Days Three and Four of Siem Reap English Camp

I didn’t have the time or the energy to post yesterday, so I will combine two posts into one today, starting with yesterday, Saturday, July 30. First things first: we as a team had been following prayer requests from another CCC team on a mission trip in Sisseton, South Dakota. Several members of their team had contracted what appears to be a nasty, fast moving virus. One was even hospitalized. We knew that we needed to take some time as a team to pray for them, so that is how we began our day at the church.

Laura and her translator

Steve, Ben,  and Logan during Steve's devotion

Yesterday morning, the CCC team was in the spotlight. Laura gave her testimony in front of the big group, and Steve led a devotional. Both were excellent (in my humble opinion). Steve’s devotional  involved some audience participation. He talked about Noah and the flood, using Ben and Logan as props (and giving them polka dot raincoats to wear). Then he had the rest of us make rain sounds by patting the floor faster and faster. He added the thunder. Rain is a good topic in Cambodia, as it is very familiar to everyone. The rest of the events, including freshie shows and games, helped us all get excited about the day to come.

The morning was spent teaching our students.  We at CCC can be proud of our young people. They have stepped right up and taken on leadership roles from the beginning. The students love them, and I can see the growth in our youth as well. It is an amazing sight.  Not that our adults are slackers! We all have felt blessed by God in many ways during this camp, from His healing touch when we are not feeling the best, to smiles we get from the campers, to the amazing enthusiasm of Phearum when he leads worship choruses, to the relationships we are developing with the other teachers on in English Camp.

Beautiful music

Just before lunch, we had the privilege of listening to Phearum and a camper play some traditional Khmer music for all to hear. I loved the stringed instrument Phearum was playing, but I don't know yet what it is called. After lunch was our field trip to the market. Just like in Phnom Pehn, we had to stick with our team of students to race around the market, looking for deals on the list of items we were given. We were given $20 to purchase a mosquito net, a school uniform, 5 kilos of rice, a backpack, a hammock, a string of 10, single-use shampoo packets, and a durian. The team which accomplished the feat in the least time and with the most money left over would be the winner. All the teams are very competitive, and when you put five teams of about 24 people each in a Cambodian market, we tend to upset the flow of traffic. It was entertaining when two teams would meet in the narrow aisles. Whatever time we had left after we finished doing our required shopping could be spent doing recreational shopping, which is always fun. We headed back to the church at about 3:45 in the afternoon. One more competition awaited  us.

I do not believe Abby cared for the durian.

After reporting the winners of the shopping competition, Bill Lobbezoo invited three members of each team to the front of the sanctuary, two teachers and one student. CCC was well-represented, with Abby L., Abby H., Marlin, and Ben all competing for their teams. The contest was to see which team could polish off their durian most quickly. Students who liked durian went up, as did teachers who thought they were up to the task. I still haven’t had any, so I can’t speak from personal experience as to the taste, but it does look and smell disgusting. Our team members had varying opinions on the taste, but let’s just say none of them will be ordering it in the restaurant.

After supper, we had one more excursion. Ron had rejoined us by this time. A bus came to pick up all the teachers, and Bill treated us to a single scoop of ice cream at The Blue Pumpkin. It was so good. I miss dairy products. Afterward, we had some time at the night market to do a bit of shopping. Many great deals were bartered in the span of about an hour and a half. It was a pleasant ending to another enjoyable day.

Traditional Khmer instruments

Children's choir

Youth Teachers' Choir

Married Teachers' Choir

Sunday morning dawned, and as it did we had an earlier schedule than we originally thought. Church really began at 9:00, not 11:00. We all met at the Freedom Restaurant at 7:30 to visit a bit and connect as a team. Steve was headed out for the day with Logan and Ron to do some filming with a church that CCC may be helping purchase land for a new building. The rest of us caught a shuttle to the church to get there about half an hour before the service. Church was amazing. It was different from the Phnom Penh church Marti and I had attended for the past two Sundays, and yet there were some similarities. The service began with a couple of congregational hymns in Khmer. The third hymn was “How Great Thou Art.” It was so beautiful to hear a chorus of voices singing this old, familiar hymn in an unfamiliar language.  After the hymn was finished, introductions were made of all the visitors to the church (English Camp kids and teachers). Psalm 85 was read, and then another Khmer song was sung. After a prayer, two youth came up and led us all in three of the songs we have been singing every day at camp. The church was wild with excitement. Then it was time for us all to greet each other (jum-reap soo-a). Then the little kids came up to sing (and be adorable). Next, we had an interpretive dance from three young people. Then came the offering, with “I Surrender All” playing in the background. After that, an older lady came up to give her testimony, and then the message was delivered by one of the teachers from camp. After the message, the youth choir and the adult choir came up to sing songs for us. The morning wasn’t quite done yet, as our Khmer camp leader, Phearum, suggested that all the foreigners should come up and sing! We ended up singing in two groups, Khmer-style, with the unmarried folks going first and the married ones going second. Our young crew sang “Amazing Grace” while the older (more mature) ones sang “Shout to the Lord.” We had only a verbal and musical benediction before the service was done. I took advantage of this opportunity to catch some pictures of much of the crew, all dressed up, after church.

 

Kim and Abby L.

Ray, Ben, Andrea and Becky

Liz and Laura (Liz in her skirt and top from the market)

Marlin and Abby H.

Three active grandmas: Maxine,Marti, and Sandy

Work time at English Camp

I have been asked to try to describe what English Camp actually is. I think it is a little different for every group and every teacher. We had wise counsel early on that it might be called “relationship camp” rather than “English camp.” The idea is that people who speak English as their native language come and teach children and young adults a few things about English vocabulary, structure, and usage. We do have a workbook to use as a starting point. But how camp unfolds each day is in the hands of God.  Asking questions and having conversations in English is really the best way for the young people to learn. And it also helps them to form bonds with their teachers. Every day we play games together in our small groups, go over our workbooks, and ask questions. Today, I asked my group if they could each tell me their story. I wanted to know if they believed in Jesus, if so for how long, and if any of their family members also believed in Jesus. They explained their stories in English. Several were the only believers in their families. Several were not yet believers, but were having fun at camp. A couple said their whole family was believers. As I also told them my story, we bonded in a little different way. And they heard more spoken English (which was also interpreted for them by a class member who actually teaches English in Cambodia). English camp seems to refuse to be defined in exact terms, but it is a place where God is very active.

Our last day of class began after lunch. We had a couple of challenges this morning. One was for the teachers to learn a song in Khmer and English from our campers. The other was to create/choreograph a short program for a “Freshie Show Down, Throw Down” competition. Each team spent a significant portion of the morning learning their routines, and it showed. When we got back together at the end of the day, the teams all had great performances. Marti got up there and did a very fun dance with her group. Ben and Ray each participated with their groups, as did Abby H.  Abby L., Laura, and Andrea all performed in their group’s number as well (and were the winners). All who participated got a serious work out. Wow, those were some wild dances! We ate supper together and were then invited to stay for a showing of a movie about Jesus, in Khmer. Many kids and teachers stayed and watched the film together.

Tomorrow we will be headed to Angkor Wat for an all day field trip. Let’s see what God has in store for us!

Praises:

1.       Most are feeling mostly well right now.

2.       Worship this morning was wonderful and refueled us beautifully.

3.       We are thankful for all the relationships we are building.

Prayer Requests:

1.       We pray for all the campers who have touched our hearts and our lives. We pray for the harvest yet to come among the unbelievers.

2.       We ask for prayers for continued health for our group.

3.       We ask for God’s blessings on all the time we have left here, that we may savor each moment and keep our eyes open for all that God has to show us.

Karen, farms and Hong Kong

Here I am with some kids that we saw from our tuk tuk on the way to the Tonle Sap lake from Seim Reap. We stopped to get some pictures of the rice and lotus fields, and saw one little girl smiling from this 10 foot square hut by the side of the road. When I smiled at her, she giggled and waved. So I asked the mom if I could take a picture with her. Within seconds all 7 of these kids were there wanting to be in the picture. They were all so happy and adorable, and the mom was so pleasant.

The photo at the right was across the road from the kids. There are rice fields and lotus fields here. I wrote about them in a previous blog. I wanted to be sure to include a picture of the cricket catchers (below). These contraptions were all along the road in this one section.

 

So Rick and Karen left Cambodia via Poipet and Bangkok on Thursday evening.

We arrived at almost midnight in Hong Kong, found a hotel and prepared for two days of playing tourist. Hong Kong is a very interesting place. I did not realize how many people live in this very small country. Being it was a British colony for a hundred years or so, there were many times in that hundred years when neighboring countries had wars, and many refugees fled to Hong Kong. The number of very tall apartment buildings is overwhelming. I don't know what they would do if they had no electricity. It looked like most of the apartment buildings are over 30 stories tall, and they are everywhere. Two days was plenty of time for me here. I felt so claustrophobic with so many people everywhere all the time. We did enjoy a harbor tour and a ride up to a high peak with a gorgeous view. The world is so full of interesting things and God's amazing creation. How blessed we are to be able to see a bit of it.

Flynn adventures

This photo was taken in Bangkok back on July 16. Rick forgot his hat, so he had to buy this lovely cowboy hat from a street vendor. I think he makes a great cowboy! I bought the umbrella from a street vendor also, for a couple bucks. I have been carrying that umbrella all over Asia in the last two weeks, because it doesn't fit in my luggage. I have this fear that I will leave it in the airport in Detroit or something dumb.

Speaking of Bangkok, on our way back to this lovely city by van a few days ago, Rick recognized one of the other passengers. It was Holly, a missionary with the CMA in Battambang, Cambodia. He had met her at the Copelands last November when he was in Poipet. She is an agricultural missionary. She teaches the Cambodian farmers how to use chemicals correctly (because the Thai company that sells them the chemicals doesn't bother to tell them about safety precautions and how much chemical to use for their own safety and the good of the land.) Holly is also working on a project with the Moringa plant, which grows in areas like Cambodia. The leaves can be eaten like spinach or dried into a powder that retains it's nutritional value for months. It is high in protein, vitamin A, iron and other good stuff. The Cambodian farmers don't understand the nutritional value, and she helps educate them. She is also working with the Cambodian government to promote the plant. And she is helping to start a factory that dries and preserves the leaves, so that they can be eaten during the dry season.  Our missionaries care about the whole person; physical, spiritual, and even career concerns... that's the love of Christ in Cambodia.

Day Two of Siem Reap English Camp

Last night before he left us, David Manfred had offered that if we were at the restaurant across the street from the hotel at 6:30 this morning, he would feed us a traditional Cambodian breakfast. Several of the group took advantage of this offer. They had noodle soup and other delicacies I am sure they would love to tell you about. David left Cambodia today with many gifts from our church, to take to missionaries here. He also left with Ron Ray, who was headed back to Phnom Penh for a couple days to do some filming and interviewing for a project he is doing.

Mud trekkers

Abby's muddy toes

At about 7:45, we started our walk to the church. Today we had to walk around and sometimes through mud puddles, so it was an adventure! As we walked, David Ens and Bill Lobbezoo went past us in a tuk-tuk. The road was very rutted and muddy, and we could hear them going, “Ouch, ouch!” as they rode by. Maybe walking wasn’t such a bad option, especially in the morning when it’s light out and NOT raining. No one ended up falling into any puddles, so we called the walk a success. And we even managed to retrieve Abby H’s flip flops each time they got stuck in the mud. We were delighted that Andrea was feeling good enough to head back to camp this morning.

Bill and David's tuk-tuk in a rut-rut

Our great dancers

Our opening time together as a large group was delightful once again. The praise music warmed our hearts and souls, the games and freshie shows made us laugh, and devotions and testimonies gave us something to think about. We had a special treat this morning when some of the students came in dressed in traditional Khmer garb and did a wonderful traditional dance for us. We had a singer as well, who added to the wonderful authenticity of this time we shared together. Before we got too far into the morning, Bill stopped us and asked us to pray together. The group from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada had one-third of its members back at the hotel, sick. One was even hospitalized a couple days ago.  As Bill told us, we are doing bold things for Christ here, and Satan is going to attack. We prayed in the powerful name of Jesus that Satan would be bound and our friends healed. The prayer itself was beautiful. We gathered around the remainder of the Edmonton group as well as any others who had been feeling sick. We all put hands on them and prayed, in English and Khmer, all at once and together. Many voices raised to God in prayer make a beautiful sound.

Groups this morning felt more comfortable for everyone. We thought we were better prepared and the students more willing to share with us. It was a blessing to begin to know some of their stories. The morning went by quickly. At lunch, we had curry soup with bread. It was delicious! We also had a special treat for dessert. They gave us more bread and put a little bow of dipping sauce in the middle. We asked the kids and found out it was sweetened, condensed milk. Wow, that tasted good! You should try it sometime!

Maxine and Abby, our oldest and youngest team members

Ray, Becky, Steve and Maxine

Logan didn’t feel the best by this time, so he headed back to the hotel instead of staying for the field trip. Hopefully he will be back to full strength by tomorrow. The afternoon field trip today was to a “swimming hole” (Baray). It is a man-made lake, but David Ens said it’s one of the oldest. (Read about it). Many of the kids were excited to go swimming, but some preferred just to watch. Several of us adults adopted that same mentality, but not Maxine (our most senior member of the group). She was out there, having a great time!  It was fun to visit and play with the campers. The younger kids in our group were very popular among the campers. The time flew by, and soon it was time to head back to the church.

Marlin impressed the kids by spinning the beach ball on his finger.

Just a reminder that this is not a public beach in the USA.

As we were getting dropped off by the dirt road to the church, we took a look at the sky and thought rain was probably on its way. We decided as a group that we would rather walk back to the hotel in the rain in the daylight than repeat our trip in the dark, as much “fun” as that was last night. Most of us headed right back to the church and had supper on our own. We all (except Marti) met at 7:30 at the little restaurant by the hotel for fruit smoothies. Thanks, Steve! Still no group picture. It’s harder to get everybody together than I thought it would be. However, I think Sunday morning should work well for that. We will have a later start, with our day beginning with an 11:00 am church service. Sooner or later, I will get people cornered for that picture.

Praises:

1.       Andrea is feeling better and made it the whole day.

2.       Bonding with the campers is beginning!

3.       We are thankful for our great prayers back home.

Prayer Requests:

1.       Please pray for those on our team (especially Marti, Andrea, and Logan) who haven’t been feeling their best, and for the Edmonton team as well.

2.       Pray for our relationships to continue to develop with the campers.

3.        Pray for Ron as he is in Phnom Penh again for a couple days to do some interviews for a video project he is working on, that he might keep his focus on what the Lord desires and that he has safe travel when he rejoins our group.

Day One of Siem Reap English Camp

This was one long and exciting day! Those who had just come in yesterday all hoped for a good night’s sleep to help them be ready for the day today.  I (Liz) heard many good reports on that, which is a blessing. We all made the walk to the church this morning, after some stopped in the restaurant by the hotel to get an American breakfast. Let’s just say that the rice porridge that we are served every day takes some getting used to! The walk was pleasant in the early morning. Everyone was in pretty good spirits when we arrived at camp.

Today was the day we formed our groups and began camp! Every day camp starts with worship time. It was a beautiful time to sing songs together.  The worship was genuine and a lot of fun. At one point, we were taught a new song (to those of us who have not done English camps before). It was called “Cambodia is for Christ.” The Cambodian leader who sang the song for us did it with such great enthusiasm (and repeated it six or seven times) that we couldn’t help catching his joy. Several people from our group mentioned worship time as a highlight of their day. Mixed in with worship were game time and freshie shows. The teams were very competitive – and be sure you ask our team about freshie shows when they get back from Cambodia. Freshie shows are hard to explain in words. Maybe if you ask nicely, one of the team will give you a demonstration. (I’d highly recommend asking Steve.)

At about 10:00, we split into groups for English learning time. We had representatives from our team in each of the groups. The morning went by quickly with games and getting to know the young people. I have yet to talk about the bathrooms at the church where we have camp. Maybe I should just leave it to your imagination. At any rate, most of us would probably do our best NOT to have to use them, but it’s a long day and desperate times require desperate measures.  Enough said. Anyway, Andrea was not feeling well, so she and her mom went back to the hotel to get her some rest for the afternoon. We all hope and pray she will be feeling much better by morning.

Workers, spinning silk

After lunch with our camper friends, we headed off on our first field trip of the week. We went to a silk farm and the war museum. The silk farm was very interesting. We learned about all the steps in making silk, from moth to egg to worm to cocoon to spun silk. Then we saw some beautiful products in their store. After the silk farm, we headed to the war museum. It was an outside display of weapons, machinery, and aircraft of war. The items were mostly from the Vietnam War. There was no guide, and the kids climbed all over everything. In and amongst the war machinery, chickens roamed freely (the definition of free range chickens, I suppose) and three cows were tied to graze. I love Cambodia! People are practical and use their green space wisely. At the end, we posed for a group picture by the helicopter. As you can see, there are a lot of us.

The group at the war museum

Most enthusiastic participants in the group, at the war museum

Pink polka dots rule!!

As we returned to the church for supper, we found David Manfred (Field Director for CMA Cambodia) waiting for us. He wanted to spend some time with our CCC team and get the packages and suitcases we had brought for the different missionaries. It was great to see him there! He had supper with us at the church and then….the skies opened up, as they do in Cambodia. We wondered if it would be a long rain or a short rain, and decided to try to wait it out under our eating tent.  Maybe it would be one of those cloudbursts where it only rained a short time and then the skies cleared again. Unfortunately, this was not really the case. It rained hard (while kids still played volleyball). It thundered LOUDLY (while kids still played volleyball). The world filled with mud and water. Maxine, Sandy, Marti, Steve, Laura, Ray, Dave, and I (and Jessica, a friend from camp) all decided to brave the walk back to the motel. Remember, it is a 20-minute walk on a normal day. This was a mostly dark and pouring rain evening, with a good part of the way on a rutted, dirt (now mud) road. Time for an adventure! Steve and Dave found rain coats for sale at the little stand by the church, and invested in some pink (for Dave) and yellow (for Steve) polka dot numbers that will definitely stick in our memories. We walked cautiously to try to keep Jessica’s flip flops on her feet. We skirted mud puddles as it was possible. We enjoyed the laughter of people who watched us from their dry spots. We made it over half way back when we came to what looked like many other little streams we had crossed. Dave Manfred was in the lead and was just saying to be careful, because it was deeper than it looked. I was slightly too close behind him to fully heed those words before I stepped out. It wasn’t exactly deeper than I expected, but it WAS slipperier. Down I went, face first into the squishy, muddy, yucky (let’s not think about what the yuck is) water. I did most things right, except for the part where I was lying down in the street. I kept my mouth shut. I kept my backpack and camera out of the standing water. My Timex took a licking and kept on ticking. Dave helped me up. We didn’t have too long to keep walking to get to the hotel. All is well, and it is certainly a memory to take back home!

We had our first group meeting together tonight after everyone dried off (and some took showers to wash disgusting stuff off themselves).  We all gathered to talk about English Camp in general and our own days specifically. It was great to get together as a group and talk about our highs and lows, supporting one another and praying together. After the meeting, we got all the supplies that were for the Cambodian missionaries to Dave Manfred. Tomorrow, a new day will come, with more adventures in it! (Group picture tomorrow - hopefully - when Andrea feels better.)

Praises:

1.       Day 1 of English Camp had some amazing highlights: the worship time, the campers, and the field trips, to name a few.

2.       We had a wonderful time with Dave Manfred.

3.       Marti is feeling better.

Prayer Requests:

1.       Please pray for Andrea to feel better by tomorrow so she can participate in camp.

2.       Pray for the rest of the team to stay well.

3.       Pray for the relationships between campers and teachers to develop according to God’s plan for the week.

4.       Pray for lives to be changed, by the power of God.

Seventeen Strong in Siem Reap

Andrea, Laura, Kim, Abby L., and Abby H.

This morning we had unscheduled time, so Marti and Ron headed out to find their morning dose of “ice-milk coffee.”  Ron was getting his coffee on his way to the airport to film our team, arriving. They all arrived here at the Freedom Hotel at about 9:30 am. They looked great (at least to Ron, Marti, and me)! Abby H. was positively bouncing, saying she got 12 hours of sleep on the trip here. Andrea said she and her family found some futons to sleep on in Bangkok so she had a great night’s sleep. Others showed varying degrees of fatigue from the trip. They were all pleased with the breakfast at the Bangkok Airways Lounge. It was great to welcome them all to Siem Reap!

Part of our team, walking to the church

At 11:30, we headed over to the church where we will be having English Camp, to eat lunch. There were almost 50 of us, and we got to walk to the church. No bus rides (or wild truck rides) here!  The walk is just over 20 minutes long, and it ends up on a dirt road. That could be interesting when we get a lot of rain. The church itself is a nice building, smaller than the church in Phnom Penh. We ate our lunch outside and then headed to the upstairs sanctuary space to have our orientation. We have groups from Canada, mostly, along with our group of 17 and a couple of extra girls, also from the States. Oh, and we also had two participants from Poipet: C.J. and Amberlee Copeland (children of our friends Kent and Chrissy Copeland, serving up in Poipet)! It was a surprise to see the two of them! Orientation helped us get to know each other a little bit, along with learning the rules and expectations for camp.

The church

Part of our group at orientation

One little friend, along the way

We were done with orientation at about 2:30, so we headed back to the Freedom Hotel for a little rest time before supper. Many of the travelers used that time to catch a little nap so they would be ready for the walk back over to the church. Others were settling in and learning their way around the hotel. Refreshed and ready for the walk back to the church, we gathered in the lobby at about 5:30. Rick and Karen Flynn also found their way to our lobby to walk over to the church with us, in hopes of connecting with Kent and Chrissy Copeland for supper. We found our way back to the church, as many children called out “Hello!” when we walked by. We smiled, waved, and said, “Hello!” back, and they all giggled like it was the funniest thing ever. When we arrived at the church, we were treated to a beautifully “dressed” outdoor tent in which to have our meal. The food was great and the ambiance outstanding. A few students joined us for supper, as they had to travel a long way to be here and had come a day ahead of time. It was good to see some smiling, young faces greeting us. I’m eager to have those faces become familiar! English Camp 9.1 starts tomorrow! (And I promise to get a group picture then as well!)

Our eating accommodations

Praises:

1.       Praise God that the rest of our team arrived safely.

2.       Praise for a great orientation meeting with all the teams together.

3.       Praise for safe walks to and from the church.

Prayer Requests:

1.       Please pray for rest and recovery for our team after their long journey to get here.

2.       Pray for Marti’s stomach to settle.

3.       Pray for our campers' safe travel as they come from all around Siem Reap to join us for English Camp. Some will spend the nights in the church, as it would be too far to travel home every night.

4.       Pray for connections to be made and lives to be changed, among the campers and the teachers.
5.    I (Karen) will tag another prayer request on here... Rick and I leave Seim Reap at 630am on Thursday, travel by bus to Bangkok where we catch a flight to Hong Kong, and then on Sunday to Detroit and home. We appreciate your prayers for good connections. God has been so good to us on this whole trip. We praise the name of Jesus for his love, his provisions, his leading us on the path he has for us. What a God we serve!!

Diversified farming

The Flynns spent a long day at Angkor Wat temples today. It's a huge, ancient complex of stone temples, gates, libraries, moats (they used to have crocs in them) and other structures. Some of them are overgrown with humungeous trees, others are being restored. Very interesting to see.

After that we took a little excursion into the countryside. We noticed some odd plastic contraptions by the side of the road and asked our tuk tuk driver to stop. He said that we were looking at cricket catchers. They create a little pool on the ground out of thick plastic, and fill it with water. Then they hang a sheet of plastic (about 3 by 4 feet) above it, with a blue florescent light above that. He said the crickets are attracted to the light, hit the plastic and slide down into the water, from which they cannot escape, but they stay alive in the water. The farmer comes along every once in a while and dips the crickets out, washes them with salt water and they are ready for frying and seasoning. He says they taste like peanuts, and there are sweet ones, salty ones, curry and other flavors. We asked what else the farmers living there grow, and he said they have just planted their rice crop, which will be ready for harvest in October or November. We also noticed some giant lily pads with big flowers. He said they were lotus. They pick the flowers and sell them to people to use as an offering in the temple, and the fruit is sold to eat. So They have several crops that they can use for an income.

On the Road Again (Times Two)

I am writing this from the really nice hotel where we are now staying in Siem Reap. The day started with breakfast on our own, followed by a Plan B execution. We were warned that Plan B was typical in Cambodia, so we all just hung on for the ride, some of us quite literally! We were prepared for a 15 passenger van to come pick up ten of us and our luggage, to take us to the bus stop for our ride to Siem Reap. However, no van showed up, so David Ens quickly called his wife Patti, who had just dropped him off, and told her to come back with his truck. We put all the suitcases (let’s say 20 of the, some quite large) plus carry-ons in the back of his extended-cab pick-up truck, along with six people – one standing on the tailgate. Ron has video. I can’t wait to see it. Marti and I (Liz) were among the lucky ones (four of us, total) in the cab. All went well and we made it to the bus stop on time, alive, and with all our baggage!

Typical house, out the window, on the way to Siem Reap

Another shot out the window

The bus was a nice one – Marti says the nicest she has traveled in for the trip from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. We had a “hostess” who served us a snack (think a Cambodian version of “pigs-in-a-blanket” or maybe a corndog, and a little Hostess-sized pound cake). We stopped at a nice restaurant (where we ate the subway sandwiches Bill had purchased for us back in Phnom Penh). We watched a movie (Princess Protection Program). And we drove through some of the most breathtaking scenery I have ever seen. Up to this point, we have mostly been in the city. It was nice to see a true picture of rural Cambodia. The weather was interesting as well; it would rain a bit then clear off and be sunny. It went back and forth about four times.

Our fancy, schmancy hotel room!

The drive from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap took about 6 hours. We arrived at just about 3:00 in the afternoon. We are staying at the Freedom Hotel, and it is a very nice place. It has a pool, wi-fi in the rooms (hence my ability to post again), and huge rooms with good-sized refrigerators. We are settling in to our news space very nicely. Tonight we had supper at a nearby mall (Lucky Burger has American style fast food) as a group and got to meet some of the new teams arriving for the Siem Reap English camp. Then Ron, Marti, and I found a deal on dessert right next door. It was after 8:00, so you could get two for one. These were fancy, layered  desserts, and we got two for the three of us. They weren’t quite as good as they looked, but they were still mighty tasty.  First impressions of Siem Reap are that it is a lot different from Phnom Penh. We are eager to explore this new place, and can’t wait for the rest of our team to join us and help us do it! We hope their travel day was as good as ours.

Praises:

1.       Ron, Marti, and Liz arrived safely in Siem Reap.

2.       We praise God for the beautiful world He made, and all the variety in it.

Prayer Requests:

1.       We are praying for the rest of the CCC team to arrive safely tomorrow morning and have as good a night as possible, resting in the Bangkok airport. (Team: Don't forget they have a Starbucks there....)

2.       We pray for the kids coming to this English Camp in Siem Reap, that they will feel the love of God in everyone they meet, and that they will be blessed by the experience.

3.       We pray for growth in each member of our team as we experience this amazing culture together.

4.       We lift up the families left behind, that they stay safe and healthy.

Moving Day Number 1, July 25, 2011

CMA Headquarters in Cambodia and guest house

Today was a non-scheduled day. It didn’t stop us from having a full day, though! First thing this morning, we packed up our suitcases so we would be ready to move. We needed to move from the 89 VIP Guest House (with wi-fi) to the 89 (not VIP) Guest House, just down the street. The move would happen later, but we wanted to be ready for it because we had a plan for the morning. Ron, Marti and I (Liz) hired a tuk-tuk and went to the CMA (Christian and Missionary Alliance) Headquarters in Cambodia. It was a beautiful building with a spacious and equally beautiful guest house behind it. We got a full tour from David Manfred. We also bumped into other missionaries while we were there: Judy Johns and David Rebok. Then who should walk in but our delightful truck driver from this week, the one whose sister lives in Rochester. It was fun to see him again, and he had his daughter with him so we got to meet her.

We went back to our guest house in time to do a few last internet related things and then pack up for the big move. The new place is air conditioned and has a bathroom with a shower. It has no elevator, so moving in was a little crazy. Those 50-pound suitcases are hard to lug up the stairs. Fortunately, the young men in the lobby (bellhops of sorts, I suppose) helped us do that task.  We put down our suitcases and discussed lunch, since it was 12:45 by that time. Ron and some of our friends from other groups who are still in Phnom Penh went to a nice sandwich place for lunch. Marti and I decided to skip out on lunch, or rather eat our snacks we had along, and get a taxi for a ride to Place of Rescue Orphanage 1. We were afraid of communication struggles, so we called David Ens to see if he could give directions to the taxi driver. He ended up being about a block away when we called, so he stopped in and not only gave the guy directions, he also gave him Marie’s phone number so he could call her as he got closer to give more specific directions. He called twice, and we got there just fine. Thanks, God, for putting David right where we needed him when we needed his expertise!

Marie showed the kids a picture of Liz's preschool class

The next two hours were a complete treasure to me. First we were greeted by the Rescue golden retrievers, Suzie, Penny, and Toby . They were quite the welcoming committee!! Then Marie came down, and Marti and I gave her the items our preschoolers had donated. My suitcase full of crayons and coloring books finally found its home. Marie took a coloring book with her as we began our tour of the place. First we walked through the area where AIDS families stay. Next, we went to preschool and kindergarten classrooms. The kindergarteners were singing when we arrived. Marie showed them the pictures of my preschoolers, pictures I have carried in my backpack throughout this trip. She told them how my preschoolers had collected crayons and coloring books. They were very thankful and sang us a couple of praise songs. They were so full of energy!

Paul and Marti

Beautiful BabySarah

We followed Marie and the dogs (unofficial tour guides) around, looking in on babies first and then toddlers. Oh my. They were so precious. We got to spend time with little PB, named after Paul Brandt, the Canadian country singer. He has AIDS and arrived at Rescue just barely alive. He responded to the anti-retroviral drugs and is thriving now. He’s still very small, but he has a ton of personality to make up for his size. He was all over Marti’s camera, wanting to take some pictures! We also saw little Sarah, the baby girl who was born with a birth defect. Marie takes babies with all sorts of problems: spina bifida, hydrocephaly, AIDS, mental retardation….As she said about one little girl, “We don’t know what her potential is, but we hope she achieves it.” Everywhere we went, the children smiled at, hugged, and generally loved Marie. It was plain to see her love for them as well. As the older children were out for recess by this point, we had many of them coming up to us and wanting their pictures taken. Marti was having a great time, and I was, too. Then one little girl walked up to me and started holding my hand. She was so precious. We continued our tour, and she continued holding my hand. Do you know how easy it is to fall head over heels in love? It’s very easy, in fact. This little ones touched our hearts and made us better people for having spent time with them.

Liz with her sweet little friend

Marti, Marie, and Liz

Back at the 89 “Rustic” as it has been dubbed by our crew, Marti and I walked up the road in search of something for supper. We turned left when we went out of the motel, walked up several “blocks” – if you could call them that – and found nothing. We walked back into the motel, happy to be alive after walking that far and even crossing the street. We ran into our crew, finally, and found out that there was a grocery store if we had walked two buildings in the other direction. You probably think we should have noticed that store, if you haven’t spent time in Cambodia. It’s just not that simple here. Ron, Marti, and I went to the store and picked up a little something for supper.

Back in our room, I am doing my best to finish this blog even though I can’t post it, without a connection. My battery is running low, as there are also no three-prong outlets. Yup, this is the “Rustic.” Still and all, I am sitting in a motel room in Phnom Penh, Cambodia with the National Geographic channel on TV, working on my laptop. In just about an hour, the rest of our team should take off from Rochester International Airport, if all goes well. Marti, Ron, and I are looking forward to being part of a big team and watching the rest of them experience this beautiful country.

(Posted on July 26, from Siem Reap…Team CCC left Rochester Airport on schedule and should arrive in Siem Reap tomorrow morning, our time.)

Praises:

1.       Marie and Liz made it safely to and from Place of Rescue 1.

2.       Our time in Phnom Penh has been full of blessings, and we thank God for each day in this beautiful city.

Prayer Requests:

1.       We pray for safe and timely travel for the 14 of our CCC team now on their way to Cambodia.

2.       We lift up Marie and the orphans, grannies, and AIDS families at Place of Rescue. Please remember them in your prayers.