I just cannot get this site to work offline. The connection here in Cambodia is not the best so I am moving the site. Please follow us at our new site: https://digicambodiamission2017.wordpress.com/
Friday, September 22, 2017
Tuesday, September 19, 2017
Tropical!
Well the weather is looking hot and wet. It is Southeast Asia and the jungle so....
Work here at the Digital Consultants HQ is in the wrap up mode. We are trying our best to tie up loose ends. It is really a bit nerve wracking to say the least. Since both DJ and I will be out for a period we will be leaning on our HQ staff to hold it together for a bit. Pretty confident everything will be well and for sure things can wait a week. Tomorrow we start our Malaria medications. God willing all will be well as we get ready to depart!
Preparations are almost complete! I have a huge bag of flip flops ready to go, and DJ... well you can see he is both ready for the trip and excited to see the children.
Monday, September 11, 2017
Medications, shots and prep work
In addition to tetanus, typhoid, you need to be up to date on Hepatitis A and B. MMR, Chicken Pox, and assorted other things.
2 days prior to departure we will start taking our Malaria Medication (Malarone) and take it while there and 7 days after. We also received antibiotics for travelers diarrhea due to foodborn illness.
Our Mosquito nets came in and the parts for our projects with the children have arrived. We are stocking up on soccer balls, balloon animals, face paints, flip flops etc....
In addition all of our clothing will be treated with Permetherin prior to departure to dissuade Mosquito bites.
Thursday, September 7, 2017
Kambimbi - What's it all about?? Our Mission objectives
Each trip has a foundational mission or goal. How it shakes out in the end is in God's hands but we try to organize the trip around a goal. Serendipity.
This trip's story begins for me in Iraq. A place full of suffering, war, strife and far far from Christ and any church here in the USA. During my service in Iraq I was the Brigade Executive Officer for the 36th Combat Aviation Brigade. This put me in the position of directing the Brigade Staff and as such I worked with all of the Battalion Staff. One of these fine officers from a Battalion's staff is a man named Coren Allen. When I returned I had friended Coren on Facebook just to keep in touch with the folks I served with. Fast forward a couple years (its been ten years since Iraq). I saw Coren do a FB post about The Kambimbi Academy and WIIJSR (What if it just started raining). A project he brought to the world to serve the people in Africa to help create peacemakers in a part of the world with horrible strife. A seed was planted....
Fast forward 5 more years or so and the seed grew... What if we took the book that Coren had created for Africa and taught it in Khmer to Orphans in Cambodia? What if we created a Khmer version of the Kambimbi academy in Cambodia and tied the messages of the book to the scripture? The messages are pretty simple in concept and difficult to live every day.
1. Rain (Body). As rain replenishes the earth, and thus the body....smiles replenish the soul, kindness & generosity replenish the heart and kindness replenishes the mind. What if it just started "raining" all that goodness?
2. Smiles. Smiles are everywhere…for all people…all cities…all tribes
A smile doesn’t care what color your skin is…
A smile doesn’t care what tribe you are from…
A smile doesn’t care what language you speak…
3. Kindness. Kindness and Generosity are everywhere...for all people...all cities... all tribes
Kindness & generosity heals
Kindness & generosity reduce anxiety and increase communal cooperation at every level of society
Kindness & generosity are contagious
4. Forgiveness. Forgiveness can be found everywhere…for all people…all cities…all tribes
Forgiveness heals the mind
Forgiveness heals the body
Forgiveness is freedom
5. Goodness. Goodness can be found everywhere…for all people…all cities…all tribes
Goodness is more than smiles, kindness, generosity and forgiveness
To be good is free (doesn’t take money)
When we are good to each other, life is better
So what the heck is a Kambimbi? In Africa the Kambimbi is a mythical bird that brings hope to the people. It is a sign that they will see rain which will replenish the ground, the crops and the people. When you see the Kambimbi you see hope.
The idea then is to teach the Orphans of the Kambimbi and it's message of hope. When they have learned the concepts they are given a Kambimbi Tshirt. The hope then is that like the bird, when they go into their community they share the messages and ideas of the book spreading hope amongst the people. Peacemakers.
Through the very generous donations of family and friends, we have had the book that Coren wrote translated into Khmer by a dear friend Sothea Da from Cambodia and we had it re-illustrated by an Orphan in Cambodia to be tailored to them. We have had hundreds of books printed and they await our arrival. In addition we have had Kambimbi Tshirts printed for the children and those are waiting for us as well.
So that's it.... a crazy tale of how a terrible war in Iraq may just spread the message of hope and Christ in Cambodia on the other side of the world. Serendipity
This trip's story begins for me in Iraq. A place full of suffering, war, strife and far far from Christ and any church here in the USA. During my service in Iraq I was the Brigade Executive Officer for the 36th Combat Aviation Brigade. This put me in the position of directing the Brigade Staff and as such I worked with all of the Battalion Staff. One of these fine officers from a Battalion's staff is a man named Coren Allen. When I returned I had friended Coren on Facebook just to keep in touch with the folks I served with. Fast forward a couple years (its been ten years since Iraq). I saw Coren do a FB post about The Kambimbi Academy and WIIJSR (What if it just started raining). A project he brought to the world to serve the people in Africa to help create peacemakers in a part of the world with horrible strife. A seed was planted....
Fast forward 5 more years or so and the seed grew... What if we took the book that Coren had created for Africa and taught it in Khmer to Orphans in Cambodia? What if we created a Khmer version of the Kambimbi academy in Cambodia and tied the messages of the book to the scripture? The messages are pretty simple in concept and difficult to live every day.
1. Rain (Body). As rain replenishes the earth, and thus the body....smiles replenish the soul, kindness & generosity replenish the heart and kindness replenishes the mind. What if it just started "raining" all that goodness?
2. Smiles. Smiles are everywhere…for all people…all cities…all tribes
A smile doesn’t care what color your skin is…
A smile doesn’t care what tribe you are from…
A smile doesn’t care what language you speak…
3. Kindness. Kindness and Generosity are everywhere...for all people...all cities... all tribes
Kindness & generosity heals
Kindness & generosity reduce anxiety and increase communal cooperation at every level of society
Kindness & generosity are contagious
4. Forgiveness. Forgiveness can be found everywhere…for all people…all cities…all tribes
Forgiveness heals the mind
Forgiveness heals the body
Forgiveness is freedom
5. Goodness. Goodness can be found everywhere…for all people…all cities…all tribes
Goodness is more than smiles, kindness, generosity and forgiveness
To be good is free (doesn’t take money)
When we are good to each other, life is better
So what the heck is a Kambimbi? In Africa the Kambimbi is a mythical bird that brings hope to the people. It is a sign that they will see rain which will replenish the ground, the crops and the people. When you see the Kambimbi you see hope.
The idea then is to teach the Orphans of the Kambimbi and it's message of hope. When they have learned the concepts they are given a Kambimbi Tshirt. The hope then is that like the bird, when they go into their community they share the messages and ideas of the book spreading hope amongst the people. Peacemakers.
Through the very generous donations of family and friends, we have had the book that Coren wrote translated into Khmer by a dear friend Sothea Da from Cambodia and we had it re-illustrated by an Orphan in Cambodia to be tailored to them. We have had hundreds of books printed and they await our arrival. In addition we have had Kambimbi Tshirts printed for the children and those are waiting for us as well.
So that's it.... a crazy tale of how a terrible war in Iraq may just spread the message of hope and Christ in Cambodia on the other side of the world. Serendipity
Wednesday, September 6, 2017
Cambodia Mission Trip 2017 - Kickoff BLOG post
Good Morning all! Our travel is booked to Cambodia. I am so excited! We depart on the 21st of SEP and arrive around 10PM local time on the 22nd. We depart from Phnom Penh on the 1st of OCT at 11:20 PM and arrive home in Virginia on the 2nd of OCT.
Our schedule as it stands today:
Now one thing I have learned.... I am a planner, I like to be and work to be in charge of the schedule and the events. Ask my kids... its 7AM, lets go get outta bed, its time to go see mickey! But on these trips, its not about me... Its about God and about the children. The very first thing that I have to do is release control and allow things to happen for the best and as they come.
Today is shot and medication day. Off to the doctors here in about an hour for all the medications needed. If you are new to the blog, we use the CDC site https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/clinician/none/cambodia#vaccines-and-medicines as our guide. For me, I am caught up on all the shots so I just need my Malaria medication, CIPRO for intestinal bacteria and immodium! Some helpful links on where we will be visiting:
http://nhoasia.org/kampot-childrens-home/
http://nhoasia.org/pursat-home/
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g297390-d317907-Reviews-Angkor_Wat-Siem_Reap_Siem_Reap_Province.html
https://www.expedia.com/things-to-do/tonle-sap-floating-market-tour.a241438.activity-
Stay tuned, I will update as we get closer and then try for updates daily when in country!
God Bless you all and thank you for your prayers and well wishes.
the 2017 Digital Consultants Team:
Stephan
DJ
Gil
Sam
Our schedule as it stands today:
| 21-Sep | Fly out |
| 22-Sep | arrive in PP |
| 23-Sep | S21, Killing Fields, Royal Palace and Riverside. (No orphanage in PP) |
| 24-Sep | Teaching at Takeo & Kampot and back to PP |
| 25-Sep | Drive to Sihanouville, and stop to visit Kompong Speu, and Sihanouville orphanage back to Phnom Penh (sleep in Phnom Penh) |
| 26-Sep | Drive to Kompong Channage, Pursat (sleep there) |
| 27-Sep | Continuous to drive to Battambang, and Pailin Orphanages and back at night to Battambang sleep (there) |
| 28-Sep | Continuous to drive to Banteay Meanchey, then Siem Reap Orphanage (sleep at Hotel) |
| 29-Sep | Go to Angkor Wat |
| 30-Sep | Visit Lake Sap and the boat people. |
| 1-Oct | Services in PP slums, visit slums, russian market |
| 1-Oct | Departure for USA (11:20 PM) |
| 2-Oct | Arrive in USA |
Now one thing I have learned.... I am a planner, I like to be and work to be in charge of the schedule and the events. Ask my kids... its 7AM, lets go get outta bed, its time to go see mickey! But on these trips, its not about me... Its about God and about the children. The very first thing that I have to do is release control and allow things to happen for the best and as they come.
Today is shot and medication day. Off to the doctors here in about an hour for all the medications needed. If you are new to the blog, we use the CDC site https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/clinician/none/cambodia#vaccines-and-medicines as our guide. For me, I am caught up on all the shots so I just need my Malaria medication, CIPRO for intestinal bacteria and immodium! Some helpful links on where we will be visiting:
http://nhoasia.org/kampot-childrens-home/
http://nhoasia.org/pursat-home/
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g297390-d317907-Reviews-Angkor_Wat-Siem_Reap_Siem_Reap_Province.html
https://www.expedia.com/things-to-do/tonle-sap-floating-market-tour.a241438.activity-
Stay tuned, I will update as we get closer and then try for updates daily when in country!
God Bless you all and thank you for your prayers and well wishes.
the 2017 Digital Consultants Team:
Stephan
DJ
Gil
Sam
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