When we got to off the plane in Phnom Penh there was a noticeable change in humidity. We walked through the airport to customs. Now before I go on I must tell you that we to have COVID-19 test results and stamped letter from the doctor saying that we were negative, this had to be within 72 hours of when the flight left. Once we talked to the customs official, they had to check our papers saying we were negative and that we had COVID insurance, we went to the bank window in the airport and deposit the COVID money for our care if we needed it. Then we handed over our passports to the customs officers, to be returned once our next COVID test was negative, and collected our baggage. After which we had another COVID test. Once all of us had been tested we loaded up into a bus with the other passengers of the plane; and we were off to our hotel. Once we arrived at our hotel, we had to quarantine there until all the test results were back for all the passengers of the plane we came in on. If even one person was positive we all would have had to quarantine for 14 days and be retested in Phnom Penh, but praise God that we all were negative and we only had to quarantine in the hotel for two days, in which we where literally locked in for.

Once we were freed from the hotel one of the Career Missionary families here in Cambodia picked us up from the hotel. We dropped our passports off to get a work visa so that we could stay in the country for the full year. We went to lunch/dinner then departed Phnom Penh for Mundulkiri, this is about a six-hour drive by truck, which we, the five student missionaries, were riding in the bed of. The ride wasn’t that bad seeing that it was straight for the first few hours and on a paved road. We arrived in Mondulkiri at around midnight.

The other girls and I are now living above the Adventist primary-school. There are four of us living here in a two-bedroom apartment so it is a little small, the plan is that two of us will move to another house once one of the Career Missionary families moves back to their home country. We have been in this apartment for most of our time here. We had to quarantine for the 14 days after we arrived in country (yes, even though we tested negative twice), the country is being cautious, and so far it has been working. Those two weeks were so painful. We are now free!!!! We have had our motos (which are a type of scooter) for about two days and we are loving our freedom.

The school is preparing to start classes next week, so myself and the other SM’s have been helping with that. I will be teaching Music and English to the 7th and 8th graders, along with teaching two evening classes in English to the locals. When Greenfields get back from furlough I will be switching from teaching majorly at the school and will be helping them homeschool.

Thank you so much for reading this long post and thank you for all your prayers

-Serena

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