First Day a Success!

Hey everyone! Welcome to the inaugural post for the 2012 Phnom Penh team! Below is the picture we took just before checking into our flights. It just so happened that I was due to take my official "24 weeks pregnant" picture, so I figured, "what better way to do it than with this team of awesome people?!"

We have had a wonderful trip so far. We landed late last night (about 11 am EST on Friday) and were greeted by a lot of sleepy kids. I love that they want to and are allowed to come see us arrive, even though it's WAAAY past their bedtime when our flight lands. It was great to see them again, wonderful to see them connect w/ the newcomers and hug the returners as if no time has passed at all between visits.

We hit the hay as soon as we got to our hotel and were up and at it a few hours later. Pastor Vek gave us a tour of the church, which has had many cool additions since the last time a lot of us were here. Then we headed to S21, the school-turned-concentration camp during the Khmer Rouge genocide, which is now a genocide museum dedicated to telling the tragic stories of the people who suffered there. Two of the survivors were at the museum, and the team was able to meet them and take a picture with them. It was touching to see their sweet and kind spirits, especially in the face of everything they went through.

From there we headed to lunch and then to the markets to do some shopping and sight-seeing. We hired a few tuk tuks to drive us around the city so we could see the monuments, palace, and temples better. By the time we arrived back at the hotel to freshen up for dinner, most of us were pretty beat and a little jet-lagged. It made for some interesting conversations about dinner.

Kimberly became a fun topic of conversation at dinner.

We have a full day tomorrow! It'll start w/ a few of us getting up early to attempt to watch Georgia beat Alabama in the SEC championship...wishful thinking, both on the outcome of the game and being able to watch more than just the scores :) Then we have church and orphanage play time! Thank you to everyone for your ongoing support, both prayerfully and financially. We absolutely could not do what we do w/o you!