Yesterday was full and fun again! In the morning I made it to the orphanage workers Bible study that Ream leads and again was blessed by hearing the Word and prayer in the Khmer language. The Scripture that I read was Matthew 6:14 to the end of the chapter. However, I am going to check with Ream today because I think we were supposed to be in Mark. I obviously don't understand what the conversation and comments are when in the group setting so when asked to add my own comments and thoughts about the Scripture I just say what touched me not knowing if I'm repeating or contradicting what someone has said. Last night when I went to reread the Scripture, I think I was commenting on the wrong Scripture! I'm sure they thought I was crazy and figured out I was in the wrong place but they are so polite they would never correct me!
I was very touched by Matthew 6 because it talks about not worrying about what to wear and what to eat. That if we seek first His kingdom and righteousness then He will provide. And Matthew 6:34 "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of it's own". Sitting in the no air conditioning with several ladies who this is their home and with very, very little material things, what a new stirring in my soul of those verses. I'm not sure those of us who are "blessed" with so many things are truly blessed sometimes.
Grace and I took a morning walk around the farm. It's so pleasant in the morning with all the animals and crops. The kids here are do their morning chores around 7 and their evening chores at 5. Each set lasts about an hour but some chores last longer and some less. If they finish early they are allowed to go help someone else with their chores and they do. The teamwork here is amazing!
Grace is walking between the barn on the left that has pig pens not used right now and chickens upstairs. The right side is where the goats and cows usually stay.
And when we looked over the fence this is what we got to see! The neighbor plowing his field. Now Joseph saw this picture and said I was the photo stalker in the bushes again :) But I had greeted the neighbor before I took his picture. Thankfully there is youtube and I have several phrases in Khmer memorized :) We've actually used them a lot especially when we went to the villagers houses.
We had set up the evening before to go with the High School students to the mountain in the morning. So around 7 there were three moto's and a tuk tuk to take us up to the mountain. We loaded the kids into the tuk tuk, a worker took herself and 2 others on her moto, Al and Joseph rode a moto and I took Rachanna on my moto. We headed out!
It had rained the night before so the roads were very muddy and that made them slick especially for Al's moto because it kept stalling and had no tread on the tires. It was like a muddy motor cross course, complete with cows, dogs, other moto's, kids, chickens, etc! The worker lady wound up in someone's front yard spewing mud on the people there, Al did drop lay the moto a bit on it's side and Joseph in the mud after hitting a very large hole and I just kept praying that the Lord would not let me drop Rachanna in the mud! I had a total advantage too because Rachanna had learned to ride a moto so she giving me hints and helps on where to go and best way to get through the mud.
The roads are so messed up because of all the bombing in the Khmer Rouge reign. I won't go into it deep here but if you read up it will help you understand Cambodia. Pol Pot got into power and his regime was called the Khmer Rouge. He wanted a peasant uprising and killed all those who were educated, government workers or anyone almost (if you wore glasses, village elders, etc). Anyway, in his craziness he bombed out the roads and infrastructure of the country and threw them back into the depths of third world. This is pretty recent because most people over 30 remember the regime and Pol Pot died in the very late 90's. The Killing Fields is a movie based on this time in Cambodia.
Below is the group that went with us and this was taken on our way back so if you notice Joseph is in the tuk tuk this time :)
We got to the mountain and it was beautiful! There were over 150 steep steps up the side of the mountain. It wasn't too hot until we started climbing them. In the pictures below you will see the entrance to the steps has the booths for selling refreshments and foods but we arrived too early to see it on the way up.
You will see Alfven and Anna starting up the steps here. The two little kids next to them met us at the base of the climb and followed us the whole time were were there. We knew there would be beggars and often people use their kids to do it but I think they actually just enjoyed hanging out with us. They found centipedes and would show us or point out things that they liked. They pointed out the monks and Buddhist rooms but we just said no and waved our hand no. If you see in the following pictures they will be in them, quietly in the background.
So we climbed the steps and came to this pretty little pagoda. From below I thought that was what the mountain was about but when I finally reached it I realized it was just for a rest which was sorely needed! By the time we reached the actual top I felt like Po in Kung Fu Panda when he reached the top of the steps. Both Alfven and I took Advil last night just to try and stave of the thigh pain :)
This is a picture of the group at the first large pagoda we came to. Apparently it was the monks bath house. It had a beautiful view of the land and most importantly, a breeze!
We did a little rock climbing on the side of the mountain but mostly took pictures. The kids really liked to take the posed pictures up here. We got smiles! They are shy sometimes but here you can see how they normally look. This is a wonderful group of girls! From the left to the right it's Wut, Pow, Rachanna, Jon and Keo.
We were all taking pictures and laughing so I did ask the little kids if I could get their picture at one point and they said yes. So this is them :) If you notice too, they did this whole climbing adventure with no shoes!
For those of you into horticulture I'll put in some of the very cool plant life we saw. This tree is growing right on the side of the building. The roots are outside the stone and fed by the continued running water down the side. I'm wondering if this is one of those banyan type trees but I'm not sure.
The girls pointed out the beautiful flowers growing up the trunk of this tree.
The kids would go down to the lotus flowers and pick the flowers and get the pods that have the lotus seeds in them and snack on them. We all tried the seeds and they were very good! It's amazing how resourceful they are with what grows naturally on the land. Kit says that he needs to teach them all these things so that they know and are respected in the villages if they choose to stay local as adults and go agriculture on farms of their own.
Then we got to the cliffside temple and king's house of ancient Cambodia. These ruins are older than Ankhor Wat. Benjamin was feeling king of the world!! But he also would not go in or get his picture taken because near the ruins because it houses a worship area to Buddha.
We grabbed treated the kids to a snack on the cliffside. The ice to keep the kids cool has to be carried up the mountain which I can't even imagine! We also bought the little kids who were following us something to drink. The girls chose that green fruit that they gave me at the zoo that you eat with the hot salt. Joseph said he likes spicy so when he ate it and started burning down his throat and drinking everything in sight they were laughing so hard. He was a good sport! Benjamin and Alfven tried it too and both were amazed at the heat in the salt! I knew enough this time to try very little salt and decline seconds :)
There was also shaved ice at the snack stop. This is Wut showing us how to use it and make herself one. It was an amazing old tool! We couldn't try the shaved ice because it was from unfiltered water.
When we got to the bottom of the mountain after exploring the little kids were still with us. I talked to Wut to see if it would be okay if I gave them some money. It has two sides to the issue and I do understand both but I'm not sure there is a hard and fast rule. The one side is that giving promotes begging and the parents sending their kids to beg. The other side is that the kids are in abject poverty and we are to follow Jesus example to give to the poor. And then which is the best way to give? We struggle with it on a different level in the states because we don't want to enable. Anyway, I chose to give a couple dollars which is about 8000 their money. Most people live on less than a dollar a day and I'm sure these kids were on the lower end of that. I tried to say the name of Jesus in Khmer so they would maybe someday understand that because of His love for me, I have love for them.
This is a photo of a man cleaning a bird at then base of the mountain for selling as a snack.
We headed back on a much dryer road and less adventuresome ride :) When we got back we started getting the farm ready for the End of School Carnival today. The Uys were in charge of the shooting booth, of course!! So Alfven and the kids stayed and worked while I went to a larger village market to shop with the workers.
Four workers and three kids and I took a tuk tuk to the market at a larger village. We are having a birthday party for the kids that have birthdays in July, August and September on Thursday and the workers take $10 for each child and ask what they want for their birthday. Rachanna's birthday is going to be celebrated so I asked her what she asked for. She said hair conditioner and clothes. It was awesome to see how they worked as a team, looking for just the right thing at the market and they would all agree that it would be good for Rachanna, or On or Chantrea. They would try clothes or sandals on to make sure they would fit. I loved the care that they chose for their friends! The workers held a list and kept track of what was asked for, what was bought and what was spent. There was definitely some haggling going on too :)
The market was like the ones of the pictures I posted earlier. Sort of like stalls in county fair barns. They were packed in every square inch with items for sale. Each seller wore a fanny pack and had their little booth to run. There were lots of various smells. Some not so good. There was trash in the walkways and so much trash on the street that was so dirty that it all looked the same color as the mud. There were also people riding moto's through the aisles of the market. A very different experience that I enjoyed!
On the way to the market I talked to Sothea who is one of the older guys here. He is taking his 12th grade exam in September and hoping to pass so he can graduate. The older kids, because they have to go to public school have to study extra because Kit and Ream will not let them pay for grades. It puts them at a great disadvantage but it's the way that is honorable and best for their learning. He is hoping to go to university in Phnom Penh and study architecture. He is bright and could have a wonderful future if given a chance and able to be funded. He said that he needs a $400 computer to be able to enroll in the architecture school and is praying to the Lord to provide the money he needs to buy it. There are no jobs around here to be had for these kids to make money. People are begging for food and making subsistence living. If you feel any desire to help him let me know. I need to check with Kit and see if there is any plan for getting him a computer but I am going to look into it.
When we came home I checked on Alfven's progress and he was doing great! There was a flurry of excitement for the carnival! And there is a mass of activity this morning getting ready for it too. Lots of excitement and laughter!
This is a picture of the burn area. The trash and field debris gets burned every morning and every evening. This is one of the first things that we say when we arrived last week and it made an impression on me. Still mulling over why. Maybe it's because the girl who tends it is so young. Maybe because it's so different than what we do with our trash. Maybe because it's very smart for this type of living environment.
Well I better run and help with the carnival! There's people going everywhere in preparations. The ladies in the kitchen were up before me getting things ready! I'll post how it goes :)
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