Chris Loehmer Kincaid's Blog, page 10

Mary Visits Elizabeth

InLuke, chapter 1, Mary is told by an angel that she would become pregnant by theHoly Spirit and deliver a baby who was the Son of God. According to the versesI shared here on Sunday, she took the news surprisingly well. And today we readhow she wanted to share that news with her relative Elizabeth.

Whetherwe have good new or bad news, isn’t it helpful to share it with someone else,like a trusted friend or relative?  

Luke1:39-45, New Living Translation

Afew days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town whereZechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. At the sound ofMary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filledwith the Holy Spirit.

Elizabethgave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women,and your child is blessed. Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lordshould visit me? When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped forjoy. You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.”

The Birth of Jesus Foretold

 
Nearlyevery December since I started writing this blog, I’ve written a series of blogposts around a certain theme leading up to Christmas. This year? Nothing clevercame to mind. But you know what? Telling the Christmas story doesn’t have to benew and fresh. Sometimes, it’s best to go back to basics. As one of my cousinsshared with me recently, he will celebrate Christmas day by reading the storyof Christ’s birth straight out of Luke.

Luke1:26-38, New Living Translation

Inthe sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel toNazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to bemarried to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared toher and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”

Confusedand disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be afraid,Mary,” the angel told her, “For you have found favor with God! You willconceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be verygreat and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give himthe throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; hisKingdom will never end!”

Maryasked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”

Theangel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the MostHigh will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will becalled the Son of God. What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnantin her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a sonand is now in her sixth month. For the word of God will never fail.”

Maryresponded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me cometrue.” And then the angel left her.

Apsara Dance - Cambodia blog entry #28

I’mtrying to gather my thoughts regarding yet another experience we were privilegedto enjoy in Cambodia.

Aftersecuring our table in the dinner theater, we wandered to the buffet to load upour plates. Oh, how I wish I would have taken pictures of those multiple linesof food! But I didn’t want to scream Western tourist. Yes, everyone there was atourist just like us, but I think all of them were from another Asian countryand none of them were snapping pictures of their food, which probably wasnothing unusual to them.

 Enough about dinner.

The Apsara dance show was beautiful.

Many of intricate moves of the dancers were taken from the ancient bas reliefs on the temples we’d been seeing.

And each pose meant something, part of the complete story which their dance told.

The only disappointment was that halfway through the show, 40 or 50 people got up and left. I assume, all to get back on their tour bus to return to their hotel. But how incredibly rude! It left about twelve of us in the huge room watching the breath-taking dancers finish their show, their crestfallen faces scanning the near empty room.

Life in the Harbor of the Tusks - Cambodia blog entry #27

Youmay be relieved to hear that Friday's post will be my last one about myCambodian trip until after the Christmas holidays. I'm letting you know now sothat you will be more excited to read these last two posts.

Ourtuk tuk picked us up one morning, and we headed off to the floating villagesalong the Tonlé Sap River. 

TonléSap means 'vast body of fresh water' or 'great lake' in the Khmer language.There are many inlets into this large river, and many villages have been builtalong those banks. The homes are all built on stilts, since during the rainyseason, these inlets flood, giving the appearance that some of these homes arefloating on the water. 

Thereare four floating villages in the area around Siem Reap, and we visited the onenamed Kompong Phluk, which means "Harbor of the Tusks". 

Weboarded our tour boat and began chugging along like the African Queen.

Can you say, "sketchy transmission".

Ireflected on my privileged life and how my needs are met with minimalsacrifice, yet I complain so much. Even though I refuse to wear designerclothes, buy most of my clothes at Goodwill or St Vinnie, use the same oldbattered purse forever, use my cell phone until it doesn't hold a charge, andchallenge every vehicle to roll a hundred thousand miles before looking for anewer used car.

Thereare a lot more sacrifices I could make, but I try to live modestly. But nothingis taken for granted out there in those tacked-together shacks on stilts overthe river with a depth dependent on the dry versus rainy season. 

Everyday must be a struggle. Living off fishing, these residents find each seasonbrings a new challenge. When the fish are spawning, fishing with nets isillegal, but can a family live on what is caught with a pole? 

There'sa public school out there somewhere among the water, but how many kids arecommitted to going? There's a grocery store, too, but can it be kept stockedwith fresh food?  

Andyet, I bet the families are as happy as those I've met in the Bush of Kenya.They may not even know that much about the outside world. All they know istheir little world, and they get by day to day without much thought of what'sbeyond their watery home. 

Sometimes, I think they are the ones who are lucky, who are living their best lives, while privileged populations don't even know what a best life is. 

My New Heroes - Cambodia blog entry #26

Muchearlier in this series of blog posts, I told you about the Killing Fields andthe Genocide Museum, and about the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge in theseventies. I told you how heart-wrenching that all was. Somehow, I held myemotions in check through all of that.

Aweek later, still in Cambodia, I just about broke down, learning about sometrue heroes, ones who are turning back the clock on those injustices and makinga difference in the lives of many still facing horror in Southeast Asia.

MeetGlen.

 And Gordon (with his handler and Denise).

They are African Giant Pouched Rats who have been granted the title of HeroRats.  

Nearly 60 countries have land which still contains hidden landmines and other explosives, leftover from war. These devices kill indiscriminately, and in just 2023, they caused at least 5,757 casualties, of which 84% were civilians and 37% children.

How can these explosive devices be found safely so that they can be demolished in a controlled setting? It would take a human with a metal detector up to four days to clear an area the size of a tennis court. A HeroRat can search that area in thirty minutes, because he or she is trained to sniff out the explosive and not any other metal that may be buried there.

When we hear the word “rat”, we all picture a rodent digging around in trash, carrying fleas and diseases. But rats are actually very intelligent, easy to train, and have a remarkable sense of smell. They are also perfect for landmine and explosive detection, because they don’t weigh very much, so they can’t set off a device if they step on one. Also, they can live up to eight years, don’t eat much, and are easy to transport, so basically, they are really cheap labor.

But they love doing their job and they love the treats they are rewarded with. Okay, maybe they just love the treats. But they are still heroes for anyone who lives in a country where there are still active hidden explosives in the ground.

Please click here to view to their website, APOPO, to see what else these rats have been  trained to do, and consider making a donation.

(APOPO is an acronym from Dutch which stands for “Anti-Persoonsmijnen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling”, or in English, Anti-Personnel Landmines Detection Product Development.)

Preah Khan Temple - Cambodia blog entry #25

Thelast ancient temple we toured in Cambodia was Preah Khan. Only we didn’treally tour it; we sprinted it.

Longstory. We were scheduled to be done with the day’s three temples and back toour hotel by 1:30, for an afternoon of leisure. So, us three women made appointmentsat the spa next door for 2:00. Plenty of time, right?

Idon’t know where we got behind schedule, but we walked into Preah Khan aroundquarter to one. K guaranteed us we had plenty of time to get back for ourappointment, that it wouldn't take long to get through this temple and we were only a half hour drive from our hotel. Oh, and we never stoppedfor lunch that day, so I was already getting hangry.

I’mnot going to tell you anything about the temple, just let you view it like Ifelt I did – one scene right after another. And did I tell you this place washuge?!

 

Temple in the pond on an island in a lake - Cambodia blog entry #24

Afterbeing overwhelmed by the beauty of Banteay Srei Temple, we rode our tuk tuk to NeakPean. But I wouldn’t consider Neak Poan a temple.

It is located on an artificial island in the center of Jayatataka Baray, which translates to pool or reservoir of Jayavarman. We walked across the long bridge over the lotus-filled lake to get there.  

Built in the middle of the 12th century, it is one of the many “hospitals” that Jayavarman VII commissioned. It was originally designed for medical purposes.

The temple sits in the middle of its own square pool, and on each of the four sides, there were four smaller ponds, representing water, earth, fire, and wind. Each of those pools were presided over by either an elephant, bull, horse, or lion.

The ancient people believed that going into the pools would balance the elements in the person, thus curing disease. It is based on the ancient Hindu belief of balance.

The horse is the only remaining statue of the animals.

It was an interesting place, but we couldn’t walk around the entire structure so it was hard to put all the features into perspective. There was also work going on, but that is a good thing, as maybe it will be easier to visualize in the near future.

Under the Big Top in Siem Reap - Cambodia blog entry #23

Maybethis week’s Sunday post has nothing to do with the religion I practice. Maybe I’mnot sharing any Bible verses or Jesus stories today. But this experience wasone of the most inspirational we witnessed while in Cambodia.

Monday,after touring another three temples, having a two-hour spa experience, and eatinganother delicious dinner in a nice restaurant, we went to The Phare Circus inSiem Reap. Other than sitting in the round “big-top”, this was more than just acircus. 

Itis a venue where the performers use theater, music, dance and modern acts totell unique Cambodian stories; historical, folk and modern. The energy,emotion, enthusiasm and talent of the young circus artists was breathtaking. 

Andmore importantly, the stories they told, using very few words but mostly actions and facial expressions,were riveting.  

 

Theshow we saw was titled “Khmer Metal”. It presented the wilder side of modern urbanlife as the artists shared the kinds of challenges that Cambodian young adultsface. 

Thesetting is a grungy Phnom Penh rock bar, where patrons demonstrate problemswith alcoholism, cheating, lying, stealing, and relationships with the oppositesex, as well as (surprisingly to me) the same sex.

Theseare all issues which young people in Cambodia struggle with, and I think we areall aware of the same problems in our cities.

Butthe entire enterprise is so much more than the show.

(From their website) The performers are studentsand graduates from Phare Ponleu Selpak’s vocational training center inBattambang. The association was formed in 1994 by nine young men coming homefrom a refugee camp after the Khmer Rouge regime. They were greatly helpedduring that time by an art teacher using drawing classes as therapy and wantedto share this new skill among the poor, socially deprived, and troubledyoungsters in Battambang. They founded an art school, and a public schoolfollowed to offer free education. A music school and theatre school were nextand finally, for the kids who wanted more, the circus school. Today more than1,200 pupils attend the public school daily and 500 attend the alternativeschools. Phare Ponleu Selpak also has extensive outreach programs, trying tohelp with the problems highlighted in their own tales.

The Cambodian Circus offers these studentsand graduates a place to hone their skills and earn a decent wage. Money thatwill take them out of poverty and give them self-respect and freedom.

The Phare Circus is reviving the arts thatwas nearly destroyed during the reign of the Khmer Rouge, while providing aneducation for the poor children of Cambodia and giving them the opportunity tolearn acting and high-flying tricks by joining the Phare Circus.

I'm sorry that the pictures don't come close to telling you what the show was really like or that I don't have more of them. The show was just so mezmerising that I didn't want to take my eyes off the performers to point my camera. Plus, it was dark in there. I hope you at least can pick up a little of their vibe. 

Eating in Cambodia - Cambodia blog entry #22

Iknow that most of you had your big turkey dinner yesterday and probably don’t wantto think about food today. We’re having our dinner tomorrow, so I’m stilllooking forward to turkey, taters, and stuffin’.

Andsince I’m thinking about eats, here are random pictures of some of the food weate on our trip to Cambodia. Thefood at the volunteer house was simple but good. Reminded me a lot of what we eatin Kenya.

Breakfast at the house was usually fruit, fried eggs, pastries and bread of some sort.  

Mostof the time, though, we ate out at various restaurants, all of them excellent. 

I’lltry to tell you what we ate where, but it’s not worth it for me to waste a lotof brain cells on it. Just go along with whatever I got here. 

Andmy travel partner is on another trip this week, so I don’t have to worry abouther chiming in and correcting me. Hee, hee.

This was the chicken wrap I had at Eleven One Kitchen, Phnom Penh. 
I think H has the fish amok, or one of the "amok" dishes. She liked those a lot. 

D had some beef kabobs. 
And I rarely knew what K ordered - usually something either hot or weird. And no, I didn't take a picture of everyone's dish at every meal. 
Chicken sandwich at Rikitikitavi's in Kampot. 

Lasagna at the Monkey Republic in Kampot the next day. 

No idea what or where this was, but I loved when they served the rice in a little teepee.

I can't remember where this was at, but it was something that K ordered. That stuff on the left that looks like rice with flecks of red in it? The red stuff is hot red ants. I tried some. Yikes! I couldn't get the water in me fast enough. 
Duck Salad with something like mango juice to drink at the Cafe Indochina - a very fancy place. 

Our last official night out. Ate at another fancy place, the Titantic, and I had the water buffalo with baby corn, because I wanted to try something different that I knew I'd like. 
But you still can't beat comfort food. This was the French toast for breakfast at the Darling Pub Hostel in Siem Reap. Umm!

Beauty Beyond Belief at Banteay Srei - Cambodia blog entry #21

Monday,September 23, we had three more temples to tour on our agenda. We set out early- not as early as the day before, though. This day we had time for a leisurelybreakfast at the hotel. The French toast was delicious – more on that on anupcoming blog post. 

Byfar I would say that thet Banteay Srei temple was the most beautiful we visited.

Consideredby many to be the crown jewel of all the Angkor area temples, Banteay Srei iscut from stone of a pinkish hue and includes some of the finest stone carvinganywhere on earth.

Workon it began in 967 CE, and though it is one of the smallest sites, it is exquisite. 

BanteaySrei is the only major temple which was not commissioned by rulers. Credit forits construction is given to the courtiers named Vishnukumara and Yajnavaraha,who served as a counsellor to King Rajendravarman II. 

Yajnavarahadedicated the temple to the Hindu god Shiva and gave it a long, unpronounceablename. Tribhuvanamaheshvara (not that you can pronounce his name either).

Thetemple's modern name, Banteay Srei—citadel of the women, or citadel ofbeauty—is probably used to describe the intricacy of the bas relief carvingsfound on the walls and the small dimensions of the buildings themselves. 

Itis a stunning place. 

I expected these guys to come to life any minute and take off on a quest to save the queen, or hunt down Indiana Jones.