In October 2021, we had a dangerous miscarriage – a complete molar pregnancy. This is when the mother’s chromosomes are missing from the egg and the cells that would normally develop into the placenta develop into a molar growth instead. This can lead to tumors, cysts, a rare form of cancer, and necessitate a hysterectomy….
Author: Charles
Introducing The Fifth C
This evening at 10:21 PM (Cambodia time) Caleb Daniel Conklin was born. At birth, he weighed 4 kg (8.8 lbs) and is 55 cm (21.6 in) tall. I’ll write a detailed account of the experience later. But it was short, intense, and painful labor and delivery. Crystal has some minor tearing but is doing well….
New National Staff
In October, MCC Cambodia said farewell to our PME Coordinator, Visal, and our Finance Officer, Ringsey. It would have been hard to lose either of these senior national staff, but it was especially difficult to lose both of them the same month so soon after the catastrophic medical emergency on the team. I mentioned them…
Interview with Ratt Morn, a farmer
Transcribed by Imm Sokea, MCC Cambodia Connecting Peoples CoordinatorPhotos by Isaac Alderfer, 2022-2023 SALT participant at ODOV My name is Rath Morn. When I was a child living with my parents, there were two seasons – dry season and rainy season. There were no changes within the seasons unlike nowadays. I was able to support…
Almost time for the Baby
Last night Crystal started having intense contractions – distinct from the usual braxton hicks contractions – and we thought it was time. So we quickly prepared everything, borrowed the MCC truck, and loaded up to leave. We were worried because Crystal and I still have this respiratory infection. Labor is hard enough when you can…
Clay Pots
One of the peacebuilding exercises that we’ve seen Women Peace Makers (WPM) and Peace Bridges Organization (PBO) use here in Cambodia is to split the training participants up into small groups with the assignment to work together to paint a clay pot with their vision of the future that they want for their communities. This…
Sulphur Soap
File this one under tips for living in a tropical developing country. As you likely recall, I had a very slow recovery from Chikungunya and my immune system was low for a long time. During my recovery I noticed that I had little red spots on my limbs. It was hard not to notice, they…
Respiratory Infection at Nine Months
Two weeks ago, Charlotte came down with a respiratory infection. It isn’t COVID-19, we had that back in December, but rather a more mundane illness. Actually, the December bout of COVID-19, which we suspect was the third time we had it, was milder than this respiratory illness. Charlotte is feeling better now. Unfortunately, she shared…
Visiting Sokhim’s Vegetable Garden
During my visit to Kratie in January 2023, I meet with a poor farmer named Sokhim who lives along the Mekong river in Kratie province. She is a recent widow whose husband passed away after a lengthy illness leaving her to raise five children on her own. Sokhim’s husband was building a new house for the…
Little Doggie Bozo
The “Prince” of our street lives across from us. He’s a little black dog owned by an Excellency and he clearly thinks he owns the entire world. The Excellency has a pack of dogs, all larger than the little “Prince”, but he’s absolutely the alpha. After Crystal’s traumatic dog fight experience under our gate we…