35 days...

Until we get to go [back] to Cambodia!! I have to be honost, its the shortest 18 hour + 5 hour flights I've ever taken because every time I go I never actually remember any of the flights.  I am too into the opportunity of a lifetime while I'm there.  It probably doesn't hurt that this is what we fly over in:

Or that these are the faces we get to see once we are there:

Kristie with Narin and Polin 

Het & Hang

Seinghai and Rothanak

Man, do I miss these kids!!!

A Whole New Team...

... is going to Cambodia in November and I get to be on it.  How freakin' excited am I!!!??!?!?!?  I have got to meet the entire team and I know we are about to have some fun together!  Please continue to follow this blog to watch the adventure continue as you meet the next round of travelers...  starting with me.

Let me re-introduce myself... I am Kristie and I'm blessed enough to go to Cambodia for the 4th time.  If you said I love being in Cambodia you would be right.  And I love, love, love the kids at our orphanage.

What do I do in Atlanta for fun??  I'm a crafty person - so knit, cross stitch, make stuff and watch Wheel of Fortune.  Sounds like I'm 93 right?? That is a running joke! Otherwise I love to hang out with my friends, eat food and laugh.

Cambodia in the news...

Stephanie from the mission trip team going to Phnom Penh in November (hey, did I tell you I'm on that team???!!!!!?!!?!) send an email out with some links on it about Cambodia.  You should check it out:

I ran across these short videos that talk about Cambodia. The second one will actually show the genocide camp that we have been to before.

Have a great weekend! Stephanie

http://video.foxnews.com/v/1147657238001/take-off-to-see-the-worlds-greatest-sights 

http://online.wsj.com/video/khmer-rouge-trial-begins/5B126554-53E2-4023-A0A1-95E98DF7BED8.html?KEYWORDS=cambodia

Lonely Planet

Our kids on the bus to the beach!

I was stumbling thru the web-o-sphere and found some really cool information on Cambodia from Lonely Planet.  One thing I found really interesting from the website was:

Despite this beautiful backdrop, life is no picnic for the average Cambodian. It remains one of the poorest countries in Asia and it’s a tough existence for much of the population, as they battle it out against the whims of nature and, sometimes, of their politicians. According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP;www.undp.org), Cambodia remains poorer than Mongolia and El Salvador, just scraping in ahead of Mauritania, while Transparency International (www.transparency.org), the anticorruption watchdog, rates the country a lowly 151 out of the 163 countries ranked. Income remains desperately low for many Khmers, with annual salaries in the hundreds of dollars, not thousands, and public servants such as teachers unable to eke out a living on their meagre wages.

This makes me want to cry.  This is the Cambodia that I have grown to love and have continued to return to.  But this next quote is so true:

Despite having the eighth wonder of the world in its backyard, Cambodia’s greatest treasure is its people. The Khmers have been to hell and back, struggling through years of bloodshed, poverty and political instability. Thanks to an unbreakable spirit and infectious optimism, they have prevailed with their smiles intact; no visitor comes away from Cambodia without a measure of admiration and affection for the inhabitants of this enigmatic kingdom.

Check out the website, you'll learn lots of wonderful information!

Samantha Brown in Cambodia?!?!

If you are a Travel Channel junkie like me you may have already watched Samantha Brown's Cambodia excursion.  And if you are a Cambodia junkie like me you may have it saved in your DVR... I'm just saying'!

But, if you're not I thought you may want to watch a 2 minute clip of her in Siem Reap getting a fish pedicure.  Yep, that's right.  And many, many Global X mission trippers have done the same.  What I love most about the clip, though, is that out of the thousands of fish pedicure options she picked the one right in front of Rajana.  Only my favorite place to shop in Cambodia.  Why?  Because Rajana is a fair trade NGO that sells Christian merchandise.  How free-kin' cool is that!?!?!

Check it out!