Village Chief

Today, I (Leanne) had a meeting with a village chief. Over the years I have had many educational, working, and life experiences that have prepared me for meetings, conversations, budgets, and you know day to day working tasks. In the past when I have been given a responsibility, I can usually think back to another situation and use that previous knowledge to my advantage. Not today. I have no past experience in meeting with village chiefs. No where in any old day planners will you find 9:00 - Meeting with Village Chief. I woke up this morning thinking, "What do I wear?" Today was a first for me.

We were meeting with the Prek Pneu Village Chief in order to get the permission and blessing to work in their community for the years to come. We didn't want to take our first steps without communicating that we want to work in partnership to make Prek Pneu a community that protects its children. The meeting was successful. We got the permission, and the village chief gave us the impression that she was excited to have us working in the community. So from here on out, I will feel more equipped next time I have to meet with a village chief!

Moving forward, on Monday the 7th we will begin surveying the community of over 1,000 families that live in Prek Pneu. One of the joys in doing this is that Chris' school has a week of service projects starting on Monday, and they have chosen to help me as one of their service projects. So we will roll out of Logos at 8:30am with 25 volunteers (half of them Chris' students) and begin our work. You can pray that this survey goes well, as this will give us a clear idea of the utmost needs of the village.

Chinese New Year is tomorrow so trying to accomplish these tasks over the last few weeks (and the next few weeks to come) is a very difficult task, but so far all has been able to be completed. I am thankful every night for this!