Today was the prison ministry day! We had a long 2 ½ hour drive through the Thailand mountains and finally arrived in a different province. It was so beautiful! We were next to a body of water and there were palm trees and mountains all around! It felt like we were in Florida or Hawaii rather than Thailand!

The prison was crazy. We breezed through several gates and soon were in walking around among the inmates. We had guards with us, but only two or so, and none of them were armed in any way. Honestly, it was a little scary. I have never even been inside an American prison, let along a Thai men’s prison! And the fact that Ashley and I were American girls meant that a lot of the inmates were quickly aware that we were there.

There was a Thai pastor and three Thai students who Tutu, Eric, David, Ashley and I went along with. We all were seated in the front of a old-fashioned partially outdoor schoolroom. The inmates who wanted to attend our little “service” quickly filed in.

I am not going to lie- I have never been so intimidated in my life. Ashley, Eric and I each prepared a little message to give to the men, but I felt so inadequate to speak to a room of men, who were older than I was and had definitely experienced a lot more than I had in my easy-breezy American life so far… What do you say to a group like that?! There were about 20 of them in the little class room, but many more working out or hanging out outside the room were paying attention most of the time as well.

The Thai students began by leading a few Thai worship songs (after we introduced ourselves) and my fears began to melt away as I watched some of the prisoners passionately worship Jesus.

After the Thai students got done leading some songs, Eric, Ashley and I sang two worship songs in English. We each prepared a small 5-10 minute sermon/sharing from the Bible. Eric and Ashley both shared with a salvation theme. I shared out of Philippians. I explained how Paul was a successful man, but counted everything as a loss compared to knowing Christ. He also went through very difficult times once coming to know Christ, but Paul writes about forgetting the past and looking forward to the promises he has for us. It went extremely well- a lot better than I could have imagined. They were all very appreciative and open and very glad that we were there.

We went to the women’s side of the prison next. On the way over we were told that we didn’t have as much time compared to the men’s side, and that we shouldn’t share what we had prepared, it was too long. When we got there, on the spot they just asked us to sing a song. After the first song, we were told we had more time, so we sang another. Then, Tutu asked me to share my testimony. So, I got up and was about to share what I had prepared, but she said no, just to share my testimony. Out of a room of about 50 women, only 2 in the front were Christians. She said they just wanted to know about my life, so just talk about my life in the United States to them. So… completed unprepared and mad at Thai culture once again… J I just prayed! This was a time when God could have the spotlight because I had absolutely no idea what to say! I just talked about my life in the states, my hobbies, school, what I want to do… and I’ve found that there is just no way to talk about my life without saying something about God. I’ve never really felt that I have had much of a “testimony”. Especially compared to the women in the prison, I have not gone through any horrible things in my life. But God has blessed me so much and been so consistent in sustaining me throughout my life that it was incredible to be able to share with the women the love I have for the lord and what role he plays in my life. The two Christian women up front were really excited to hear me say those things and I pray that it was of some encouragement to the other women as well. When I got done, Ashley was asked to do the same kind of thing, and she did a great job of thinking on her feet J

Honestly, being in the prison with those people was a really new experience for me, but God works in ways that we do not even know and I just pray that maybe something unplanned was accidently said that will plant a seed that we probably will never know about.

Day 28

Today Ashley and I went to Thai cooking school! This was so much fun! I loved it! We learned how to cook Pad Thai, spring rolls, cashew chicken stir-fry, Hot and sour soup with shrimp, green curry, and sweet sticky rice with mango! They were all made from scratch and all the most incredible recipes I have ever tasted! After preparing each dish in our outdoor kitchen stations, Ashley, I and two guys from New York would sit and eat our dishes! It was awesome because the food was incredible and I was so proud that I had actually made it!! We took a break half way through the course and the lady, Yui, took us on a tour of the market and showed us what everything was and how to recognize and pick out ingredients! She was so fun and so kind and made it an incredible day. It was an awesome way to get more familiar with Thai culture.

Kaillie, the other intern, came to Thailand today and we got to catch up with her and visit the kids at Doi Saket Orphanage 1. So fun… but tomorrow is our last day! Crazy…  

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Today was church! We got up early and all gathered at the Doi Saket 1 orphanage. We didn’t have any specified role in the service today, but when I was least expecting it, someone leaned over and asked me to get up and play a piano song on the spot during the offering! Thank the Lord that I have a musical background!            J

After church we had a pretty relaxing afternoon at Tutu’s house. We practiced our music for the prison ministry on Monday, but other than that just rested up.

Ashley, David, Eric and I went to the Walking Market again tonight. It was a lot of fun just spending time with friends. I love our friends in Thailand J David cracks me up- we have so much fun laughing with him!

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This morning we found a snake in Tutu’s bedroom! Without knowing it, it had been at my feet the whole time I had been praying this morning. Aaron pointed out the crazy metaphor J.

Ashley and I spent the morning baking a double chocolate cake for the nursery kid’s graduation party tomorrow! I am so excited for that!

After the cake, we went back to Tutu’s and helped load all of the instruments into the cars to take to the orphanage for the big concert tonight.

The concert went well J Before the concert, all the kids spent time in worship. Then Zack and his friend did really well and started the concert off with some popular love songs. It was so good and so fun! The kids got to eat cookies and got Coke during the songs.

Eric, Ashley, Zack, Daniel, his girlfriend, and I all played in one big band. We played severl upbeat worship songs. The kids were so cute- dancing around and everything! It was really fun, but challenging to communicate through the whole preparation process. I was frustrated because we could have been a lot better prepared, but because of the mis commnications and such, we didn’t get to practice barely at all.

After the concert, Ashely and I went into Doi Saket and got my favorite Thai dessert- Roti!!! Mmmm!!! It was so good!

I am staying overnight at the orphanage tonight! Tomorrow is a big day of preparation for the party and playing with the kids! I can’t wait!

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Today we got up and went with Ashley and David up one of the mountains to visit the main 

pagoda in Chiang Mai- Doi Set Hep. It was beautiful and the statues and architecture are breathtaking, but this was the first temple that we actual observed people worshipping in. We had to take our shoes off to go up to the actual place of worship and it was surreal. There were 

groups of people meeting with monks and making first time 

commitments along with countless others who were carrying flowers and incense around, bowing to the idols. It was so crazy. I really didn’t know what to think.

            In the afternoon we hopped in the back of the truck and road through the mountains for an hour to go to Wiang Pa Pao, the widow’s farm. It is so beautiful there! It is a farm growing corn, lychee fruit, other fruit, pigs, chickens, fish and more! The widows live there, help with farming and sew bags and purses to sell as a type of micro-enterprise. Tutu said that in the future they want to look into planting a certain kind of tree that attracts silk worms so that the widows can 

make silk as well!

            When we got there, we watched them kill and slaughter a pig for us to eat and to take back for the orphans. Talk about fresh meat! It was delicious.

   The farm provides food for the orphanages. It doesn’t completely feed the kids, but helps cut down the price of food a lot for Asia’s Hope.

            We spent a hot, bug-filled night, wonderful night at the farm, then headed back home the next afternoon, but not without praying first. There is a big need for support for this farm. The farm does so much for Asia’s Hope by providing food for the orphanages, a place for the widows to live and support themselves, and eventually- they want to have an orphanage there too! Some of the widows actually have orphans 

that stay at other Asia’s Hope orphanages, so it would be awesome to possibly move them out to be w/ their moms! Please pray that support would be raised to pay for this farm!

            We got back home in the afternoon and Ashley and I went in to the orphanage to play with the kids and help them with their homework. The language barrier is so difficult for me! I have even taken a course in teaching English as a secondary language, but was completely unable to help a girl with her English homework! It has definitely been the hardest part about this trip.

            Ash and I went to the store to pick up some party supplies for four of the nursery students’ graduation to the “big kid” dorms! We’re going to make it a really big deal for them and I am so excited!

            We then went back home and practiced the music for the concert at the orphanage which is tomorrow! It should be really fun!

            Busy busy! Please keep praying for Wiang Pa Pao! 

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Today Ashley, David, and I woke up and headed to the Day market. This was a really cool cultural experience. It was humungous and spanned across several blocks! We tried some really good cultural food from the roadside J Mmmm… spring rolls, cut up mango, fried pork balls…

Ashley’s mom sent some money over for the orphans in the nursery and Ashley and I picked out new outfits for each of the littlest ones at Doi Saket 1! We are so excited to give them to them and dress them up all cute!

We went home for the afternoon to practice for the prison, but Tutu’s other sons never showed up for practice. We’ve learned to roll with the punches since being here. Even if something is planned, it really doesn’t mean it will happen. So… you just learn to be flexible J

We got some Mexican for dinner, which was great! Then went with Ashley to her Bible study that she goes to on Monday nights. This was awesome! It was just for “foreignors,” so there were no Thai people there. The room was filled with people from every other part of the world, though, it seemed… Norway, Denmark, England, America… it was really awesome to see so many different people joined together as one body of Christ in a foreign country! Each person was in Chiang Mai working with a different organization. Some were with Partners, International Justice Mission, Free Burma Rangers, some were teachers… it was really great! We are looking forward to next week! 

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I had my first bout with sickness 

this morning. It wasn’t too bad, but prompted to chug some medicine before headin

g off to church.

Thankfully, God kept me healthy through the rest of the day.

We had church this morning. Church is held at the Prek Eng orphanage 1 for all of the orphanages in Chiang Mai. Once again, I am amazed by the staff workin

g at these orphanages. Along with all of their other duties, they completely put 

together and run a full-blown church service every week for all of the orphans, the staff, and sometimes orphans that have “graduated” and are now at surrounding universities.

The worship is a lot like ours, and although they sing in Thai, they only sang one song I didn’t know! They sing contemporary Christian worship, just like at Crossroads! Crazy! A lot of the orphans did special music.

The orphans love the Lord so much. It was incredible to see them yell out and jump up and down praising Jesus. They are such incredible kids. Occasionally babies would wander around the aisles, haha.

They took communion and offering and then it was Eric and I’s turn to teach. Eric spoke on faith and did a really good job. He used the illustration of being on a soccer team and having faith in teammates and how we need to have that same faith in Jesus and to have a personal relationship with him. I built off of that and talked about trust.

Trust is something that God has been pounding into my head over the past year of my life. Specifically trust in decision-making and when we have to wait on him. I encouraged the orphans and staff that God is faithful and that his way is always better than ours. He is fully worthy of our trust, and even if he seems to not answer us right away, he never leaves or forsakes us.

It was interesting speaking through a translator. Tutu’s youngest son, David, translated. He did such a good job! When I was praying about speaking today, I realized how much room there was for God to work in what I was saying. I realized that the words I said would go through my mouth, through a translator and into the ears of people who could potentially take what was said a number of ways. There was so much room for God to work that it didn’t really make me too nervous to actually speak. I just prayed that God would twist the words to form whatever he wanted the group of people to hear. Because I don’t know! It was just a cool thought.

After speaking, I shared a song that I wrote. Music is a really big thing with the orphans, so that was a neat way to connect, even through a language barrier. 

Anyways… after church, and playing with the kids, Tutu, Eric, Ashley, David, Birdy (a graduated orphan), and I went to get Callsoy for lunch. It was incredibly delicious, oh my! And I got some Thai iced tea, which was very interesting. Kind of tasted like cream of wheat and milk and tea all mixed together.

We all just rested through the afternoon. It was really nice. I really needed it. Ashley and I ran to the store in the evening to get some DV tapes for my video camera and to exchange some America money for baht. It is hilarious, though, because in Asia they only accept bills that are perfect and crip and not torn or marked on or anything! So I had a good looking bill, and it still got denied once because it was “too old” according to the date… ridiculous. But thankfully the second place we went coorporated.

We picked up dinner to go and some awesome fruit smoothies. It still surprises me how cheap stuff is here. We got dinner for three and three smoothies/ frappaccinos for probably 4 dollars. Woo!

When we got home (only Eric, Ashley, and I were home), t

he doorbell rang and movers from the music store had arrived to drop off all of the instruments for the upcoming concerts! Tutu has been saving u

p a long time to buy instruments and music equipment to use for ministry, prison outreach, and possibly a recording studio someday word has it? Maybe? J

Anyways, they unloaded and I couldn’t believe how much stuff we had! Brand new sound system, soundboard, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mics, mic stands, music stands, amps, a drum set, a double kick pedal… I still don’t even think I got it all! So we are SO excited for the upcoming concert outreaches now! The prison concert got pushed to Wednesday, but another is not planned for the orphans Friday night! It is going to be so fantastic.

So we played the night away with all of the new equipment. Good day. God is so good and is blessing this ministry so much!

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So, there must have been a misunderstanding as of why all of the children thought it was acceptable to put all sorts of nasty crawly bugs all over me and in my hair tonight. J

Today was the last day of English Camp, and pretty much all of the older kids were back in school, so it was a pre-school day! The little ones are so adorable!

It is crazy what these kids have been through so far and they are still so young! Pretty much all of the orphans are rescued out of the hill tribes, and the hill tribes have their own languages! So most of the kids don’t even know Thai when they come to live in the orphanages. One of the littlest girls (with a Mohawk) is still just trying to learn Thai. Talk about a hard transition!

But the kids are so good! It is incredible how well behaved they are. One of the littlest boys sometimes is a little hyper and overwhelming compared to the other kids, but when you consider their stories and what they have been through, it is amazing to see how good they really are. This little boy specifically had been abused by his father. And he is so young.

I helped Ashley cook the American lunch for the Campus Crusaders (spaghetti, garlic toast, salad, brownies...). It was so good!

After, the kids watched Kung-fu Panda, which is great. Disney movies are always more fun in Thai. Ashley and I spent some time cleaning the learning center building today. The kids have been in it all week and it was a mess! I asked her if her intern position had a “job description” or how all of the staff functioned in their tasks. She said for the most part people just did what needed to be done. And stuff just got done. They don’t really have set tasks.

I was around in the afternoon just to play with the kids. At Prek Eng 1 orphanage they have some fun play set stuff that they can play on. It was fun to run around with them.

The Campus Crusaders came back for dinner and provided a favorite Thai dish for all of the staff and orphans. I usually love spicy food, but this one was crazy hot! I’ve learned for the most part not to ask what I’m eating, but just to enjoy the taste. Eric and I learned the other day that one of our favorite dishes has the broth of pig blood. Oops.

After dinner the kids did some dances and sang some worship. Thank you’s were given for a good week and then all the orphans had ice cream! It was quite the event. But the evening was not done yet. We had FIREWORKS! And SPARKLERS!

It was a very good and very tiring day. 

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So, it has been a struggle since being in Thailand. The culture is very different even just from Cambodia. And even though Eric and I were on our own for most of the activities in Cambodia, we didn’t realize until now how much American “backbone” and organization we had while there. Since being in Thailand it has been hard to find a way to help with anything. The Thai’s communication is very indirect and they are the most hospitable people I have ever met! That is why without realizing it, we ended up at the mall watching a movie rather than at the orphanage helping with English camp. The communication was not clear and no one would tell us how to help or what they needed from us.

It has taken a couple days to transition to being here and to figure out how to be of any assistance. The children’s needs are being met by the orphanage staff. And they are incredible people! They have dedicated their lives to raising these orphans and they are doing an incredible job at it!

I’ve finally figured out how to get rides out to the orphanage at the beginning of each day, whether with Tutu, her son David, or the intern Ashley. Once here, though, unless Ashley tells me how to help, really you are on your own again to figure out where you could be useful. It has taken being very observant and also just feeling out what a normal day for the orphans is.

The campus crusade students are running English camp for the orphans, so the staff has gotten a bit of a break, which is great for them.

So…. With that being said. Today was a great day! It was really encouraging because I really feel that I am getting the hang of the culture and what my role in it is. I woke up early and came with Ashley so I could be present at the entire English camp. The orphans painted for one of their activities today and it was so adorable! They did such a good job! Some of them are really artistically talented! I saw that some of them were spilling some paint on the floor, so I grabbed a wash clothe from the kitchen and had officially specified my first job! I can’t tell you how much joy I had cleaning up the orphans’ mess. It allowed the Campus Crusade students to continue in the work they needed to do, while taking care of a job that one of the staff wouldn’t have to worry about later.

One responsibility that the staff still does have during this week of English camp, however, is cooking lunch for the campus crusaders. I helped with that! We cooked in the outdoor kitchen at the orphanage for a while. I peeled so many mangos that I lost count! It was fun to be a part of that process, though.

During movie time in the afternoon, I spent some time uploading my pictures onto facebook so that Crossroads would have them for their church service this weekend. I’m sorry that the pictures haven’t been working on here, but they are all up on facebook (of Cambodia at least), so feel free to check those out! I will try to start getting some up here as well.

Tutu picked Ashley and I up later. Her, Eric, and David had spent all day shopping around for instruments. We have a concert in a woman’s prison on Monday, and they have to buy a guitar, a bass guitar, a drum set, a P.A. and microphones, so they did a lot of shopping! Tutu has been saving up for these things for a long time to have for ministry, and now, because of the concert, is the time to buy them! So Eric has been able to help a lot with that. Tutu took us all to Thailand’s version of Walmart pretty much, haha, Carfour. Ashley and I picked up things to make spaghetti, brownies and cookies so that we could cook an English lunch for the Campus Crusade team tomorrow.

After we all got dinner. The food is SO cheap in Thailand! Eric and I both got a big dinner and water bottles for under $2! Crazy…

It was already pretty late by the time we got back to Tutu’s house. Ashley and I went over to Mike and Debbie’s house (other missionaries who are currently in the States) so that we could use their more powerful oven for baking. We made the brownies at night and spent time in the kitchen dancing and listening to music for the wedding that we have to prepare for!

So, although it has taken a few days to transition to Thai culture, I feel that I finally have gotten in the swing of things and it is great to feel that I am a help here. It really takes a lot of initiative. We are never given a list of tasks to do in a day. When we wake up we are responsible for getting where we want to go and once we get there (which is usually the orphanage for me) we are responsible to find how to help as best we can. Ashley has been an angel and I’ve talked with her extensively about allowing me to relieve her of some of her mundane responsibilities and we have a pretty good thing going now. Most of it has involved cooking lately.

But tomorrow is the last day of English camp and then next week all the orphans will be back in school! So the daily routine will be interrupted once again! We have a lot of music responsibilities to practice for! (the concert in the prison and the wedding). So we are starting to get busy already!

We found out that we will be sharing from the Bible or giving our testimony at the prison on Monday, so please pray that God will speak through us! Thank you so much for your prayers so far! They are helping so much!

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Today we spent all day with Srey Mao and her cousin!

We went to Tuol Sleng first. Tuol Sleng was an school that was turned into a concentration camp/ torture center/ prison during the Khmer Rouge Regime. This was my second time going, but it’s not something that one can just get used to. We got to see the rooms the people were held in, the weapons they were tortured with, and the methods in which they died. We saw their clothes, their bones, and a picture of the face of each and every person killed in that camp. I cannot even believe that something like this happened such a short time ago. I don’t understand how humanity is capable of such an embarrassment.

There was a book in one of the rooms where people can write a response to what they had seen, and it was so awesome to see people unite so strongly against something. Within two pages I saw people from Germany, Ireland, Australia, Cambodia and many other countries who were moved enough to write. It was a really cool thing.

After that (although it’s hard to just so quickly move on), we all went to the Russian Market and got lots of cool things J

After a delicious late lunch of American style stir fry, Srey Mao and her cousin dropped us of at an internet café to figure out the details for our flight. When they came to pick us up, they had ditched the Asia’s Hope van and were both on motos.

Eric and I hopped on the back of the motos and Mao and her cousin took us to the “riverside.” In Cambodia, the “place to go” to hang out is usually at parks or central outside places. Many people gather to eat, play games, or just hang out. Another common thing in Cambodia, which I think is hilarious, is that in these outdoor gathering places, there are always big, professionally led and regular meeting, work out groups. People just do ridiculous dance/work outs in these big gathering places and it looks hilarious! So, Mao and her cousin took us to see “the riverside” and then just drove us around the city for a while. When you get into the heart of Phnom Penh, one could almost forget that you’re in a third world country (until you see the garbage everywhere or the wandering children or beggars). Some of the buildings are beautiful! We drove by the King’s Palace- which is awesome!

Finally, they took us to a huge stadium which was originally built for the Olympics I guess. Tons and tons of people were there playing every sport you can think of- volleyball, tennis.. and lots of soccer! It was really cool, and a lot of people our age were there just to hang out. Around the top of the stadium there were tons and tons of work-out groups. We sat and watched some of the people working out for a while, haha.

They took us back to the guesthouse after our tour of the city and we made some more grilled cheese. Mao’s cousin had never had it before, but I think she really liked it! Dairy is NOT a part of Cambodian’s diet and cheese is actually really expensive over there compared to other things. Milk is also a rarity, and they only have a kind that is cooked longer than ours, or something, and supposedly tastes really different. Dairy is definitely the biggest difference in our diets because it virtually is not a part of their diet at all. Our grilled cheese is probably what has upset our stomachs the most so far, haha, imagine that!

It’s sad to have to say goodbye to new friends already… again! We stayed up and played cards for a while and watched some TV.

But before we knew it it was off to bed and on to Thailand…

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Day 9- May 7, 2009

Saying goodbye was way worse than I had anticipated. We got up early to catch the orphans before they went to school. We just stood and played with them for a little while, but when the time came for us to catch our bus, the tears came. I think their cook was the first one to start crying. She was awesome and had hung out every time we were around, but I was surprised she was so upset that we were leaving. As the orphans realized what was going on, most of them became really emotional too. It was so hard to leave them.

Our bus left Battambang at 7:30 a.m. I had been extremely worried about getting sick for this 5-6 hour bus ride and not having anywhere to go to the bathroom! But God was so good and kept Eric and I very healthy. The bus was an old charter bus and was actually really nice. It stopped several times, and it was kind of confusing because everyone knew when to get on and off and where to go, etc. Luckily, there was a really nice lady who spoke English who guided Eric and I through the pit stops! The bus had a TV in the front that played cheesy music videos and stuff the whole way to Phnom Penh, haha, it was great!

When we got to Phnom Penh we were surrounded by moto drivers who wanted our business. It was kind of overwhelming. Savorn picked us up, though, and we finally we got to the Phnom Penh guesthouse. We had several hours to just rest and it was really nice and really needed. Unlike Battambang, in Phnom Penh we don’t have as much freedom because it is a lot more dangerous.

Savorn picked us up in the evening to take us to get groceries in the “supermarket.” It really is a big mall, with a grocery store on the frist floor. It is really  nice and looks a lot like a mall from the States. They had a lot of American fashions all throughout the mall. Really expensive brands, like Levi, Hollister, Gucci, etc were everywhere and extremely cheap! They are very skeptical of people stealing in their mall, however, and no pictures are allowed inside at all. Also, before we were allowed into the grocery area, we had to leave our bags at a bag check!

When we got back to the guesthouse, Eric and I made a spaghetti dinner w/ sautéed mushrooms and dragonfruit! Mmm! Srey Mao, a 24 year old student employed my Asia’s Hope, teaches English at the Christian School and lives at and cleans the guesthouse. She got home while we were eating and joined us for some dinner. We spent time together last time I was here and it was really good to get to see her again! She is so crazy J

Our evenings will be spent inside for the most part. Phnom Penh is a huge city compared to Battambang. Although Battambang is the second largest city in Cambodia, it oly has about 30,000 people compared to Phnom Penh which has over 2 million. Savorn told us that in the past 5 years it has grown from 1 million to over 2 million due to rural people moving to the city looking for jobs.

It’s a very big, crowded, and noisy city. From our rooms in the guesthouse, we can always hear everyone around us- their talking, music, TV’s, construction, animals, everything! It is a very noisy place.

Day 10- May 8, 2008

Savorn picked us up from the guesthouse at 9 this morning and took us to the internet café so we could make sure our tickets were all ready for our flight to Chiangmai Sunday. While we were there, and in the middle of emails (that monk emailed me!!!), the electricity went out. The electricity goes out all the time in Cambodia, usually because of the overloaded use in the extreme heat. It goes out at the guesthouse all the time too (once while I was in the shower!). Luckily this internet café had a generator that kicked on after a few minutes, but usually life has to be put on pause until the electricity comes back on.

We visitied the Asia’s Hope Christian School today. The children had a few songs that they performed for us when we got there, and then we just played. I recognized many of the orphans from my first trip to Cambodia and it was incredible to see them again! The school had also moved locations since I had been there last, and the new one is so nice! Battambang doesn’t have a Christian school, and the orphans told us that they get persecuted for following Jesus. It is such a great thing that we have one in Phnom Penh.

We went to one of the Prek Eng orphanages for a big Khmer lunch! It was so good. I really am starting to get the hang of how they eat. There are just big bowls of Khmer food in the middle of the table and each person is given a bowl of rice. As you eat, you just take little bits from the center plates as you eat. You never fill your plate completely at the beginning and work your way through your plate. You take little by little from the center dishes. Also, America goes way overboard with their food rules! In Cambodia, the chicken eggs are never refrigerated and no one ever gets sick! This is one among many things that are not necessary in America. The food is delicious here.

After lunch we went back to the school and taught in one of the younger classrooms. They wanted us to teach them a new song, so we taught them “I love you Lord.” We explained what the words meant and taught them the melody with motions to go with it. Then we played bingo!

Shortly, we left. We went back to the guesthouse to wait for Srey Mao. When she got there, we got a tuk-tuk and went back to the mall for some shopping! It was really fun to look at everything, as well as just hang out with Mao. She is so hilarious! She told some of the workers that Eric was her boyfriend and flirted with him the whole time- always telling him how handsome he was J haha.

Then we came back and all three of us made grilled cheese sandwiches (yuuuummmm), sautéed white mushrooms, spiky looking lychee fruit, fresh mango, and leftover spaghetti! The electricity went out for a pretty long time after dinner, so we just played guitar and sang until bed.

I love Srey Mao. I hate how you just start to get close to someone and then it is already time to move on.

I thought I was starting to pick up on some symptoms of culture shock… I started feeling very tired all the time, even when I knew I was getting a lot of sleep, and wanted to go back to the guesthouse rather than stay with the kids at the Christian School and things like that. I know that excessive sleeping and wanting to retreat from the people a lot can sometimes mean culture shock, so I checked myself. But hanging out with Srey Mao has been a really nice shift. I absolutely love the children with all of my heart, but being with someone our own age has been really refreshing! I think I’m fine J

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Today was incredible! Savy and his family picked Eric and I up at 9 a.m. in a rented van and we took off to another province outside of Battambang. We went into the heart of rural Cambodia. We drove on road 10, which used to have an extensive amount of land mines that they just in the past year or so finally completely cleared out.

They took us to three different places, but I can’t say any of their names! Simpeou Mountain, another mountain and a lake.

The first mountain we went to had a beautiful temple that we visited. There were monks and nuns at this temple. We didn’t talk to any of them this time. There was a specific tree fenced off that the people worshipped. I asked why, and Channa said something about Buddha sitting under a tree meditating, but I didn’t know if she meant that was the tree he sat under or what made that particular tree so special and sacred.

Next we went to another mountain. This was the mountain that the Khmer Rouge used during the regime. Savy explained on the way there that he used to be a soldier and that being stationed in this province was how me met his wife! He now works for the Lord, though, he said.

We climbed probably a thousand stairs before we got to the entrance of the area. There were huge guns/cannons in this mountain. There were beautiful, intricate temples and statues every few yards it seemed!! There also were many caves that were amazing! Many of the caves were used to throw dead bodies in during the regime. One in particular had a hole in the top where the bodies were thrown through. In the bottom, where we were, there were cases holding some of the bones. There were stairs going even lower into the darkness, but Simon said that it is said that people can go down, but they will never come back up. Many people believe that there are spirits all around because of the deaths. Most believe in ghosts.

We came to an area where there was a gigantic Buddha statue, and all around it were wild monkeys! I have never seen monkeys in the wild before! That’s when I realized that we really were in the jungle. We were at a high altitude on a mountain in rural Cambodia! We threw bananas to them and it was so crazy to watch them swarm and run around!

One thing that I noticed today more than ever is that it is acceptable to litter. People just throw their garbage wherever they want. Even in very sacred areas of worship or by very sacred statues, there is trash everywhere! It is just so unusual to me.

It is cultural here for friends to hold hands. It doesn’t mean anything inappropriate if the same sex hold hands, like it does in the states sometimes. So, Channa and I held hands a lot throughout the day today, and I decided that I really like that a lot. Especially when there is a little bit of a language barrier (although she speaks great English), it is just a great way to bond and have friendship.

I really wish loading picture would work so that you all could see some of the incredible pictures of the temples in the mountains….

After an exhausting day of climbing up and down the mountain, we went to the lake. There we rented a little hut and ate a massive lunch on a mat on the floor. God has blessed me with a love for different foods. Every meal has rice and today we had a whole chicken (head, claws and all), a whole fish(head, scales and all), and beef (kind of like beef jerky) to go with it! They also ordered more food from surrounding “vendors”. I really don’t know where the food came from though. They got papaya salad (which is very spicy and hard on our stomachs, but very good!!), BBQ beef (or something), and rabbit soup, that we came to find was made with spoiled meat. Fruit is always for dessert, and is my favorite part! Today we had lychee and mangosteins!!! MMMM!!!

After exploring a little, we all got in our hammocks and took afternoon naps by the lake! It was so nice and relaxing!

We parted ways for an hour or so and then met back up, along with Kaillie and the Kanes, and had dinner at the Bungalow!! (local restaurant mentioned a few days ago…) It was a really great time full of laughter and good food! We had Savy’s family try American food for the first time! This restaurant serves both American and Khmer food, so we ordered French fries, cheeseburgers and spaghetti for them to try and they really liked it (or else were really good at lying J )!!

Tomorrow we leave Battambang, and I can’t believe it is already time for our first goodbyes… We are getting up very early to say bye to the orphans before they go to school. Yikes… Channa and I have gotten very close and it is going to be hard to part ways with her. We traded rings tonight and promised to pray for each other. We call each other sister now.

It’s going to be really hard to leave.

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Today after breakfast, Kaillie, Eric and I took a walk around the block by our hotel, but quickly returned due to the unbearable heat. Eric and I sat outside the hotel and talked for a while with one of the workers. We are building relationships with a few of the workers. He helped us with a few Khmer words and phrases and it was really nice to talk to him.

After talking with him, Eric and I went across the street to the Buddhist Temple. We were told the monks there are very eager to speak English with foreigners, so we approached the dorms where they stay. Immediately a man walked over and asked us a language question. Before we knew it, we were seated in the middle of a circle of eager-to-learn Buddhist monks. We spoke with them about their culture and our culture. They were very interested in language and asked us about English, how much Khmer we knew, and about how we knew Spanish and French as well. They were very friendly. We asked them if they could tell us about Buddhism, but they said they only knew how to explain in Khmer. We talked extensively with four of them, Thorn Bunsok (a monk student), Khem Chanratha, a Thai teacher and and English teacher in the monastery. We got the contact information of Bunsok. He taught us the Khmer alphabet and answered a lot of our questions. They asked about our religion and we were eager to share that we were Christians, but they were so much more interested in our language that the topic was quickly changed. Later, an older English teacher in the monastery came to talk to us and invited us to come back tomorrow so that we could talk to him class! I am so excited to get to speak with them again! Begin praying for these people! Especially Bunsok! We have Bunsok’s email and will be able to stay in touch with him after we leave. That is so incredible to me.

We were picked up at 4 to go to BB3 again today. When we got there, we ate un unplanned meal right with the orphans, rather than the director’s family. And if we are going to get sick from food, this meal would be the one to do it! There were fish eggs and pork stuff and tastes that I never knew existed. It was pretty good though, and really fun to eat with the kids.

After dinner, all the kids loaded into a tuk-tuk and we all went to the park by the river! We played in the grass there for hours! There were two clowns who put on a funny how that we all watched. It was great J

After playing, we hooked up with Jill Kane. We went to her home for dinner. Her home is so beautiful! She made us tacos for dinner, and it tasted so good after to much rice and Khmer food! We ate on the floor and talked for several hours about Cambodian culture. She told us about the wedding ceremonies and her experiences teaching the people about Christ.

Fun, but exhausting, day!

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We said our goodbyes to Pastor Bob this morning. He and Kevin Kane left for Siem Reip while the rest of us stayed behind in Battambang. We had a very relaxed start to our day. We were blessed with plenty of time to catch up on journaling and tend to the first encounter of queasy stomachs. Luckily they didn’t last.

Eric and I went with Savorn, Savy and John Campbell to buy cell phones and moto helmets today. My cell phone is pink and ultra-Asian! Ha, it’s fantastic! We’ll leave the cell phones behind in Phnom Penh before we fly to Chiangmai, but they’ll aid in our communication while we are here in Cambodia.

After having lunch at the restaurant at the home of the wealthy familiy I spoke of yesterday, Eric, Kaillie and I went to the market. We took a tuk-tuk for the first time today. Today was extremely hot and the market was hot, sticky and smelly. There are always beggars roaming through the market and it is hard to turn them away. Every time we’ve been to the market so far we have seen other white individuals. Usually they are from Europe, but I always wonder what their stories are and why they are in Battambang, Cambodia.

At four, Eric and I were supposed to be picked up from our hotel to go to BB3. However, Simon, the orphanage director’s son, was on Cambodian time and didn’t show up until about 4:30. It really was ok, though. Eric and I sat outside and talked with some of the hotel workers. Eric has become pretty good friends with the desk worker and they helped us with a few Khmer phrases. One of the workers offered to let Eric use his moto! Now there’s some trust…

I am a very time-oriented, check-list, always on the go kind of person and thought that switching to a relationship oriented way of life would be a lot tougher than it has been. Really, I have found that I absolutely love their laid back way of life. There are no worries! Life is so much more stress-free and enjoyable. It has been great and an easy adjustment to make, thankfully.

When we got to the orphanage, we were attacked by all 24 of BB3’s kids. They are so great. We have the best orphanage! It was awesome this time knowing that my family just specifically started sponsoring Senghong. We haven’t told her yet, but it was fun to watch her J

We played some relay races with the kids and it was hilarious. Most of the time we created them just to make the kids do things that looked funny J We were all laughing so hard. I taught Simon says to some of the younger orphans, not remembering at first that the orphan director’s son, who was translating for me, was named Simon. So that made things a little confusing at first, but everything was soon cleared up! Ha!

We had dinner at the orphanage tonight, which was awesome! The orphans ate out back, but Eric and I ate in the front with the director’s family. Savy, the director, wasn’t there, but we ate with his wife and three kids. The food was delicious. It was the first time, though, that we were eating not knowing if the food was “safe” for us Americans or not. I think we’ll be ok, but we’ll find out for sure soon enough… We really still don’t know the proper way to eat. It’s different from in the States because you all take little bits off of the main center dishes as you go. The meal consisted of lots of observing and lots of imitating. We ended up sitting and talking with them for almost two hours. It was some of the best time I feel we have spent with them yet since being here. We got to ask them about the specific needs of their orphanage and found that it is very likely that our church can meet their needs! We also found out about how they came to be orphanage directors. A while ago, some orphans ran away from another local orphanage because they wanted to be a part of Asia’s Hope’s orphanage and they stayed with Savy’s family. Channa said it was a very hard time because they got in trouble with the law. Eventually, somehow things got sorted out however and now their family leads BB3 of Asia’s Hope! It was just really good to get to know these people better. They are so wonderful!!!

After dinner, we gave the kids some candy and they were so excited. The funniest thing happened, and I’ll do my best to explain. There is this one boy who for some reason just cracks me up. He just has the goofiest grin and is so funny. Anyways, the kids were told they could take one big piece of candy and two small pieces of candy out of the bag as we walked by, and they were really good about it! Well, when it was this boy’s turn, he decided that his big piece of candy was going to be a Peep, but when he pulled it out, the Peep had two Sprees stuck to the side of the marshmallow, which meant that in one grab he had filled his three pieces of candy limit. He didn’t do anything, but just looked up at me, horrified at the predicament he was now in. I don’t think I have stopped laughing yet- it was just so funny because I knew exactly what had happened. I let him get another piece of candy- no worries J

The kids did more dances for us and then Eric and I played some music that the kids danced to for a while. Time flew tonight though and before we knew it, it was time to come back to the hotel.

All of the leaders will go back to Phnom Penh tomorrow. Eric and I are more and more on our own each day. We are doing well and learning our way around town a bit. We only have two days left in Battambang- I can’t believe it, and we have lots of plans with the BB3 kids and the orphanage director’s family.

I can’t wait to fill you in on them as we go!!

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Today was church! All of us Westerners packed into a small room with 150 orphans and sang worship to Jesus! Each orphanage performed a specials something, either song or dance. It takes about two weeks for them to learn the dances that they perform and they do them every week!! So much work! They were so adorable J

It was really fun. I sat with girls from BB3 and it is just really excited to continue to make relationships. I was thinking today about how much of a difference it has made this trip having an orphanage sponsored by my church compared to last time. What it does it really give you an excuse to pay more attention to some of the orphans than others, as awful as that sounds. But Asia’s Hope has an overwhelming amount of orphans, and having an orphanage connected specifically to my church allows me to build deeper relationships, rather than a large number of shallow ones. It also ensures that the relationships will be lasting, which encourages me to invest a lot more into them. Especially Channa, the orphanage director’s daughter. She is incredible and is the orphan’s English teacher even though she is only 17! We’ve been spending a lot of time together.

After church, we got a little bit of a taste of Cambodian culture. We went into this trip with a lot of things unplanned. I usually am a very “planned” individual, but right away realized that being laid back is the key to this culture. It really hasn’t been difficult at all to adapt to. But we finally talked today and decided on the dates to fly to Chiangmai and when we’re going to go back to Phnom Penh.

After our meeting, Eric, John Campbell, Pastor Bob, Kaillie, the Canes and I went to a little restaurant not far from our hotel. It was owned and run by a wealthy family who is in the process of turning their house into a kind of bed and breakfast. We toured what they are currently building as well as the inside of their house and holy cow!! It’s strange to come to a third world country and see a house that is nicer than yours!! I was blown away. And lunch was great! It was my first meal of curry J Mmm!!

I talked to the Canes about what developmental issues they think are most prominent in this part of Cambodia. Jill Cane started thinking about it and said we can talk more about it later. I’m really looking forward to that conversation.

Eric and I walked to the market today. It was great. It is interesting how many stares we get when we go anywhere. No one says anything to us, but we stick out blatantly everywhere we go. Often little kids will run up and say hi. That’s my favorite J The market was crazy as usual and full of smells that I really cannot even describe. I’m just thankful that I wasn’t feeling sick at the time because they probably would have pushed me over the edge.

After the market, Savy picked us up on his moto and took us to BB3 where Eric and I hung out with our orphans! We did some video for the church and Eric played some soccer. When it started to rain, the kids did dances and dramas for us. We finished the night playing some music.

We’re staying in Battambang for several more days while most of the others go back to Phnom Penh. I’m so glad… I love our kids. Tomorrow we are joining them for dinner J

Until then…. 

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Today has been so fun. The BB 4 orphanage was dedicated today and boy was there a celebration! All 150 orphans of the 5 orphanages located in Battambang gathered together today in a huge tent that they had all been decorating for the past 3 days. There was a long service filled with singing, dancing, Scripture reading, and gift giving. Finally, the red ribbon was cut and everyone had a big lunch! The food was really interesting- a whole fish, a whole chicken, chicken foot soup and some stir-fried beef with sticky rice. It was really good! We got to experience how to eat in a Cambodian setting- everyone just eats off of the main dishes. It was really fun and community was quickly built. Initially, Eric and I saw down at a table with some of the orphans, but we quickly learned that this was culturally unacceptable and were moved to eat with the adults where better food was served.

Eric and I got to meet the BB 3 kids today! This is the orphanage that our church just started sponsoring! They all knew who we were and were so excited to meet us! Saviy is the orphan director. His wife’s name is Sem, his 17-year-old daughter is Channa, his middle son is Simon, and his youngest son is… something I cannot spell J. Channa speaks really good English and was so fun! I can’t wait to go spend some time at their orphanage getting to know them better.

Today was the first time that we got to see the orphans and it was so incredible. I just am overwhelmed with love for this country and its culture. I forgot how much I loved it. I have missed it so much.

On the way back to the orphanage, Kevin Cane stopped and showed us one of their micro-enterprise projects. This particular family grew mushrooms, which is the most successful crop grown in Cambodia usually. Kevin explained how the micro-enterprise loans were made from an organization in the US, but that he and his wife, Jill, were the ones who actually did the “on the ground” work here in Cambodia, intervening between the organization and the individuals receiving the loans. Some of the criteria that the individuals had to meet were being faithful in their Christian walk and writing up a one-page proposal of how they will be faithful financially. Most of the individuals receiving loans have undergone some sort of training on how the micro-enterprise system works. Usually the loans are $100, but Kevin said that just recently they changed it to being $200 if the individuals have been faithful in their payments for a certain amount of time.

He also explained how other missionaries had done surveys in the area to determine how many people had certain illnesses, such as Malaria, using the “ten-stone system.” Basically, the missionaries would ask people in villages how many out people they knew out of ten with malaria and if they grabbed three stones that would equal 10%... or something along those lines.

After an afternoon of rest, we grabbed some dinner and went back to the orphanage for a huge party! They had a loud sound system and played rap and techno music and we, along with 150 orphans, had a massive dance party! I couldn’t believe it! It was so much fun and was an instant way to bond. I danced mostly with the BB3 kids and Channa and Sem. It was so, so much fun.

We ended the night with fireworks!!

Really, I’ve just been reminded what really matters. God. And sharing God. And worshipping God. It’s really quite simple. But so often we complicate matters. I of all people put a huge emphasis on education and knowledge and discussions and theology etc, etc… But it is incredible how even after being here for just a few days, and stepping out of the routine and business of American life, how quickly and easily you are reminded of how simple life really is. Love God and Love others. Obey what he says. Realize you are nothing and let him work through you.

I don’t want this to turn into a cliché “missions trip” blog entry- but this is truly the first lesson I have gained, other than re-realizing the power of prayer. As soon as I have been pulled away from my hobbies and passions and what consumes my time, I am left simply asking God what he wants me to do- I’m in a culture that I am not proficient in so I really don’t have a clue what to do on my own. And I realize that that is how it really is supposed to work. 

P.S.- I would put pictures up, but the internet in Battambang isn't good enough to put them up yet!! Hopefully soon though!

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