Catfish Pond Day

This morning we were all a little tired from the noise in the room last night.  The lizards had a fight is the best we can guess :)  There was screeching and scampering and Alfven said he saw one get thrown (or jump) from the high shelf.  We have decided this is like luxury camping :)  We usually wake also to the sound of someone who got up before us killing a bug with Benjamin's flip flop.  He gave his up for the cause.  This was Benjamin this morning as I was testing my camera.

This is the front of our apartment that looks out on the main hallway.  I love having the windows in the room!  When washing dinner tonight I looked out to see one of the girls hiding behind the freezer playing a game.  She looked up at me, smiled and put her finger to her mouth to be quiet.

The kids went about their chores, at breakfast and then the bell rang and they all went to study for a while.  Benjamin took some pictures of them keeping up their school skills.

It was time to wash our clothes again so we did that while the kids were studying.  We treated ourselves to laundry service at the hotel in Kep but this morning we were all out at the tubs again.  The water went out right away so Alfven and Grace helped carry buckets of water to our wash basins.  One of the workers saw us ferrying water over and she brought out a full 5 gallon bucket of water.  She was so tiny and so strong!

We went and visited the animals this morning and found the cows in the barn.  Just thought it was a cool picture.  It reminded me of Jesus' birth in a stable.  This place also makes me ponder the foot washing that was so important in His culture because it makes sense in this life style.

This is a picture of the girl's dorm.  We went in to find the girls after their naps to see if they wanted to paint nails.  We bought a ton of nail polish with Ream and just hadn't broken it out yet.  Every day most people here in Cambodia take a nap.  Today it made total sense because it was very hot mid day.

We found the kids outside and hung out with them for a while.  They are teaching me how to say "Cambodia is for Christ" which was a great song they sang at church.  While we were chatting one girl said she wants to travel all over the world when she gets older.  She named all sorts of places like Paris, New York and then she said "And your house".  I told her she would always be welcome at my house :)  Her response was a precious giggle.

Some of the older girls came by and asked if I wanted to go to the market with them. I love the market!  It's fascinating to me.  The people, the way things are sold, the scenery.  This is a picture of a photo processing place.  The girls who asked me to go with them wanted to get some pictures made.  Kara is in the front of the picture.  The folks here are so gracious and anxious to put their best foot forward.  They go to great lengths to make sure guests are comfortable and taken care of.

I found this house in the middle of the market street.  It has the medicine sign and I am wondering if this is the witch doctor's house that Kit was talking about.  I need to ask him.

Rachanna and Keo went with Kara, Grace and I and they treated us to some Cambodian cakes.  They are the small white/beige rice cakes in the top dish.  They are served on lettuce leaves and cucumbers.  Then there is a sauce that goes over them with peanuts, orange juices and coconut milk.  At least I think that's what was said.  It was very sweet of them!  This is the house right across from the school.

We returned home after buying some of the best drink ever!  Winter Melon Tea!  When we got in we were greeted by this scene.  Al was out helping Kit get ready to drain the catfish pond.  Ream's dad had bought new baby catfish for farming and they needed to empty the pond of the large catfish or they would just eat the little ones.

Some of the boys got into the pond and started cutting apart the large overgrown mass of vegetation!  Notice the kid in far left greens!  Joseph helped them pull out the vegetation to the side of the slope and they let the goats go at it for the rest of the afternoon.  The goats thought they had gone to heaven!

The water from the pond was pumped into several empty pig stalls in the barn.  The first one had been lined with plastic for housing the little fish from Ream's dad.  The other two were to contain the water so it can be used for watering the crops during daily chores.  Whenever there were water leaks in the pens some boys got shovels full of mud and packed the corners to stop the leaking.

This is the slow release of the little catfish into the containment pen.  They are praying these grow full and large and get a good price at market.

Some of the vine pulling up the slope.

Once the pens were full the rest of the water was pumped to the grass.  Of course this was an invitation to start water wars :)

The boys tried to get the girls that were hanging out chatting but thankfully for them the hose didn't go that far!

Then out came the net to catch the big catfish in the pond.

They drew it across the pond 2 times and caught 7 fish this size!!

 
One of the measurements on the fish was 3 ft. 4 inches and 5 kilos.  It wasn't the biggest caught though because Kit had tagged the biggest fish in the pond so he knew this wasn't it.

The boys had a blast carrying the fish down to the pens of extra water.  

This is Mangju and On and they looked like the matched to day :)

Weed and Sengho are starting to become hams for the camera!

One of the fish in the fry pan.  It was a smaller fish that Tate caught and cooked up for himself.

We are excited to to see what the Lord prepares for us to do tomorrow.  Tomorrow is our last full day at the orphanage before we head to Phnom Penh :(  It's a weird feeling.