Khmer Leaning

Every time when I say hello to local people, I will put my palms together and say, ‘Chum Reap Suar! SokSabbay!' (In English - How are you? I wish you health and happiness!)  This is the popular greeting in Cambodia.

In early April, I went to a university in Phnom Penh to learn the first stage of Khmer. I have 16 classmates. They come from seven countries, and more than half are Korean.  13 of them are missionaries and the others are business people. Our professor is 63 years old. He has been teaching Khmer for more than 20 years. In the first lesson, he gave everyone a copybook and requested us to write the alphabet every day.  This is an important task, as I have to make clear the combination of consonants and vowels, and then understand the pronunciation and meaning of words.  When I copy the alphabet, I also try to remember each letter. Every day I need more than 3 hours to practice the Khmer with this method.

The Khmer alphabet was developed from Indian alphabets. Khmer has 33 basic consonants. Each letter has a basic pronunciation.  Then there are 24 common vowels and 12 independent vowels. Some have very similar pronunciations, so it is easy for beginners to confuse them. I study Khmer again with my private tutor after school. Actually, some letters are very difficult to pronounce.  For example, the sounds coming from the throat are too difficult for me. I always face the mirror for practice, or hold water in my throat to practice the pronunciation of certain letters.  

Khmer learning is like a long and arduous journey. If you want to fully use Khmer with skill, you have to give much time and work hard. Actually, adults wanting to learn another language is not easy. I have to pay more attention in listening and speaking, and then I feel tired. It is very discouraging when I cannot pronounce the alphabet accurately even after my private teacher has corrected the sounds many times.  Sometimes I do my homework until midnight and feel like I have no energy to keep going. Then I decide not to finish the homework and accept the limitation of my abilities.

The Khmer course at the University is very arduous. There are 4 stages in one year, and the first stage is very important for further learning. Because I cannot keep up with the course schedule, I always review the tasks together with my classmates after school. Up till now, if there are even 1 or 2 words that I understand in a conversation, I will be happy all the day. Although I am not fully understanding how to pronounce the words, I like to use the new words in my daily activities. When I say something wrong in Khmer and the other person corrects my mistakes, I can learn Khmer better.

"I am able to do all things through him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13

Give Thanks

1. Although facing different challenges every day, I am meeting them through the grace of God and I have a joyful heart to do the work.
2. When I work in the child care centre, there is a missionary couple to help me translate.
3. Thank God! Although I am in Cambodia, I can connect with my family by long distance calls and I have good communication with them.

Prayer Requests

1. Please pray for me have the ability, perseverance and patience to learn Khmer.
2. Pray for all the staff in the child care centre; may they have healthy hearts and spirits to do the work.
3. Now it is the rainy season, and low-lying land always floods. May God protect all the families and reduce the effects from the flooding.
4. A thief robbed a couple of Hong Kong missionaries recently. The husband's head was hurt and the wife was shaken up. May God let them feel comfort and peace, and heal their hearts and wounds.
5. May God give me wisdom to manage the administrative work of the child care centre; and may all the staff have good cooperation and communication.
6. Please pray for Fuk Yee and Fuk Hing.  May they have healthy bodies and wisdom to work, and pray for their faith in God.