I actually cried

I've come 4 times and even though I'm sad every time I have to leave, I never cry on the last day.  Today, I got into the van and a few tears came out of my eyes.  I think my exact words were "I hate cry!!!!!"  Gotta love my KhmEnglish!

But, before that teary farewell, we had an amazing last day with our kids!  We invited the kids in the surrounding community in the AM and had games and treats for them.  After that we hung out, did some crafts and played some games again with just our kids.  Then we had a surprise party for Erin who's birthday is Sunday!!!

Rothanak showing me love

Erin and I laughing about... something!!!

Everyone!!

Front: Smey, Davan (aka Johnny) Back:  me and Seing Hai

Facing Fears

Today I faced a MAJOR fear... I gave a lesson in front of a group of people.  Today was my day to give the curriculum to the kids.  It was great to be able to share a message that was given at my church and that really affected me.  And the rest of my team member seemed to think the kids really understood what I was trying to get across... that God can make up for the things that were unavailable in their past and he can be trusted for the success of their future.  And, it never hurts to have a demonstration using Skittles...

The Curriculum

Eating the demonstration

Smey loves Skittles

After the curriculum each kid was given a canvas to paint on.  They were asked to use it as a collage to express how God has been working in their life to fill in what was unavailable in their past and we got some pretty amazing results.

God has been giving us reminders lately of the backgrounds that these children come from.  Some of them were dropped off by ox cart, by themselves.  Very alone and very scared.  And to see what God has done to fill in for what was unavailable in their past just a miracle that only God can do.

After the business lunch previously mentioned, we came back to the orphanage to just spend time with the kids.  We played Minute to Win It games, made scrap books, and played games.

Minute to Win It

Minute to Win It

Scrap Book Making

And what would this blog post be with a few random pictures...

Smey, Pichhing, Seinghai

Pannah

Me with Rothanak

Lik

Business Lunch

Today couldn't go by without giving major props to Joel.

We left the orphanage today to go to a restaurant in Phnom Penh for a business lunch that Pastor Vek was hosting.  The format of the meeting was business men and women who are friends of people who attend the church were invited to hear how having God in their life can help them in life and in business.  During the talk Joel shared his testimony, which was translated into Khmer and it was shared with about 100 people.  Later today Joel said he felt like a conduit of God during the talk because at that time 66 people accepted Jesus as their savior and another 30 asked to hear more.  Can you believe it!!!???!!???  How awesome is that???

Joel, you rock!

Amazing first day at the orphanage

We spent Sunday afternoon and evening at the orphanage... way longer than we usually do on Sunday and it was awesome!! We also took the kids out for some KFC.  They LOVE it!! My battery must not have been fully charged so I don't have many pictures but I know that there were 8 other people with cameras clicking away so there will be plenty of pictures to go around.  Here are just a couple:

Kids being kids!

Gotta love the juice!

We are a mess!

It could be from lack of sleep, jet lag, or just being in a foreign land but this team was all sorts of hilarious today!!  There were so many things I could tell you about but let me just say:

• One of us figured out the difference between sleeping medication and Malaria medication before breakfast
• We have a whole new system for Cambodian "air quotes"
• We love the word literally -- "literally"
• No, I'm not pregnant and the dress I wore today will be given to someone who actually is -- literally.
• Tuk tuks are still the best way to see the city
• I somehow ruin pictures with my Barney-like awesomeness.  Don't hate.
• Our catch phrase today: so, on Sunday...

It was great to grow as a team and for us to use our humor to connect.  Also, I think Alex thinks we are crazy.  I'm just sayin...

Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures but I know many of my teammates had their cameras out today so hopefully you will be seeing some amazing shots.  I promise you I will hand my camera off to some kids tomorrow so there will be more pictures from me than you can handle ;)

I seriously can't thank everyone who has contributed to this team in any and every way.  We would NOT be the same without everyone who is here and I am learning so much from my teammates. I know how blessed I am.  God is so good!!

So Close!!!

We are now almost two weeks away and can't wait to get back to see our kids!!!

We really excited about the activities we are going to be doing with the kids while were there and thought you may want a 'sneak peek' into a few things we have been planning...

• Create a community cookout for the people who live near the orphanage. This will give the kids an opportunity to serve their neighbors in a really big way. We'll be performing skits and songs, as well as providing a meal and bag of rice for everyone who can attend. It should be a great outreach opportunity. 
• We'll be doing a movie night with popcorn and other fun surprises. 
• We're going to be doing photos scrap booking (they LOVE photos. To these kids they are GOLD, so we are going to take it up a notch and give them the opportunity to put some of their favorite memories into a book). 
• The big idea for this trip is "Restoration". We are developing various ways to show them that no matter what they face in this life, God is there to restore them and give them a bright and wonderful future. 

These are just a few of the things we are doing on this trip.

Thanks so much for your prayers and support. And thanks for indulging us when we wax poetic about these kids. We truly feel like they are "ours" and we thank you for listening to our stories.

Again, if you want to support the trip financially, please visit: goglobalx.org and click give. Then select Cambodia - Phnom Penh Orphanage 2. (The dates of our trip are 11/3/11-11/13/11.)

Also, we just got back from our team retreat, which was AWESOME!! When I have any pictures I'll post them up here!!

CNN

Stephanie, the best type A personality ever, has been emailing the team clips of Cambodia in the news.  Here is one from CNN.

Pray thru the Flooding

I was just reading in this in the Huffington Post that Cambodia is having some really bad flooding.  Like, 150 people have been killed so far, kinda flooding.  Pick's Pointe also blogged about it.  Trust.org has more information about it.

Cambodia is a country that has a rainy season and a dry season but this is way past the 'normal flooding' they generally experience in the rainy season.  I have two friends who are teachers at an orphanage in Cambodia and the children at their orphanage have had to be displaced until the flooding subsides.  

Pulled from Pick's Point blog, here are some great prayer points:

• Please pray for the people who have to cross the river. During the dry season it is a mile and a half wide. Now it is much wider and the currents are very strong.
• Pray that the river will rise no more.
• Please pray for the safety of all the Cambodians, especially small children, living along the Mekong.

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!!!

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!

Did you see Alex's latest post?

If not, check it out here.  He has been able to travel to a few of the different providences in Cambodia and has some new information about a school in Siem Reap that is pretty awesome.  And, if that isn't enough he has some pretty awesome pictures.

Enjoy!

I miss it

It's been over three weeks since my team came back and I really, really miss being over there  I miss seeing the kids.  I miss knowing that they are OK.  I miss giving them hugs.  I miss having fun with the team. We had a great trip!  Here are some more pictures I don't think I've already posted on here...

Samnang big & Kristie

Having fun at Angkor Watt

Davan, Smey, Kristie & Darrel

Ry at KFC

Cambodia Stats

So much of what we show on here is of the orphanage, obviously, because that is where we go.  And God has been good to the orphanage... a lot of work has been done by many, many people to make it what it is.

So much so, that it may be easy to overlook what surrounds the orphanage or to forget what we drive by to get there.

A house literally right outside the gate to the orphanage.

In Phnom Penh

We don't know where our kids have come from but I have to believe that they know more about the world than I ever will. Very humbling.

Here are some stats from PBS:

• Cambodia has a population of roughly 11 million people.
• 84% live in rural areas. 
• 42% are under 15 years old.
• 29% are from 12 to 22 years old. 
• 35% are literate. 
• 95% are Theraveda Buddhists.
• Cambodia is one of the world's poorest nations, with a per capita GNP (gross national product) of $280 (1999).
• More than a third of Cambodia's people live below the poverty line, and two-thirds of the people have no access to clean drinking water.
• The infant mortality rate in Cambodia is nearly 10 percent.
• Agriculture is made more difficult by the presence of between 4 million and 6 million land mines. These painful reminders of the nation's war-torn history are scattered throughout the countryside, where they still injure or kill as many as 90 people each month. More than 35,000 Cambodians are amputees as a result of land mine injuries.

Last Day...

At the orphanage!!! It was so sad to have to leave.  Actually, I don't think it has hit me yet that we will not be going back tomorrow.  But I wanted to share a few pictures with you from our last day.  Thank you all so much for your support and prayers.  None of this would have been possible without all of you and we are so blessed to be the ones you sent over.

Srey Lin, Het, Kristie & Narin

Pov

David & Noelle

Kristie

All the kids

Chean, Pichhing, Ry, and Narin

Narin

Lik

Rothannak

Raksmey

KFC

I thought you needed to see how excited the kids were over fried chicken last night:

Raksmey

Kristie, Narin, Polin, Melanie, and Raksmey

Chhean

Christina, Peanut, Angie, and Srey Leap

Pichhing

Pichhing

Paly

Ry

Pannha

Seyla

Vannak & Kim