What a Week

It has been a long but fulfilling week. It is finally starting to feel like 'home' , or regular life. We got a schedule ... I find that I really appreciate schedules.
Well we spent a lot of time out at the Orphanage this week. Good news from Sinoan and that she got accepted to do her DTS with U of N here in Battambang. This will be a life changing opportunity for her. We started helping them build a garden. It is starting from ground zero. This week consisted of carrying dirt (clay, garbage, concrete, brick, rock sub-soil mixture) on plastic bags to cover the entire area of the designated area (about 20 meters long 6 meters wide). It was slow. Next week hopefully it will be ready to add the top-soil and manure. We are working under the Pastor's discretion... making it his project... not ours. We just get to help make it happen! Then we had an afternoon spent putting on a program for the kids.
Afternoons are spent at the student center. I have been a regular at a level 3 and 4 English class with Sam and this week we got to teach for God day. We did a little skit and then I shared my testimony (story on how I know God and where He's brought me). They asked questions... I took that as a good sign. They are a fun class and the teacher Ngim is great, a ball of joy. The other day I was correcting their homework and I pronounced 4-thirty with what must have been a very midwest accent and the students first couldn't understand and then my accent had to be explained... in the end Ngim ended up telling them to keep saying thirty how they say it.

Everyday we eat very well. Sam and I are both vegetarians and so the cooks (we have 2 khmer girls who are amazing) we have always prepare us a special vege dish. Some of the best have been a peanut khmer curry soup, the vege soups, and these egg flat omlete things. Most days it ends up looking (and tasting) better then the full on meat dishes the others get every meal. We also get fruit for each meal... all sorts of fruit. I find my favorite so far is pineaple and dragon fruit (a crazy pink fruit with a white inside with small black seeds, texture similar to a kiwi but very light taste).

I saw a guy with a Favre 4-ever shirt the other day and I was shocked!! It made my day really! Favre is even in Cambodia.... I will keep my opinion to myself....

Clothes washing has been a big ordeal also.... I am someone who would save up 2 months of laundry to take to my mom's house so that when I visited it would magically be done when the visit was over... Now if I don't handwash my clothes every week... I run out. It is still not my favorite.
The heat here is dangerous. The Cambodian people though prize white skin so much that whitening creams and wearing long sleaves, gloves, hats, even socks here is prevelant to make their skin white... complete contrast to the States...

We also set up a drip line out at Seangs parents house yesterday. A drip line is a black house with little one-way valves that is helpful to reduce the work of watering (which they still do by watering can) and to conserve water (in short supply in the dry season January-May). We made 4 new beds and planted Corn in one and long beans in the other 3, covered them with straw and now they are left to grow! May God bless those little plants.

This is life... 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. we are just living here doing the daily work here in Battambang.

Please keep praying for me and that I can hear from God and have consistent quiet-times!

Adventures abound

Our Transportation out to village (Even the tourists were taking photos)
Craft Project at the Orphanage
The Khmer students and their garden.
Working Seangs Garden at his house.
The fruit stand (not the cheapest one though )

Well, lots has happend this week. Last Sunday I got to be Pastor Liz at the Orphanage and gave a short message on Love and What God's Love is and that we are designed with a space in our hearts that only God can fill. Seang translated and it went really well, then we had a dance party with the kids afterwords. That children there are stealing my heart and God is breaking it. I realize that they don't have the choice to live there or somewhere else and the lack of true love they recieve is grave. We are having a great time connecting with these kids and we are spending Sundays and Thursdays there with them. We made the craft, had games and taught the story of the Prodigal Son on Thursday. There is one girl at the orphanage named Sinooan, who also attends an English class at the youth center and she is so sweet and I enjoy seeing her. She is currently applying to do her DTS here in Battambang at the University of Nations and I am so excited for her. She's 19 has 2 younger siblings and no parents.
This week it was also Monja's birthday which was very fun, we got to go out to eat and then planned a surprise birthday for her and Johanna that consisted of candles on the roof, homemade tiara's , cake, and fun. She is 25!
I am finding that the older girls are truly like role-models for me. They set such a great example of determination, leadership, fun, heart's seeking God, gentleness, humor, and the right balance of maturity. I really enjoy being the 2nd youngest and having the opportunity to learn so much.
This has been the longest I have been in a developing country and it has taken adjusting. God has been faithful and is breaking through the Spiritual darkness here. I am feeling healthy and ready for whatever God has planned.
Our team had a big shock last night with the news that Rob our leader and Jenny and family are going to be heading back to New Zealand in a couple weeks. Rob had been tired and dizzy from the start and needs to rest somewhere quiet and see his doctor. I was very surprised and felt sad at the thought of not having them. I am okay with the idea now and believe it will create an opportunity for me and the rest of our team to step out in our leadership abilities.
We visited an example of a world vision garden that is very fruitfull and gave hope for what world vision is doing and for Cambodian people and what can happen when a garden gets proper care. I learned all about a new natural pesticide and herbicide and how to make it and I am very excited to test it out.
Another sad thing is our two Dave's who have been teaching us, left Friday.

Life keeps moving and it is really a day to day thing here. Sunday we are preforming a drama/dance at the youth center for their monthly party and hopefully it goes well. If they laugh that is a sign they like it!

God Bless and remember ...you will make it through the winter!
We had a small blessing of rain for the past 3 days which is very unusual for this time of year. Thanks God.

Tuk-Tuk adventure

Life in Cambodia is crazy, loud, chaotic, hot, sunny, dusty, full of strange smells, and many children.
We have arrived to our new home.
I experienced culture shock and just recently have overcome it with prayer and worship.
I was bed-ridden ill for 2 days with a flu of some sort, followed by the rest of the our team. It was a great (or not) welcome to Battambang.
Praise the Lord that I am well and walking again.
We started a 2-week agriculture class with 2 Daves from New Zealand. It is our team and 4 Khmer ywam students. We are learning to identify the issues they face with farming here in Cambodia.
Our ministry is still being sorted, however we have got to work with a youth center and visit an NGO called Childrens Fund International. We may be helping to build a garden there.
There is also an Orphanage that 2 days a week we will spend there holding Bible Classes and having crafts with the little kids.
Yesterday I purchased a bike to use as transporation and it is a little intimidating riding on the streets. The other main way of transport for our team is by Tuk-Tuk ( a moto that pulls a covered carriage that sits 6 people or in our teams case 11 including the driver).
This land is full of adventure and things my eyes have never seen before.
I hope to bring more updates while we are here but in the meantime please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

James 1