….why we are so darn crazy about this country on the other
side of God’s green earth. Today was a long day. Long in a great way! A day
filled with prayer, fellowship, service, great food and FUN!
We begin with Emily Rains and our fab four freshmen (Emily
Stubbs, Jen Perlick, Alanna Cronk and Tiffany Fick) leading morning worship
with strong voices and incredible dance moves. It’s amazing how quickly all the
kids catch on. We then divided up in to our small groups. Topic today was
‘Service’. No matter how big, how small, how rich or how poor we all are called
to serve God by serving others. We reviewed John 13 and washed all the kids
feet… in return they washed ours. Very moving for us all. We then headed out on
foot to visit the residents that live around the orphanage delivering rice to
them. We packed them full in quart size bags with a small aluminum cross and a
business card that had the address of New Life Church as well as John 3:16
written in Khmer (the language of Cambodia). We were welcomed by the locals and
they accepted our gifts graciously.
After lunch we returned to the orphanage and let Tiffany and
Jen do their thing teaching English lessons. It is wonderful to see children
who treat learning like a luxury. Like something so rare when that when it’s
available they recognized the value in it.
Then we all decided to treat ourselves with a dose of fun.
We planned to take the kids bowling…but…the bowling alley had been closed for 3
months. So, plan B. Cambodian amusement park. “Dreamland”. And that it was.
Kristie Poll said it best, “It was kids being kids. And it was wonderful!”
Next stop ‘Pizza Company’. 8 Dozen orders of chicken wings,
15 large pizzas, 18 pitchers of soda and 31 smiles! Worth every penny!
We then told the kids good-bye for the evening with many
hugs and best wishes. They returned to the orphanage in their bus and we….. stalled….
And showed up about 15 minutes behind them and took them by surprise creating a
thirty minute party filled with glow bracelets and Chinese sky lanterns.
Despite the rain the 26 sky lanterns lifted off in to the dark rainy sky with
only one casualty. The kids loved it! They cheered and danced in the rain…many,
many happy faces and much, much joy!
Tomorrow will be our last day to visit the orphanage. A day
we look forward to, yet a day we wish was still far in the distance.
What a great day! So thankful to get to read about what you guys are doing and the way in which you are doing it. Love all the intentional memories and the amazing service . . .
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