For some time now, we've battled on and off with the girls about doing their chores and their cooking responsibilities. After countless warnings, sit down conversations, and schedules made to make this simple and clear, it was time to put down the hammer. So we called all the girls together last night and discussed what their punishment would be... For the foreseeable future, the girls would have to eat breakfast and lunch that I cook. Yes that's right ladies and gentleman, they have to eat American style food! I know what you're thinking: "Pancakes for breakfast and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch!?!?! Brittnay what on earth are you trying to do these poor girls?! Haven't they been through enough?!" And to that I say, you gotta do what you gotta do.
I woke up this morning at 4:30 so I could be at Rahab's at 5:00 to cook breakfast and make sack lunches for the girls who would be at school all day. I put on some worship music and began cooking a punishment filled with love. A few pancakes into it (which looked and smelled amazing by the way) I began to worry.
What if the girls actually like the food and this punishment backfires? What if I end up getting stuck waking up this early to make breakfast every morning? I am not a morning person. This is not going to work. Lord, please, don't let this backfire. Please let this plan not be as stupid as it is beginning to seem. PLEASE don't make me have to wake up early again tomorrow!
And to all of you who don't believe in prayer, well looky here...I was so busy freaking out I accidentally burned four pancakes that were cooking. Then the pan was too hot and the next couple of pancakes burned a little before the inside could finish cooking all the way. Now, I wasn't trying to make gross pancakes, I promise, but I was I crying when I saw this. No. No sir I was not.
All in all, the pancakes were edible. Beautiful, oh goodness no, but only a few were burned and most of them were actually pretty spectacular if I do say so myself. But when the girls came to eat them, Oh dear. You should have seen their faces. They all told me how wonderful they were, but they simply weren't very hungry this morning (coincidence? I think not). Finally one girls had the courage to admit none of them liked the pancakes but they didn't want to hurt my feelings. They just wanted rice. When they found out that they were going to be eating pb&j for lunch, no one held back. There was so much wailing and whining about how Cambodians need rice and they don't want to eat bread two meals in a row, and if they promise to do their chores and responsibilities can they please go back to cooking their own meals...you know, the kind of meals with rice?
I played it cool. "Well, I'll talk to the house moms and Sauvry about it. We already have enough pancake mix for a couple days, It would mean a market run today.... I don't know...I'll see what they think. But you have to promise that you are going to do your chores and cooking. " Loud and enthusiastic promises were made. When I went over and told Sauvry, she smiled and said she would go to the market today to get more food. I told her not to tell them right now. To let them sweat it out a little. Make them think they're going to have to have pancakes again tomorrow. With the most conspiratorial smile I have ever seen she agreed and walked off to tell the house mom that the plan had worked.
That's how we roll. We're pretty hard core when it comes to punishments over here. (I can't even keep a straight face writing that...)No, but all in all, I'm glad this was such a simple and effective fix to a long standing problem. God is good!
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