Saying Goodbye's and moving forward

Almost finished water tank at Base
Julie, Me and Sam with kids on Carnival Day (One in green is a favorite)
Anna working on sawing bamboo for the fence
Seang, Angela, Me and Anna on long boat last Saturday on Free day. It was scary-az and very leaky and about an inch from the water! An Adventure.
The beginning of water tank...Seang mixes cement...we watch...wait...then attempt
Well again it has been a while.
Our weeks are still busy as usual.
An update on everything we have been doing:
At the 4 square Orphanage - we have leveled the mass piles of dirt that we started with and have formed 4 very nice beds out of soil that was full of a ton of garbage, lots of rocks and clumps of clay.
We built a bamboo fence and dug the post holes and it almost finished being put up. It looks great and will keep out the chickens, geese, and cows! What we will work on our last 2 days here and with lots of prayer will finish is installing a water tank and drip line so the vegetables will have water in dry season. The tank will catch water when it rains and store it to water the garden.
I praise God that we have clean water to drink everyday (we get it delivered to the house). At the orphanage there is a well but it runs out often, there is not enough water for them to wash/cook with let alone water their vegetables. Most of the water around is not clean to drink.
~The past Sunday at the church service, Angela gave a sermon on Luke 8 and the parable of the Sower and how a seed planted on rocky or weedy soil won't grow well. The kids got the chance to plant their own seed in good fertile soil (with cow poo). It was the first time a couple of them have had the chance to plant anything. The beans have started to grow in the past 5 days and the kids are always hanging out around them watching them. I believe it has given them a sense of ownership and pride that they can help a seed grow. The prayer we said probably helped them out too!
On Thursday we went out and held a kids carnival for them also. It was so fun! We set up a fishing station (they really enjoyed because of the prizes). There was nail painting and party hat making stations; I helped with the hats and we had lots of fun. Then there was pin the stinger on the scorpian and a musical 'lilypads' game. The prizes of candy, pencils, hair barrets, and sweat bands really were a hit. The boys went crazy with the nail polish.... Then we played a balloon game, where the ballon is tied around the ankle and you try to pop everyone's; it was wild. Then we had a snack and Monja played guitar to calm them down before we left. It was a blast and a great way to spend time with them all and allow them to enjoy being kids! I think it is the first time they have ever had experienced something like it. We are not supposed to pick favorites as a rule to life...but we have all found our favorite 'orphans'...meant in the best way possible!
At the YWAM Base- The past 2 weeks we have been installing a water tank and pump and drip irrigation. They have a fairly big pond that the pump is installed into and hand pumps water into the tank and then it filters through sand, gravel and cloth to the irrigation pipe lines and to the garden. It is more a model system and the hope is others will be inspired by seeing it; people from Cambodia and all over the world.
Phnom Kol- We went out 2 mornings and planted corn and beans into the soil that we formed and manured. Drip irrigation was set-up also. We then had the chance to work for a widow and her daughter and help them form their garden beds to be planted (this is the hard work). Praise God we can contribute in little ways.
Youth Center (Base)- We are in the process of saying goodbyes. It was a great time getting to know Ngim our teacher and some of the students. I started getting Khmer language lessons from a student named Sida. We would meet for 20 minutes before class and he would teach me 5-6 words a day and quiz me the next day. I believe I did pretty well. I learned children, tree, sweat, hair, shoe, glasses, God is love and many other words. (I am not fluent!) I do get compliments on my clear Khmer though and it is encouraging. I don't know much about Sida, if he is a christian, I do know he has an older sister who is and works for world vision. I haven't got the chance to say by to him and so I can only pray God will bless him the rest of his life in all he does.

This week was full of much sweat and tears. The term 'let the sweat drip' has never been so real as it is here. The sweat roles when I just sit... can you imagine how much it drips when we are working in the garden... lets just say my shirt is usually wet by the end of the morning. In the garden this week we had an encounter with a Cobra snake and it was a quite close call. We were digging on top of his home and one guy, Reggie, leaned over to pick up a chunk of clay and says snake, we all go to look and then he says Cobra and we all run away fast. Seang came over with a hoe and wacked him a couple times and he was out. About a meter long and paper towl tube wide ( he was big). The kids were excited, as they get to eat feast on it!!
There was a couple close calls with centipedes this week also. One almost attacked Sam, luckily Seang was there to chop it in half. In English class yesterday one climbed down the wall and to the floor and started fast towards a student. She was not phased and took of her sandal and gave it a good whack when it got close and killed it. The rest of us were up on our chairs or screaming. I don't think they are something I could ever get used too!
I have been running on low this week and finally hit empty. I had no strength left and was unable to do my part on the team. My face and spirit became drawn. I was given permission from our leader Laura to take the afternoon off... I did and took time to journal, ride my bike, write to my sister and spend time resting and worshiping the Lord quietly alone. It was nice and I felt rejuvinated when the team returned. I am still recovering and gaining joy and happiness again. It just made me aware how important being emotionally and mentally healthy is vital to proper functioning! I realized I need to journal to process everything happening as there is soo much... everyday.
Philippians 3:13 'One thing I do is: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.'

We leave Battambang on the 17th and head over to Siem Riep for 2 days to visit Angkor Wat, then down to Phnom Phen for 2 days and up to Ratanakirri for 2 weeks. There is One month left of our outreach and I just need to be confident in pressing forward. Our time here has been great and I have met wonderful people but we get to move on and meet those awaiting.
I have had the sense of home here and run into friends on the street and recognized people in the market and smiled. It has been...life!

We get to celebrate Chinese New Year this weekend with lots of firecrackers...very loud. All there is to do is embrace it as culture!