The team really needed a day of rest, and since the kids were in school today, we took the time to meet together, have extended quiet time, sleep in a little, and have an American breakfast. Some of us even took in a $6 massage. Wonderful. The head and shoulder massage did wonders to relieve sinus pressure and fluid buildup.  It is very dusty and dry here which can mess with your sinuses.

We met the kids from both of our homes at the Bar B Q.  This is such a treat for them and they love it!!! Most foods are on a buffet and raw.  You collect what you want, then return to your table to cook it on your tables little fire. You will have to ask each team member about some of the unique foods they got to try.

This was the first time both homes were together with us.  We were wondering how it would go, but the kids blended nicely and there wasn’t any jealousy about which group any one of us happen to be with at the moment.  Of course we tried to get around to everyone. It is more difficult with 50 kids though. But they are all so beautiful, you make time for each one. I still can’t imagine ever being able to walk away from any of these kids if they were mine and I had the means to care for them at all. None of them deserve such abandonment and rejection from the very ones who are supposed to love, care and protect them. I am overwhelmed with love for these kids and can never fully express how happy I am to meet these kids and know that people from our church, part of the family of God, are reaching out clear across the world to rescue them.  The words do not exists to tell you completely what your financial and prayer support means to these children.  I urge you, when you have the chance to write to them, send pictures of your family, and pray for them, do it! Some days it is all they have to hang on to. One little boy we met in our new home whose mother died and father rejected him, also just lost his aunt.  He attended her funeral while we were there.  It was so difficult for him to be happy while we were there. But I know, in time, with love from his house parents and letters and prayers from his sponsors and our church, he will make it.  Just so much emotion for one little boy to have to deal with.

These kids pray for us, so please pray for them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Tuk tuk like like what Sambo needs. Yep. 20 kids can get on that!

 

Today is Sunday. Happy 50^th anniversary to my parents!

This is a full day as well as our last day with the kids. We began it with worship with all the Battambang homes (10 of them). This is an experience in itself.  I tell you, when they sing “Shout to the Lord”, they are shouting with all their hearts. It is a massive blend of voices singing with full hearts. We are always blessed to worship with them.

Home 1 prepared lunch for us. Yes, French fries again. Not sure who told them Americans like fries, but we have them every meal they prepare or order for us. I have eaten more fries in one week here than 3 months at home. They are fresh cut and fried though!  Very yummy! We have even started to like their form of ketchup. It is more like tomato sauce. Taste fresher though! I love to spend time in the kitchen with the older kids and staff helping and watching them prepare the food. All coking is done on the floor.  They do not have counter tops. They cook over fire or a two-burning gas stove that sits on the floor. Like a camper’s stove. I was able to prepare the hot sauce they have with every meal. I smashed hot peppers and garlic in a wooden bowl with a wooden smasher.  Then we added chili sauce and squid sauce.  After stirring that, hot water and lime juice freshly squeezed was added.  Yummy in small doses!!!! Really hot!

We gave gifts to each home separately then. Fist home 1. The kids were so very excited to receive pj’s and socks.  They are were giggling and talking and trying on their pj’s over their clothes and posing for pictures.  They were all very happy.  Home 2 had the same reaction.  The pezz  candy was a big hit.  After they finished the candy and the refills, they found ways to play with the dispensers and carried them around the rest of the day, even to the park later that day. Thank you to our sponsors for providing these gifts. It has been cool in Cambodia too, so the warm pj’s are a treat!

AT 2 we headed to the park.  This was the same park Zac, Jamie and I took the kids to a couple of years ago. More rides were open though and so was the pool. For the first hour, kids rode the amusement park style rides.  You have to understand though, the safety rules we have in the US are non-existent here.  It is pretty wild in our Western minds.  I said only in Cambodia do the goats run from underneath the roller coaster track as your cars come flying down the hill. There is no such thing as sitting on the ride at all times or even waiting til the ride comes to a complete stop before getting on or off a ride. It is really quite amusing.

The second hour was spent swimming. The pool had a large elephant inflatable slide at one end.  It was cold water, but the kids went anyway.  The kiddie pool was very large, but they had just started putting water in it.  That didn’t stop the little ones though.  It was like a giant slip n slip! I joined the little ones diving on the slippery surface which had about an inch of water covering most parts.  The kids had a lot of fun splashing me and each other. The team had an awesome time in the pool with the older kids.  Smiles abounded!

After changing, we had dinner there. And yes, they ordered us French fries! Then the kids jumped on the trampolines and rode more rides.  I ate so much, I didn’t think I had better join them.  So I just sat with those who were taking longer to eat.  Wow, do those little kids eat.  Kim Hab had two plates of fried noodles with meat and veggies, where I couldn’t even finish one.  He is a big eater in a little body says his house mom. Same with some of the other little children.  Where do they put it all?

Torrey picked up the flu that Tim had that has been going around,  I know some of the little kids from our home had low grade fevers or had been sick.  Tim went with Torrey back to the hotel for a couple of hours while we were at the park, then joined us at dinner.  She was feeling a little better and wasn’t going to miss the last night for anything.

We left to return to the homes for a combined home dance party! The speakers were set up outside and turned up as loudly as possible.  We had everything from Khmer dancing, to country line dancing to hip hop to break dancing. We had it all. After enough dancing for me, I sat down to take it all in.  There was the team, even Torrey, dancing and smiling and swinging the kids.  There were the kids, with the biggest smiles on their faces, laughing and dancing and holding on to us. Half way through, there was Nga sitting with Tim holding on to him knowing what was coming next.  She starts early. Such precious faces, such joy, such a picture of how their lives should be. Such blessing falling upon us as we serve and love the forgotten, the rejected, the least.  They are so great in the eyes of our Lord. They are so great in ours as well.

The music stopped. Vannak made the dreaded announcement. Time to start your goodbyes.  The mood changes, the tears and tight hugs begin as we make our way from child to child barely getting free from some of their grasps. Zac shared how one little boy wouldn’t let go of his legs.  He just kept crying and looking up at Zac with big sad puppy eyes as the crocodile tears ran down his face. It was almost more than Zac could bear. As Zac put it, this is one of the best and the worst parts of the trip. Those who were joking around now bear their deepest emotions with us. It is heart wrenching, but at the same time, paints a clear picture of why we come, why we sacrifice to rescue these kids. For me, this is at the top of the joy list of things I could be doing. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who gave, who prayed for us, and for all those who support this orphan care ministry.

I never tire of coming.  It never becomes routine. My heart is touched in new and fresh ways each time I spend time with our kids here. Pray for all of us as we begin our journey home.  Parts of our hearts will be heavy with joy, other parts with sorrow for having to leave. Be patient with our team as we reenter our culture with a keener awareness of God’s work in our lives. It may take us awhile to get up to the American speed of life as we will be pulled and drawn back into our memories of our lives the last two weeks. Pour hearts are full, and we have much to share.

Today we sit on a bus to Phnom Phen.  Torrey still isn’t feeling the greatest.  Liz is out cold I think. Others are reflecting while listening to our music. Some are taking in the sights around us as we travel the dusty roads stopping occasionally to let vendors on the bus to walk the isles with food and fresh fruit to buy. Tonight we will have dinner and try to connect with Pheakdey, a friend of mine. Tomorrow we will visit the Killing Fields and a place of torture during the Khmer Rouge.  It will be a heavy day emotionally as we experience in person the terror that took place  in the mid to late 70’s here where millions of people were brutally murdered just for being educated. The rest were enslaved inn work camps little 3 pieces of rice a day to eat. Many died because of the conditions. Mine fields were buried in many places to keep people from fleeing. The atrocities that occurred here are unspeakable, and therefore I will not go into more detail here. But God has not forgotten this country or its people.  He is calling people here to Himself, and they are responding.  Please pray for Cambodia!

Told you we did  a lot today.

Friday we had the opportunity to go to Poi Pet, a very poor village about an hour and a half from Battambang right near the Thai border.  A man named Sambo has a ministry there called Children’s Ministry Cambodia.  I had the privilege of meeting him a few years ago and have been very impressed with his heart for the Lord and for his service to his community. Sambo takes care of 18 street children in addition to his own family. He also recently started a Christian school and has 310 students from the community. The school meets in a small building.  They hold classes 3 times a day to get all the students into class.  SO students either will attend class in the morning, the afternoon or the evening. He also has a soccer ministry to give the kids on the street something constructive to do rather than sit around and sniff glue.

He has many needs as he has been funding much of his work by himself by taking jobs as a tour guide or driver for foreigners.  His English is perfect.  He also advertises cars for his friend who sells cars in another village several hours away.  If he finds someone who wants to buy a car, he drives them to Siem Reap to meet his friend and his business there. He receives a percentage for doing this.

His school is funded 70% from tuition.  He hopes to have 500 students next year which will fully fund the school.

He is currently saving money for 2 needs.  His first need is for a tuk tuk.  He has no way of transporting his family and the 18 kids who live with him.  One tuk tuk will carry 20 people.  See picture. You won’t believe it.  But it is true. We have ridden with kids from Grace Place on tuk tuks that full.  A well used tuk tuk, which is what their taxis are here, goes for about $1600. A new one will cost over $2000. Depending on the condition of the tuk tuk, it would cost somewhere in between.

His second need at the moment is for funds to complete the dorm he is building for the boys who live with him.  He purchased land just down from the house he rents.  He started the building then ran out of money.  Here they build what they can until the money runs out. Then they save until they have enough to start building again.  Little by little the homes get built.  This dorm has a metal structure and cement floor completed.

The land is 8mx40m. To complete the dorm to house 10 boys he needs $250 for electric, $180 for clean water to be piped to the home, $2200 to complete the shelter, $350 for one toilet, $340 for sewer lines which totals $3320. Yes, that is correct. $3320 to build the dorm. This price will go up when the road in front of the property is paved sometime next year.  He also hopes to build a house for his family and the girls on the same property before the road is paved.  He lives in a rented house which keeps get more expensive as the owner knows the road will be paved in a year and wants more and more money. It would be better to have his own place so he is not at the mercy of then homeowner.

After lunch, an intense soccer game with the Cambodian kids versing the International team (Zac, Nathan, Sambo and three kids from Australia whose family is hear for 2 months teaching English at the school) and a tour of the school, we got ready to head back. Before we left, we noticed a little store beside the school where Sambo’s kids were hanging out. I asked Sambo about it. His wife opened the store to help make money for the school. So we took a few minutes to buy a few gifts for people and some snacks. I even found a certain item I was wanting to take to the kids in Thailand next trip, so I bought those too. I just love it when I can help several people at the same time with a purchase.

Sambo drove us back to BB, and as we said goodbye, we had the opportunity to bless him and his ministry with a little extra money some people sent along with us in order to bless someone we met along the way.  Sambo was just the person we wanted to bless this way.

Dinner tonight was with John, Cathy and Jesse Dewit from Canada whom Zac and I had met about a year and a half ago.  They recently moved here to head up Bright Start.  They introduced us to a newer restaurant in town and we enjoyed great fellowship with them as they shared their daily blessings and struggles with us. John is researching and planning job training for those Asia’s Hope kids who do not want to go to college. There is a technical school here, but the struggle is getting kids to understand what it is.  They think it is just more school, and they do not want to go to school anymore.  John is trying to show them how they can get training for a skill that they might like to do in order to support themselves and one day a family. I think after the first one goes and can report back to the others, more will want to go. 

Well that was enough to pile into one day, so we headed back to the hotel for a team meeting and much needed sleep.

Note: Tim caught the flu going around and spent last night and today at the hotel. Better somewhat tonight though.

 Christian school in Poi Pet

 Pointing to Poi Pet on the map.  It is very near the boarder of Thailand 1 1/2 hrs from Battambang.

 Sambo's ministry

 The International Team

 Afternoon students

Dinner with the Dewits

Hey, this is val. I just wanted to share some of the experiences that I have had that really stood out to me. Going back to being in Thailand I remember when we were giving out presents to all the kids, one little boy had not been given anything. He was one of the widows grandkids and we did not know he was going to be there. As the other kids were opening their kids, he sat there, not even complaining, just watching everyone open their presents. My brother Nathan, Torrey, and I quickly searched our backpacks for something to give to him. As we were doing this we looked over at him and a little boy that was sitting beside him saw he had nothing and gave him one of his presents. This really touched my heart. I have never seen anything like that before. It made me think to how we all act back home. We think that whatever is given to us is ours, but in fact its actually God's. Everything is a gift from him and we should be willing to give it away as quickly as it was given to us.
Now, here in Cambodia we had the amazing opportunity to be the first team to see our Grace Place 2 kids. They were very shy towards us at first and didn't say much. They soon warmed up to us though and were laughing and playing around. The next day we came back and as soon as they saw us walking down the road they came running from the home shouting our names and jumping into our arms. Seeing their smiles makes my heart just melt. These kids have been through so much in such a short time and it is amazing to see how God has changed their lives. One little girl name Soku was very attached to me from the first day. The second day that we were there she was holding onto my arm and then started pulling my arm down. I thought she wanted to tell me something so I bent down to listen. As I did she kissed my cheek and whispered, I love you, into my ear. I immediately embraced her into a tight hug and told her I loved her too. Moments like these are what makes me never want to leave them. My love for these kids is beyond anything I've ever felt before. It makes me think to how God loves us from the east to the west. It is an unconditionally love that will never be taken away. These kids have been abandoned, abused, and rejected, yet they are the happiest kids I have ever seen in my life. They know what being completely alone feels like. Jesus is always there for them and gives them complete happiness. They understand this and that is what gives them the most amazing smiles ever. It is incredible to listen to the visions for what they want to do in the future. God has given them so much hope and a new life, and they want nothing more than to share it with others. Many of them have talked about sharing the word of God with their villages and helping them to walk in the light. These kids have such an impact on everyone they touch. I went into this trip with the mentality that I would be changing the lives of these kids, but in fact, they are the ones changing my life. I have so much joy and peace being here with them. I honestly have no idea how I am going to be able to say good bye to them tomorrow. Please keep our team in your prayers as we head out on Tuesday to make our long journey home, Thank you!

Hello, this is Margot. Greetings from Cambodia!

Before the trip to S.E. Asia, I had no expectations other than the fact that I wanted to experience Christ's love firsthand and to broaden my cultural lens. Little did I know that these kids would freely bless us with their smiles, hugs, and their appreciation for being rescued from their past. So, in a nutshell, the following story is just one memory that I would like to pass along to you.

One little girl I met was very reserved. We were observing everyone open Christmas gifts before Christmas. I noticed that the kids opened up their gifts carefully. The girl who was beside herself needed a song; something to brighten her spirit. I felt the Holy Spirit leading me to sing with her. I sang Christmas songs with her and encouraged her that we were going to sing another one. Her voice was pretty and she was a great learner! The next morning during team time at the Bon Café in Wiang Pa Pao our team learned that she had struggled with depression and had even attempted suicide. Can you imagine not feeling support or having coping skills to deal with all of the abuse at only thirteen years old? My heart sunk and the tears flowed.

Fast forward to Christmas Eve day when we returned and she remembered our time together. Liz lead some of the girls in "Every Step I take" while we were spending quality time on the steps outside of the home. I observed the girl that had felt lonely; she now looked more peaceful. When it was time to say our goodbyes I encouraged her to "keep singing." I made the connection that God had wanted me to share my passion for singing with her all along.

No matter what we go through in our daily lives, we can be reassured that innocence is being restored and the healing process is taking place. These kids have taught me to be intentional and to make the most of each God-given moment. I'm excited to experience more life-changing moments during the remainder of this trip. Thank you for reading. We appreciate your thoughts and prayers!

Sorry it has been awhile since the last post.  The internet has been down at our hotel.  I will try to get you caught up today.

The day after Christmas we were able to meet with the Kanes before they had to head out to Phnom Phen.  We met at the noodle shop for breakfast noodles which come in a soup with dumplings and either beef, pork or duck.  The duck is delicious. Kevin and Jill took us to the ministry center where they work.  After some background on the ministry of the Grace Brethren Church in Cambodia, they gave us a tour and introduced us to some of the students there. We saw where the January work team from our church will be working and what they will be doing at the ministry center.

We then divided gals and guys. Kevin took the guys to one of our favorite shirt shop for guys.  Cambodian people are generally much smaller then Americans so Zac had to look at extra large sizes.  The sales clerk then asked Tim if he wanted to look for something. Tim responded that they probably didn't have anything to fit him. She agreed then said, "If you ran into me, I would die," and "your arms look very powerful." Kevin got a laugh out of that as he translated it for Tim.

Meanwhile, Jill took the ladies to the market.  We needed to pick up a gift we forgot at home for one of the little girls whose mom helps at Grace Place 1. So we found one there.  We also had a few errands like to the bank to do.  We also browsed the market to see if they had anything we might want to buy.

Then we met back up with the guys at the Secret Café for lunch. We enjoyed our time with Kevin and Jill learning more about the culture and their ministry.  The good and the bad.

The Kanes had to part, so the guys headed back to the hotel while the ladies decided to check out another market which proved to be fruitful.

We headed back to Grace Place then to spend time first with home one then home 2.  We attempted to teach home one how to play whiffle ball.  It took while, but eventually they started to catch on.
Since we had an invitation for dinner at home 2, home one kids walked us over.  Home 2 kids were waiting for us in the road, and as soon as they saw us, they ran to greet us.  Yep, they are warmed up to us.  They were all dressed up in their best dressed and clothes and looked adorable.  We played for awhile before dinner, then had a wonderful meal with them. After dinner were games and dancing!!! We were certainly tired at the end of that night.

 Tuk tuk ride

 Noodle breakfast

 Grace Place 2

House parents home 2