Safe in Cambodia- round 2!

Hello!

The past few days have been a whirlwind and it's been my first time to the internet in 48 hours.

A team from Columbus has been here in Cambodia and left today. They were great to get to know and see how much they love the kids of Asia's Hope.

2 days ago we went to the water park with the kids and then ate fruit and ice cream bars with the kiddos at the christian school afterwards.

Yesterday, the team went to the dump (I have a previous blog post about that topic) but I decided to stay back and have some quiet time. Even though I've been and lived in Cambodia 6 weeks ago, I had a very hard time with the culture shock and I think I was tired as well. But it's GREAT to be back here and I'm excited to spend time with people here.

Adam and Jess Heath are here from Columbus and will be staying in Cambodia for a few more weeks. They have been such a blessing to get to know and I'm learning so much from Jess's photography skills! :) She's even let me play with her expensive camera.

She has a blog and has posted pictures from the past few days.

http://jessicaheath.blogspot.com/

They also have Thailand pictures from last week if you were curious to see what I was doing. I was with the team in Thailand all last week.

I still have many blog posts to put up but the internet is rather slow here in Phnom Penh.

HAPPY BELATED 20th BIRTHDAY HANNAH MICHELLE!!!!!! :)

and congrats to Derek and Aimee on D's graduation from pilot training!

Last Day in Thailand.

Hello folks.

I have many more blog posts to catch up on (my birthday last week, riding elephants, waterfalls, exploring Chiang Mai with the team from Columbus, more pictures of the kiddos).....

but I really must get to sleep. It's 2:30am and I will be getting on a plane tomorrow to head back to Cambodia (Tues, June 30th). Please bear with me over the next week as I try and catch you all up on what I've been doing, what God has been teaching me, and all pictures I will share with you.

Thank you!

5am wake up call- Saturday, June 14th

So sorry for the delay!! I have many excuses, but will save time for all of us and just update you on what's been going on the past few weeks.

Let's rewind and go back 2 weeks ago (the weekend of June 13th)

I spent the weekend at the orphanage with Ashley... and her room is in the baby house. Right behind the baby house is a "pasture" if you will that has cows, free range chickens, and a rooster. That rooster doesn't know when to crow. It will crow at all hours of the night. It decided to crow right outside our window at 5AM! If you don't know me very well, I take my sleep VERY seriously. I couldn't fall back asleep because that dumb rooster kept crowing. I was contemplating trying to hand make a sling shot, but couldn't find a rubber band... I also thought about throwing my flip-flops at it, but then I would have to climb the fence and get my shoes back.... this rooster had a death wish. I was not a happy camper.

But the day was very fun and quite busy!

The culprit.

The yummy Kao Soy for lunch. Mmmm. :)

In the afternoon, Ashley and I took the teen girls from the orphanage to the Horizon gardens. We rented bicycles and met up with Ashely's friend Angela and the teen girls that she works with. It was such a gorgeous but very warm afternoon.

Dolphin bushes.

Momma elephant with her baby.

We took bicycles around the gardens... such a fun afternoon!

At the waterfall with the girls.

Playing on the playground...we're never too old to play. ;)

Ash and I at the waterfall.

beautiful orchid.

crazy little cactus!

more orchids!!

Ash loves her roses!

Being goofy on the pirate ship in the middle of the rose garden.

I am a gaint compared our girls at the orphanage.. and I'm only 5'4"! eek!

Dragon topiary/fountain thing! Only in Asia....

After a great afternoon with the girls, Ashley and I had a relaxing evening out by the lakes of Doi Saket. I love how quiet it is out there. Ash goes running a few times a week around the lakes and I can understand why. It's so picturesque and hidden from everything.

My FAVORITE dinner.... Five Star Chicken and sticky rice, sweet corn, and Rotee for dessert. Yummy.

The cute gazebo where Ash and I had dinner.

The gorgeous scenic view!!

This is probably my favorite scenic picture I've taken while in Thailand. What a great way to end such a busy day.

"Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,

your justice like the ocean depths.

You care for people and animals alike, O Lord."

-Psalm 36:6

Pig Pan!

Last night ( Friday the 12th of June), all of the staff along with Ashley and myself, 26 people to be exact, went to a very "famous" Thai buffet. And let me tell you, it was an experience I'd never forget!!

The building was quite large and it had a metal barn/ flea market feel to it. There was a roof, but no sides to the building. At the front of the restaurant was a stage where there were Thai performers and comedians. When I first walked into the restaurant known as the "Pig Pan" I just saw table upon table upon table. I couldn't believe how large this place was.

The Pig Pan banner.

The stage.

The buffet was in the back. And here's how it worked:

1. You gather all your raw meats (a variety to choose from including freaky mixed meat in weird shapes as pictured below).

These little guys just creep me out. It is meat just mixed together turned into what looks like a posessed marshmallow.

Once again, mystery meat anyone? Any takers? Not me!!

Mr. Shrimp dude.

How about some lovely blue shrimp to cook? I've NEVER seen them this color in my life. Pretty funny looking, huh?

2. Pick your sauces, herbs, and spices for the meats.

3. Enjoy some pre-cooked food if you would like ( spring rolls, rice, french fries all included. There is a salad bar as well!

Growing up at The Barn always gives me very high expectations for a salad bar. I should just know better in Thailand! ;)

I don't know what the cd's have to do with a salad bar... adds to the atmosphere mabye? Oh who knows. My guess is as good as yours will be.

4. Go back to your table and grill your food right in front of you. You have chopsticks, a spoon, and a bowl. Chopsticks will be used for picking up the raw meat, flipping on your little grill or "pig pan", poking the raw meat to make sure it's grilling through the middle, and then stabbing again to ensure proper placement in the bowl. Ew. But I got used to it. In my arrogant american mindset, I just couldn't believe that I was using wooden chopsticks to play with the raw meat and then eat off with.

My video commentary of the buffet.

the "pig pan"

Tutu (the director of Thailand) with her sons Daniel and Zack. David, the youngest stayed at the orphanage for the evening to make sure things went smoothly. What a kid!

A funny little video of Daniel and Tutu enjoying themselves. Daniel reminds me of an asian version of Cory Ball. Cory, if you're reading this... this is what you'd look like if you were an asaind person!

5. Enjoy as much dessert as you would like!

Ashley and I with our Nestle's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream!! YUMMY!! :)

She and I may or may not have had two bowls each! :)

I had a great time with the staff and learning even more about the Thai culture. Once again, it was another little adventure I'll never forget!

A Video Montage of Church at the Orphanage: Sunday, June 7th.

Sorry for the delay in posts people. Earlier in the week, my laptop power cord plug melted to my international converter, started smoking/ burning and almost set itself on fire! No damage was done to the computer (thank goodness). I took the computer to the store and found a power cord for only $3.00 and a surge protector for $2.50!!! Thank you Lord for providing! I'm very thankful that most of the laptop parts are made in Thailand, Philippines or Malaysia.

But here are some videos from Sunday at church with the orphans to give you a taste of what it's like.

Singing "I want to know you more" in Thai.

The kids from Doi Saket 2 singing. I love how their just singing their little hearts out regardless of what key their on! ha.

Kiddos from Doi Saket 3 Orphanage. The kids in the front couldn't stop laughing about something.. I guess they just had the case of the giggles! Check out the kid in the orange shirt... he's laughing so hard, that he can't look up! So cute.

The teens of Doi Saket 1 singing.

Singing the doxology at the end of the sermon. You can kind of hear me singing it in english while they are all singing Thai.

What a beautiful thing to know that we can sing to God in any language!!

A Village Wedding- Saturday June 6th.

This past Saturday, I had the pleasure of going to my 5 wedding on this trip. I just never can get away from the wedding scene! ;) This was not your typical wedding. This took place in the villages of Thailand about an hour up the mountain, away from Chaing Mai. Saturday was gloomy and rainy all day which kept the temperature down significantly--- my guess, the high 70's. There was no white dress, wedding rings exchanged, and the father did not walk his daughter down the aisle as one would typically think when the word 'wedding' comes to mind. The young couple that got married are both 17... which is quite normal to get married so young in the villages. They were both from the Karen tribe (pronouced kuh-rin) which is only one of 7 of the hilltribes here in Thailand. As you will see in the pictures, the young girls/ unmarried women will wear traditional Karen dresses which are white. The white symolizes purity/ single/ virginity. And once you are married, you change colors, typically to black and red. I find that hilarious from white to black.. like once you're married, you're tainted or something! So as you will see, the bride will were her new "married woman" dress instead of a typical white dress on her wedding day. She will wear the dress for special occasions and some Sundays at church as well. The men also wear special red shirts. Their colors usually don't change as they get older.

And the adventure begins:

The view on the way up the mountain.

Rice fields on the side of the mountain.

This picture does NOT capture how muddy, steep, and scary the roads became the higher up the mountain we got! The puddles became very deep and I felt like I was on a rollercoaster. I'm still amazed at how the truck never became stuck... wow. We made it safely with all 20 of us in the truck! :)

I thought this little old lady was adorable.

One of the girls from Doi Saket 3.

The mother of the bride and one of the kids from Doi Saket 3 orphanage.

At the brides house.. waiting to walk to the church.

It's tradition for the bridal party and their guests to walk from the brides house to the church (where ever that may be in the village and if they are christians). We didn't have a long walk at all.. some weddings will have to walk a couple kilometers or so.

I love how colorful this lady's outfit was!

Massive woks to cook all of the food for a hundred people.

Lots of plates, bowls, and cups ready for the meal after the wedding!

Gorgeous exotic flowers decorated outside of the church.

The groom gave the bride a gold necklace. I need to ask Tutu what this symbolizes... my guess is the same as rings in the states. They typically don't wear wedding rings here.

Praying for the couple.

The happy couple.

Praying over the bride and groom.

Our girls from the Doi Saket 1 orphanage singing a song for the bride and groom.

The father of the bride reminiscing, giving blessings to his daughter and new husband, and also thanking everyone for coming.

After the wedding, the people of the village dispersed to different houses to eat. The food consisted of sticky rice, and 5 different dishes-- stirfried veggies, a weird red fish soup (I wasn't brave enough to try it), spicy beef, pork soup, and some sort of very sour dish. All of the people in our group (two big truck loads of kids and adults) all ate at this really nice house in the village... not at all what I was expecting. For those of you who know of the church camp I've grown up at (Camp Bethany), this house reminded me of the lodge, even with the wrap around porch on the out side!

After the meal, Ashley and I were spending time with these two girls from the Doi Saket 3 orphanage.

Miss Ashley and me.

It started raining VERY hard!!

And I will leave you with this video. The 3 kids from Doi Saket 3 that came along to the wedding recited 1st Corinthians 13:4-8. Here's what is sounds like in Thai (the written Thai and English are underneath).

1 โครินธ์ 13

13:4 ความรักนั้นก็อดทนนานและกระทำคุณให้ ความรักไม่อิจฉา ความรักไม่อวดตัว ไม่หยิ่งผยอง
13:5 ไม่ทำสิ่งที่ไม่บังควร ไม่คิดเห็นแก่ตนเองฝ่ายเดียว ไม่ฉุนเฉียว ไม่ช่างจดจำความผิด
13:6 ไม่ชื่นชมยินดีในความชั่วช้า แต่ชื่นชมยินดีในความจริง
13:7 ไม่แคะไค้คุ้ยเขี่ยความผิดของเขา และเชื่อในส่วนดีของเขาอยู่เสมอ และมีความหวังอยู่เสมอ และเพียรทนเอาทุกอย่าง
13:8 ความรักไม่มีวันสูญสิ้น แม้คำพยากรณ์ก็จะเสื่อมสูญไป แม้การพูดภาษาต่างๆนั้นก็จะมีเวลาเลิกไป แม้ความรู้ก็จะเสื่อมสูญไป

1st Corinthians 13:4-8 (the message version)

"Love never gives up.

Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

Love never dies."