It's 4:40 in the morning and our friendly little alarm roosters are telling us it's time to start the day :) I tried to post pictures and blog last night but the computer was painfully slow and there have been roving power outages every day that make it difficult sometimes. Last night Kit also said they are having a problem with the water. There is a guy who lives down the street with a plentiful water supply but it would cost the orphanage to get it here and it is the brown color of all the other water around here. Kit is looking into filtration systems again. Below Al and Kit had started the day in the main room chatting up plans and vision for the Orphanage and School.
Yesterday we got to take the kids to the Zoo for a fun trip :) Our Sunday school class at church collected money for us to bring with us to use to help the kids. We used a portion of that to rent the truck, pay admission and purchase everyone a snack to enjoy! Thank you so much Sunday School! It was a blast of a trip for everyone! Below is the truck that the kids rent and ride in when they are able to go on longer trips. Our oldest three kids are in there too and they said it was awesome! Joseph was the tallest kid so he was easy to pick out, especially hanging off the back.
Kit had told us that Cambodia is dangerous and lawless :) It definitely is on the roads. The largest vehicle has the right of way and there are no lanes defined. Even in parts of the city! There are many unpaved roads and young kids, like 12 driving moto's. They will pile whole families and multiple people on one moto. Little babies on laps right behind the handle bars and such. Some of the kids here are orphans because their parents were killed on the road.
You will notice in the pictures our family all wore matching orange shirts. In the morning when we put them on I felt a little silly and the kids just sort of looked at us but it was a blessing to have them on at the zoo. At this zoo the animals will touch you :) This is part of the petting zoo. There were deer and monkeys that would come right up and bump into you to try to get something to eat. People sold bananas and foods to give to the animals but we didn't buy any. The animals didn't know that :) The second picture is from us looking at a bottle of drink one of the monkeys took out of one of our leaders backpack. The monkeys eventually had help opening it and drank it then stood up and walked off with the bottle. It was great fun to watch. Completely different than a zoo experience in America and the kids here loved it! They would laugh and try to engage the animals.
This is part of the "path" that we took to see many of the animals :) There were times when I really wasn't sure we were on one. But again, the kids loved it!
This is a portion of the group that we got to stop for a posed photo. There are three other missionaries here with us. Kara is from Hawaii. Selena is Cambodia native but lives in the states and Tommy who is also from the states but he's going to be moving here to teach English classes. Selena was the one who got the bottle taken from her backpack, she also got slimed by the larger deer with algae from a pond he had been drinking from and she posed this picture :) She is enjoying herself :)
Below is the snack stand that Ream helped us purchase snacks for the kids from. We then hung around the park which was very nice and ate our snacks. I chatted with some of the girls in High School. They have so many things that they want to do with their lives. Getting an education is a door to changing the world for them. It is for us in the states too but we forget that. Here for a girl to finish her high school degree is rare to say the least. One of these girls who had been living in bushes with her mother, selling cow droppings at local villages to make money and starving at the age of 9, she wants to become a translator and help the poor people. Another girl whose parents were killed wants to become a nurse. One of the boys who is very responsible with taking care of the little ones, wants to become and accountant. Awesome dreams!! They just need the chance and support to make them happen. These are also kids who love Jesus and see Him as Lord and Savior so their hearts are kind and loving.
Here the kids were making the birds talk. They would stand and repeat Khmer words until the birds said them and then they would laugh so hard!! It was so fun to watch and laugh along. They had the birds saying "worm" and "hi mom".
These were the snack stops all over the zoo. There were so many of them and the people would come up to sell you stuff and flag you down. There were many old beggars on the dirt road into the zoo. Ream said that sometimes the kids would throw them money out of the truck. Ream also said that these people would work in the zoo all year. This is their job. This is their life. Many had young children hanging around them as they tried to sell their goods. I am reminded that our's is a God who sees!!! He sees every person and every person is important to Him. He knows each one because He Created them. He sent Jesus so that we could be forgiven and have a precious relationship with Him. None are forgotten in the Lord's eyes.
We stopped at the elephants last. There were two and we were just hanging out watching them and staying back because they would throw water on you :) I was hanging with some of the girls again and one started laughing and saying the name was the same! She got so tickled at what she thought was funny and so did the others. It took me a while to figure it out. But one of the elephants names is "Aram". I realized the next time she called me that's what she was saying as my name :) It does sort of sound like "Erin" :)
When we got back, after lunch, it was time to do laundry :) Thankfully, Pow was there to help us girls learn the ropes on how to scrub in the basins. And I have to say she did an amazing job on Benjamin's socks!!! Better than our washer at home but a lot more work. I told her not to worry about it but she worked hard. Doing wash for a family of 6 is going to take us doing some everyday I think. The girls do their laundry one day and then the next is the boys and they alternate throughout the week, except for Sundays :) I'll post what happened to the laundry at the end though.
In the afternoon we pulled out 15 looms to do those Rainbow loom bands that are all the rage in the states. It was a very fun experience. Grace and her friend Cara had made a whole bag full to share with the group so we showed and gave those out. God was so good! I had hoped to get some looms to bring and on a last stop at Hallmark Friday before we left they had a ton on sale for $4.50 a piece!! I was so excited and snatched up a bunch. Grace took point on showing them how to loom. I tried but failed miserably on showing the starburst pattern. I even tried to show them the video on the computer but they were knock off brands so we needed a couple more rows of loom. Meanwhile, Benjamin was quietly working and brought over a beautiful fishtail band. He tossed it on the table where I was working and all the kids "Ooooo'ed and Aaaahhh'ed" and mine looked like a mess of knots and webs.
But they totally got into doing the regular and the fishtail bands! All the kids worked for hours until the bell rang for chores. Then after chores they were back in again :) Thankfully I brought lots of refills :)
And there were some very fun ways the bands were used too :) He wore his hair that way well after dinner and it was hilarious!
Some of the girls took Alfven, Grace, Anna and I to the village market. Below is what it looks like. People, moto's and large fast vehicles all use the same street. I can say this is probably one of the most worrisome things we did with our kids. Thankfully we were both there and the girls listened well. And it ain't a 35 MPH limit! On our trip to the zoo we saw the truck in front of us hit a dog. The dog ran to the side after going a bit under the front tire so I'm hoping it's okay. We walked down the dirt just off the pavement.
It was a wonderful experience though and I hope we go back soon. We got some bananas and fruit that no one knows the English word for but all the kids love it! I'll try to get a picture of it because it is very interesting. We got some bread and treated the girls who went with us to a street sandwich that they chose. They gave us a bite of it and it was very good! It had pork, cucumbers, another pickled vegetable and a sauce. We are trying to stay away from meat on the streets in hopes of staying well :) But it was delicious :)!
In the afternoon another strong rain came in. This is the laundry from the day. At least the ones that we didn't get off the line quick enough. When it rains all sorts of kids come running down the stairs and go grab any clothes off the line that they can before they get soaked. Because they use rain water for their drinking water I am humbled at their reliance on the weather. I think of Cathie Burke and the many times we have prayed for rain in Kenya. I think of the Lord's provision straight from His hand.
Cambodia is a beautiful country! It has palm trees and flowers in the middle of dirt ditches. It has beautiful skies and land with lush green rice paddies. It has people with great friendliness and warmth.
Alfven and the girls watching the rain at the end of the day.
No comments:
Post a Comment