Please meet Channa; she is our newest team member and serves in Cambodia. How fortunate we are to have her. I've only spent a short time but was so impressed with her. She has an eagerness to serve and to learn and make changes.
Here's Channa (please if led write a note of encouragement, we all so need to hear from you our GIBTK family)
"I think everyone has a dream. It is common to dream of having a good job, good house, cars, or become a millionaire. Some rich people dream to become richer, while poor people only dream to have enough food and shelter to survive. But, have you ever made your dream come true? Sometimes, we feel that we are a loser when we don't achieve our dreams. Does it really mean we are a failure? I will say no to this question.
Well, my eyes were opened when I came to GIBTK. My dream is alive and I am living my dream. I used to feel that I am a loser. I can't do anything important for my life. I couldn't reach my dream. After coming here, those feelings have gone. I feel that I am valuable, unique, loved, and cared for by my teammates and everyone here at this place. Everyone shares love and helps me, even though we are different citizens. I see changes in my life.
There is a phrase that says "Changing the face can't change anything. Facing the changes can change everything". I learn a lot from this phrase. This phrase inspired me until I came to GIBTK. I know I am here at the organization to work, but more than that I am here to serve, share and transform lives of unfortunate kids. I understand what life is for.
From my childhood, I had suffered many obstacles that life brought me. I grew up in a very poor family. I always cried when the rain came. I couldn't go to school on time because the rain would bring a flood to our road. At that time, I would have to go through the flood to arrive at school. Sometimes my shoes broke because of the heavy mud. Moreover, I used to fall down in the mud because the road was very slippery. Also, since I was poor, I didn't have good clothes, shoes, a bike or enough school supplies.
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_When fortunate a neighbor would take me to school_
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My mom always bought me second hand clothes to wear. I never had any money to pay for my tutoring class. Everyone at school discriminated against me because of those things. Thinking back to that time, I thought how could my life be like this? Why shouldn't I be born to a rich family? Until I grew older, I realized that my life is beautiful and meaningful.
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| Working the garden at Marlene's and Vera's home |
I never gave up my dream. I kept pursuing it, and it really paid off for me. When I look at people around me, I see they have good clothes, nice house, car, etc. But when I look at their inside (soul and spirit) they have nothing. In contrast, I have more than them. It is not about what we have here on earth. It is somewhere in heaven where I will have every perfect thing and a perfect life. I should be thankful to my parents and proud of who I am.
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| Our Cambodian girls at a recent outing to the circus! |
However, this is not an ending, I have more to go and do at GIBTK. Since the very first day I started my job, I felt warm and comfortable in the working environment here. While here, I learn new things. I learn about emotional health. I never once realized that we need to have emotional health in order to work successfully. And I found this lesson is necessary and helpful, and that those lessons really changed my style of working. I become successful by adapting those lessons in my work, as I am in charge of 26 girls and 2 house mothers.
I was taught that "you can't give what you don't have". This phrase encourages and inspires me a lot. How can I love and serve others when I don't have these things in my life? It is a blessed opportunity to be working in this position. I can't find any other way to express my feelings and thoughts about working here."
