tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7185368894633887202012-02-03T13:37:50.446-07:00Hello blog readers...hope you enjoy these tidbits from my life as I work in Cambodia with FH (Food for the Hungry), a Christian relief and community development agency.Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.comBlogger531100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-22568687365186688802010-03-07T21:51:00.002-07:002010-03-08T00:38:26.428-07:00

So....somehow I keep being involved with the process here for hiring new staff. This has involved coming up with job descriptions, questions for written tests and oral interviews, being part of the interview committees and a test proctor, and now--it meant reading through a stack of 30+ CV's that were submitted by people applying for two open translator positions (for those of you who speak

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-87503926746656372612010-02-12T02:46:00.010-07:002010-02-16T20:26:13.580-07:00

The fact that it's nearly Valentine's Day shouldn't stop me from posting a few Christmas party photos, should it? I apologize, I had video clips from the Christmas celebration as well, but in a later mad rush to take photos elsewhere these got deleted to make more room in the camera. So at the bottom there are a few clips of some of our Child Development Program kids introducing themselves. Kids

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-81879827711396903892009-11-06T00:16:00.009-07:002009-11-06T02:10:26.503-07:00

A blog post is long overdue, and so, by request: another day in the life of Katie. Sorry, this isn't a specific day, because really, my days aren't that exciting. But the below will give you a pretty good idea of what my days usually look like. And hopefully the internet will cooperate to let me tag a few pictures on at the end. Without further ado, the typical day:6:00 am--alarm on my cell phone

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-14394303302837961302009-10-01T01:19:00.002-06:002009-10-01T02:01:34.267-06:00

This morning I tagged along with some of our Cambodian staff as they headed to the village where they work. The majority of FH Cambodia staff are called Community Facilitators--these are the staff who actually work with leaders and families in the villages around Anlong Veng. Each Community Facilitator focuses on walking with their village through one main skill or tool or focus: health and

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-55692126689680581252009-09-09T22:08:00.006-06:002009-09-09T22:41:02.731-06:00

Tuesday night we had an interesting occurrence during dinner. Let me set the scene. In Cambodia, we are not too far north of the equator; thus, the sun rises and sets right around 6:00 am and pm, give or take a little. Coming home after a bike ride a little after 6:00, it was already very much dusk. By 7:00, when we had gotten around to eating dinner, it was fully dark. With no moon at the moment

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-47806927749578245582009-08-18T22:12:00.010-06:002009-08-19T22:39:55.587-06:00

Coming up with blog topics is not always the easiest thing in the world for my tired brain, so--here's a few things to look at instead of a lot of writing! These are just a few shots of some of the things I see on a regular basis in Anlong Veng. Starting from top to bottom, these are:1. Rainy day view of our back yard. Luckily, the front yard doesn't get so muddy. But--we do get to pick our way

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-40206844861002601302009-08-06T03:10:00.002-06:002009-08-06T03:18:11.759-06:00

Well, we don't sit on tuffets and we sure haven't had any curds and whey, but we do have a nice big spider that lives by the ceiling in our kitchen. We leave him there to eat all the smaller bugs for us. Sorry for the flash glare on his giant head....Anyways, note the smaller spider on the left. The smaller spider's body is about a third of an inch across, so you can do the math to figure out the

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-8660777154332695022009-07-20T02:18:00.002-06:002009-07-20T02:21:28.363-06:00

Chickens really do cross the road, and the cows really do come home. No flying pigs, though—they prefer to ride on motorbikes. The rain is good for everyone: it keeps the farmer’s rice crops from drying out, and keeps the rest of us from sweating for awhile. The frogs come out in the rain as well. One came into our house. He was tiny and I nearly missed him. It was a bigger storm than usual,

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-25304124859763630712009-07-18T20:49:00.007-06:002009-07-19T22:09:10.165-06:00

Welcome to our orange abode! Hope these video clips play well for you.

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-56448565222285334262009-06-26T01:54:00.002-06:002009-06-26T02:00:58.859-06:00

This week I:Drove my motorcycle through a herd of cows….three times. Got plenty of practice driving the same motorcycle through puddles, mud, narrow dirt paths, and across plank “bridges.” Ate Thai food at a Cambodian restaurant with Japanese people while the proprietor cranked up the John Denver and Johnny Cash, just for us. In the process of using the roll of toilet paper in the bathroom, made

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-84318760002475689622009-06-16T03:42:00.005-06:002009-06-16T07:54:34.249-06:00

Last week was the annual FHCambodia staff retreat. Monday morning, all the Anlong Veng staff headed south, and the Phnom Penh staff headed north, and we all converged in the middle in the city of Siem Reap. Siem Reap is one of the big tourist destinations in Cambodia, because of it's nearness to the Angkor Wat ruins. This means that there are lots of hotels around, hence it being the site of our

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-59892860036839508292009-06-01T02:53:00.002-06:002009-06-01T03:17:14.109-06:00

Here is the FHCambodia Anlong Veng staff! International staff included--you can see my pale face shining out from the back row on the right, and if you look closely you can find another white person or two, and two from Japan. Altogether, I think there are around fifty staff--not sure if everyone made it into this picture or not.I have officially been in Anlong Veng for one week now. Currently,

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-53691139360675357212009-05-18T03:24:00.004-06:002009-07-20T02:25:28.054-06:00

So, last Friday I bought a bicycle. The old-fashioned, single speed, pedal variety. It's the first bike I've owned since the green Huffy I won from Channel 2 in a contest in second grade. As you can probably tell from that long gap in bike ownership, I'm not much of a bike rider. But, because exercise options here are somewhat limited, and because driving a motorcycle around has gotten me back in

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-79152603903823558752009-05-03T21:09:00.003-06:002009-05-03T21:31:52.809-06:00

The rainy season has officially been here, in full force, for the last two weeks or so. Typically it starts in May, so mid-April was a little early--although the hot season came early this year, too, so the rainy season was more than welcome to start when ever it felt like it. We've had some big stormy downpours, and a few lighter rains as well. The downpours do a good job of flooding anything

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-60374144369029709532009-04-20T01:47:00.007-06:002009-04-20T02:14:54.260-06:00

So.Today is my first day back in the Phnom Penh office after three weeks of travelling to and fro. I spent one week, give or take, in each of the following places: Anlong Veng, attending a training for the FH staff there; Siem Reap, a mid-Cambodian city, meeting with my contact person from FHUS; and in Phuket, Thailand, for a vacation with two friends. At the moment I am glad to not be on a bus,

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-45116072709026291372009-03-23T03:02:00.003-06:002009-03-23T03:13:10.390-06:00

I’m assuming that everyone reading this has, probably more than once, had the experience of getting something done at the DMV. Keep that DMV encounter in mind as you keep reading—you may soon appreciate it a little more!Today I got to experience the Ministry of Transportation—DMV Cambodian style. Before today my most exciting DMV story involved trying to find parking, walking through some

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-20862337019144170912009-03-17T03:39:00.006-06:002009-03-20T03:10:34.798-06:00

So...ongoing language study. I'm still doing it. And it still wears me out. Lately I've been learning grammar, and trying to figure out the ins and outs of Khmer sentence structure. In a lot of ways the language is very simple. For instance, there are no verb forms. In English, we change the verb "to cook" depending on subject and tense: I cook, I cooked, I am cooking, he cooks, they will cook,

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-58976630640067893562009-03-04T03:12:00.009-07:002009-03-05T03:19:06.589-07:00

While I've been busy learning Khmer, I've also been in the process of building new relationships here in Cambodia. This, of course, is important on a number of levels: relationships are a great way to practice language and learn about culture, they are good for my sanity, they are the means through which I will hopefully be able to impact people's lives (and have mine impacted in return), and so

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-37374561674968075792009-02-18T19:21:00.002-07:002009-02-18T19:55:58.000-07:00

This is too rich not to share. Here at the FHCambodia Phnom Penh office, the lead accountant is a Burmese lady (from Myanmar) named Theingi (pronounced "teeng-gee"). She lives here in the city with her brother. Last Friday, most of the staff here, including Thiengi and her bother, went to a wedding: one of the other accounting staff members has an adopted son, and he is the one who got married.

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-9376268224652713682009-02-05T20:01:00.007-07:002009-02-05T20:26:48.325-07:00

1. The best thing about using a motorcycle is driving fast past all the little white tourists.2. If you want to make ramen noodles even more nutritious than they are in their natural state, fry them in oil and add some sugar and soy sauce. Veggies and meat are optional.3. Merging is preferable to stopping and looking. Unless, of course, it would have been better for your health to have stopped

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-20284867890488245012009-01-26T00:39:00.002-07:002009-01-26T01:09:56.631-07:00

As you probably know, my main task these days (and until sometime in May) is language study. The Cambodian country has it's own language, called Khmer (pronounced "kuh-my"). Khmer has it's own script/alphabet, so I am learning new vocab, new grammar, and new ways of reading and writing, not to mention new ways of producing sounds. Khmer has one of the largest numbers of consonant and vowel

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-86957605727292767502009-01-21T20:29:00.004-07:002009-01-21T20:49:56.912-07:00

So a few weeks ago the light in my bedroom stopped working. (The same night, the electrical outlet by the lightswitch got infested by ants, but I think that was just a coincidence) The light still does not work--we need to get a new fixture or electrical box or something along those lines, which will happen eventually. But--in the process of trying to figure out why the light wasn't working, we

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-83168548836293176142009-01-14T02:51:00.002-07:002009-01-14T03:19:21.530-07:00

So I usually post about something to try and be informative--this time, I figured I'd just give you a little glimpse into what's been going on. In general, my days are as follows: wake up around 5:45, leave for the office a little after 7, attend staff devotions at 7:30 for 45 minutes or an hour, spend the rest of the morning doing language study and online communication and whatever other

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-35805475841255115972009-01-08T02:22:00.004-07:002009-01-08T03:36:35.347-07:00

Ok, I'm a little behind the times with my Christmas posts, but here you go anyways. Thought you might like to see my gift from our office gift exchange. Everyone picked someone else's name from the pot and bought them a gift--in the US equivalent, a decently nice gift, in maybe the $15-20 range (here, $5-10). In Asia, you do not give gifts halfheartedly, even if you are not the wealthiest person

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-40510239565801261122009-01-02T00:07:00.005-07:002009-01-02T00:30:45.446-07:00

So, Cambodian cuisine--it offers quite a few tasty dishes (and a few more...interesting options. Tarantula or fermented fish paste, anyone?). And one of the highlights of food in Cambodia is the number of yummy fruits available, most of which are unlike anything available in the States. Culturally, fruits are often given as gifts, or served occasionally as a dessert. They are also eaten as snacks

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-47905028531849709162009-01-01T20:49:00.002-07:002009-01-01T21:08:52.178-07:00

And that, my friends, is Khmer for "Happy New Year"!!!! (a loose direct translation of it is "hello year new.") So--welcome to 2009! Hope you were all able to celebrate as last year wrapped up and we head into this one. I have had good intentions of blogging some more about Christmas, but here it is already past New Year's and that hasn't happened, so...we'll see if I can get to it in January.

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-67688743395518452612008-12-19T01:39:00.003-07:002008-12-19T01:59:34.948-07:00

Christmas is in fact celebrated in Cambodia, although I am learning bit by bit about what that actually looks like. Christmas trees appeared at the beginning of December in some of the shops and restaurants, complete with blinking lights, tinsel garlands, and big "Merry Christmas!" signs hanging under the stars at the top of the tree. I've also seen some lovely little Santa outfits for babies

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-50406511535391458102008-12-19T01:33:00.003-07:002008-12-19T01:39:28.253-07:00

So, if you haven't seen this picture yet, here you go--the official shot of me on my motorcycle! I've basically gotten the hang of driving it around--as in I feel comfortable on it, although I still take is a little slower and more cautiously that the average Cambodian :) The basket in the front is very handy for after trips to the market or grocery store. And I don't get saddle sore anymore,

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-82632264113492689512008-12-04T22:01:00.003-07:002008-12-04T22:07:29.391-07:00

Which means: "My head is tired!". A very useful phrase in Khmer which I made sure to learn. I can say it approximately ninety times a day when my poor brain is weary from studying and from all the general learning associated with being in a new culture. Lots of new things to absorb! As of one more tutoring session this afternoon, I will be happy to have made it through my first full week of

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-433018215452161892008-12-02T02:35:00.003-07:002008-12-02T02:53:18.843-07:00

I don't know how closely the situation in Bangkok has been watched in the US news, but being as how Thailand is one of our next door neighbors, we have heard quite a bit about it. I am no expert on the situation, but if you don't know much, here are a few basics: there has been a strong anti-government group in Thailand for some time. This group has staged many demonstrations and done things like

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-37228514590257699622008-11-30T21:52:00.003-07:002008-11-30T22:05:01.393-07:00

So, I am once again long overdue on getting something blogged on here. And my time before lunch is running short, but here's a few tidbits about what it's like to move to Cambodia. This will sum up my first two weeks here for your reading enjoyment! More pictures and info and hopefully a few video clips will be coming, hopefully before too long.What it's like to move to Cambodia....*You spend

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-83972992830066966462008-10-31T10:49:00.003-06:002008-10-31T11:08:20.700-06:00

Landmines: yes, Cambodia has them. This is another topic I am often asked about. Cambodia actually has quite a few landmines, remnants of years of conflicts between several different factions. Buried in the ground, they were originally intended to kill or maim enemy soldiers or to explode advancing tanks and other heavy equipment. Unfortunately, even though the conflicts are over, the mines are

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-70402935803999759342008-10-20T11:53:00.002-06:002008-10-20T12:03:26.996-06:00

So I never imagined that my itinerary to SE Asia would include a journey via Alaskan Airlines....but such is reality! And having an itinerary means that the good news of course is this--my funding is all in, and I am headed to CAMBODIA! The time has actually come! It has been good to see God's provision throughout this process and now to see His timing as well.Back to itineraries: I leave exactly

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-3858226772207691162008-09-22T14:48:00.006-06:002008-09-22T15:21:19.076-06:00

...fall, that is. I'm still wondering why spring and summer are no longer around. Spending the year in limbo, with no set schedule and each day looking very much like the ones before and after it, has left me with a floating sense of time. But, with fall just beginning, I am still hopeful that I'll be in Cambodia before it wraps up. On that topic, things continue to get closer. My one-time funds

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-38354033733813544832008-09-04T17:07:00.005-06:002008-09-04T18:04:23.139-06:00

I've been in the mood lately to watch movies--which I suppose means I should go rent something. But--just in case you also wouldn't mind watching a movie or two, here's a few video clips from Cambodia :) Here's a clip during a church service at the KFC Church in Anlong Veng. Anlong Veng, you may recall, is the town I'll be spending most of my time in in northern Cambodia. And while the

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-46377303978902473752008-08-20T15:11:00.002-06:002008-08-20T15:17:00.699-06:00

Sorry, no pictures this time, just a quick update on where things stand! As of this week, my support needs are down to about $400 a month and only $2000 in one time funds--great! Things continue to progress, which is good, and which is also an encouragement--although I am also sitting down today to make the official list of all the details I need to take care of before I actually head out: go to

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-63338182299723215842008-07-30T12:59:00.004-06:002008-07-30T13:22:01.707-06:00

"Hmmm, what should I blog about this time? Let's see, what pictures haven't I used yet?...Oh, transport, perfect!"So here you go :) Yes, motorcycles (motos for short) are quite the common and practical mode of transport in Cambodia, and yes, I will have one myself. And yes, as you can see in the picture, helmets are available and I will have one.While many people in Cambodia's cities have cars or

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-52415095195917359932008-07-14T14:53:00.004-06:002008-07-14T15:37:33.926-06:00

So--on my official support report from earlier today (I get them once a week), I am now at exactly 70% of my monthly support needs! And in a close second, I have 68% of my one-time funds. So what does this mean? It means that I need another $702 pledged each month, as well as a little over $8,000 more in one-time funds. Compared to my total needs ($2330 each month, and $25,600 one-time), these

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-67896755917832950892008-07-03T17:46:00.002-06:002008-07-03T18:12:35.672-06:00

So the tidbits from Cambodia continue...just like in any culture, Cambodian culture has typical ways to greet people. For us Americans--we have the "Hey, how's it going?," a smile, maybe a handshake and some small talk. In Cambodia, a greeting is often accompanied by a gesture (as seen above) called a sampeyar. Similar gestures are used in cultures in India and elsewhere in Asia. In Cambodia,

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-38765579091891780552008-06-03T12:20:00.003-06:002008-06-03T14:13:25.271-06:00

For your viewing enjoyment...a little video of Cambodian dancing! This was the last night of the FHCambodia staff retreat, at the end of my second week in the country. After a big and tasty banquet, it was time to party! Karaoke and dancing are a common way to celebrate in Cambodia--at events such as this one, at weddings--we even danced a few times as a fun break during our staff training

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-71126792089760964962008-05-28T20:09:00.002-06:002008-05-28T20:14:35.287-06:00

A little break from Cambodia news...as you have probably heard, a series of tornados went through several Western/Midwestern states the end of last week. The first of these touched down just outside of Gilcrest, CO, where I am currently living. Right in town we had some pretty crazy wind, but we didn't even know there had been a tornado until after it had passed. A few houses, barns, electric

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-10358089018774355172008-05-12T15:04:00.003-06:002008-05-12T15:33:57.900-06:00

I figure I might as well stick with the food theme--get ready to learn all about Cambodian cuisine! As you can see in the picture, yes, we often ate with chopsticks. Although using a fork and spoon--one in each hand--is just as common. Typical meals start with white rice, to which is added various soups and stir-fried dishes. Cambodian food is not spicy, although sometimes it has a little kick,

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-6889221019645215032008-05-06T14:59:00.006-06:002008-05-06T15:38:26.235-06:00

As of Saturday night, I am back in good old Colorado, enjoying the spring weather after managing to go to Cambodia during their hottest season of the year...And so, my plan now is to give you a virtual tour of what I saw, complete with photos, a few video clips, and plenty of factoids :)Say you're in Cambodia and want a snack, local style--one option is to buy a few of the round, green things on

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-22228032113014392522008-04-25T09:25:00.002-06:002008-04-25T09:54:02.569-06:00

Well....I am now posting from Cambodia! Which of course is exciting, but also means that I have a slow internet connection, and to my pictures would not upload :( So--those will have to wait until I'm back in the States. But--you are lucky enough to be able to to read about how things have been.I've been here a week tomorrow, and after a day and two nights in Phnom Penh (the capital city), we

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-43928854746145724312008-03-17T16:13:00.002-06:002008-03-17T16:29:37.593-06:00

So, I keep thinking how much easier it will be to blog when I'm actually in Cambodia, because I'll have a ready supply of cultural pictures and anecdotes to share. Right now I could tell you how I spent my day doing laundry, e-mailing people, and so on, but that's not quite an interesting as if I were telling you how I did laundry by hand in a Cambodian stream and hung it out to dry under my

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-68701940305856187312008-02-29T14:13:00.002-07:002008-02-29T14:39:09.638-07:00

I'm usually not consumed by thoughts of money, but support raising has a way of constantly putting the issue in front of your face :) Add to that that it's tax season, and that Food for the Hungry works to alleviate poverty--and you end up with lots of topics involving resources and how to obtain them and what to do if they are lacking.For me personally, this whole process has involved quite a

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-3955230968747800012008-02-14T21:52:00.003-07:002008-02-14T22:13:26.453-07:00

One of the big upsides of raising support is that it means spending lots of time with people--old friends, new contacts, and everyone in between. Lately this meeting time took the form of a classic roadtrip through my old college stomping grounds in Toccoa, Georgia, as well as Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia. Not a bad way to spend a week! One of my old roommates, Bethany, shared her car

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-68982604697905704362008-01-19T12:20:00.000-07:002008-01-19T12:30:01.070-07:00

I have a new nephew! Ethan Douglas McMurdo popped into the world in the early morning hours of Jan. 18th, weighing in at around eight pounds. I had the chance to go visit him and his family (my brother, sister-in-law, and two nieces) at the hospital, and he and his momma were both doing well. I've got to soak up all the niece and nephew time I can while I'm still in the country! Now to go

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-69000823810171477812008-01-08T16:46:00.000-07:002008-01-08T17:02:28.242-07:00

It is official--I am no longer an employee of Open Door Ministries. A huge responsibility off my shoulders, but I will miss aspects of it all the same. I was well sent-off, with a goodbye party with the kids, another with staff, flowers, cake--the whole shebang! The pic here is some friends (I'm taking the photo) at the staff goodbye party after-party (or something like that :) ).So now--on to

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-27303280785881220792007-12-16T21:34:00.000-07:002007-12-16T21:46:36.572-07:00

Oops, I just realized I haven't posted for a month...sorry to anyone who has checked in the meantime. Time seems to just fly by. Speaking of...it is currently Sunday evening, and I am down to my final five days as an employee of Open Door Ministries. I am eager to be done, although of course I will miss the kids and my coworkers. I've spent the last month or so training up my replacement director

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-35633522696524369692007-11-14T19:23:00.000-07:002007-11-14T19:29:22.824-07:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that I had a near brush with death last weekend ( see photo for proof). I went hiking with my roommate and "fell" off the mountainside...luckily no lasting harm was done :)We hiked to the top of a peak called Mt. Vigil, which is located on a trail starting at Bear Trap Ranch in Colorado Springs. I worked at Bear Trap, a camp and conference center run by

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-80114473574122437142007-10-27T10:15:00.000-06:002007-10-27T10:35:04.532-06:00

As I write this, Denver is cool and cloudy (which I love), the trees are changing, and we had our first snow fall of the year a week ago. In short--fall is here. Which means plenty of fall activities for our preschoolers, generally involving pumpkins and leaves to some extent or other. We took our annual fieldtrip to the pumpkin patch yesterday (Friday the 26th), and were glad to find a dusty

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718536889463388720.post-3542118525226260792007-10-07T16:26:00.000-06:002007-10-07T16:41:30.759-06:00

Ok, so, I have officially started this blog as a communication tool--anyone who wants can get updates here more regularly than through my newsletters. And I want to hear from all of you a well! So read, post comments, give me feedback about what you want to know. Please also feel free to always direct other interested people here as well. You may have received literature from me at some point

Katie McMurdonoreply@blogger.com0