details withheld for security reasons. The Holy Week, also known as the Passion Week, began on Palm Sunday, and will end on Easter Sunday. Christians all over the world commemorate in their own church’s tradition—fasting, praying, contemplating, meditating,…
From Flower to Mango
Last year I shared the wonders of mango season with you. This year is a bit different. Our new house has two mango trees so it’s given us a closer perspective on the delicious fruit and it’s growth. It’s been a blessing to have mangos raining down on us during this latest COVID-19 outbreak. I…
Online Schooling Again
This is our fourth COVID-19 lockdown and I’ve think we’re finally getting this online schooling thing down. Charlotte is doing well on the individual attention but Catherine really misses her friends. They do, for the most part, get along really well. I don’t think I was this sweet to my siblings when I was their…
COVID-19 Update: The February 20th Incident
Three weeks ago Cambodia had the third lowest cases per million of COVID-19 in the world (after Laos and Vietnam). On February 20th, it was discovered that four Chinese people had bribed their guard to break quarantine earlier in the month and new cases began to be discovered at an alarming rate. From January 2020…
Khmer Vulnerability Aid Organization
In January, I was able to finally resume in person visits to our local partners after a lengthy hiatus due to COVID-19. It was wonderful to be able to see them and their work in person again. Unfortunately it was short lived as Cambodia is experiencing its worst COVID-19 outbreak to date. I wanted to…
Myanmar coup
On Monday morning, Myanmar’s military took control of the country in a coup and declared a state of emergency, following disputed election results. Government officials have been detained and communications channels interrupted. The people of Myanmar already are suffering extreme hardships because of the COVID-19 pandemic. For information on the coup and its impact, follow…
Chikungunya
On a Wednesday last month, Crystal felt terrible and had a red rash spreading across her. We thought she had Dengue but when we went to the Doctor they diagnosed her with Chikungunya. Symptoms Most people infected with chikungunya virus will develop some symptoms. Symptoms usually begin 3–7 days after being bitten by an infected…
Simeon from Rwanda
Late on Christmas Eve, our surprise last minute YAMEN participant arrived from Rwanda. Simeon was originally going to be in the Ukraine this year but could not go because of COVID-19 restrictions. Fortunately, we were able to get him a Visa to come to Cambodia. There was a harrowing moment when he missed a connecting…