Bringing the Kingdom

Thursday morning we once again woke up smell of pancakes just calling us downstairs to the kitchen. We headed back out to more villages, but this time the drive was two hours. I got lucky because my seat on the bus was in the sun going AND coming beck from the village! There were not many children when we first got to the village and the teenagers were not so amused by our silly songs. They did get excited about this one game called "Catch her eye", which is where a boy and girl stand back to back and at the count of three they look to the left or right. If the girl looks the same direction as the boy the boy wins because he "catches her eye" and if she looks opposite, she wins because he didn't catch her eye. Pretty cute game! You go through all the boys and girls until one side has no people left. I have to say I pretty talented at this game!! We didn't stay long at this village because of the long drive but as an offering of thanks they sent us home with two live ducks with their feet tied together. I had to restrain myself the whole ride home from just reaching down, untieing the ducks and letting them fly away.



That night Mrs. Dolan fixed us all fajitas!! They were absolutely amazing. She made every tortilla from scratch, considering the don't exactly have much Mexican food here in Asia! She also made salsa from scratch that was great too. That was by far the best meal I've had since I got here. That night the Dolans neighbor came over and talked about his experiences with the Khmer Rouge. The next morning we were able to visit the Russian market. The Russian market is this huge part of downtown Phenom Pehn that sells all sorts of goods for dirt cheap. I bought a large North Face backpack for TWELVE DOLLARS!! They have a North Face factory there, and just apparently get the backpacks with "slight problems". I looked mine over and it just had a little stain... no biggie! I also got a watch for $4 so I wouldn't have to keep asking Leah what time is it. I wish you all could see this market... there are seriously not words.



We also got to visit a prison camp that was located downtown. If you haven't heard about the Khmer Rouge and how they killed millions of Khmer people, then you should google it or something because it astonishing. The fact that a genocide took place only about 50 years ago is mind blowing to me, and most of the world didn't even know what was happening. Walking into the rooms and cells where innocent people were tortured and executed sent chills throughout me. I could honestly feel the evil within those walls. I walked into one room and and over whelming sense of pain and shock went through me and I could barley breathe. They had pictures of the prisoners, before and after they were tortured. Many people were taken to the "killing fields" to be slaughtered and thrown into a ditch. Visiting this prison camp was one of the most powerful events of my life. I'll never forget that feeling that washed over me. The people of Cambodia will forever feel the evil and pain these events brought to surface but i know there is hope for this country. It helps to know that our presence helped bring a little bit of The Kingdom to the kingdom of Cambodia.

Th pictures are of the Dolans, The ducks we got as gifts, the amazing fajitas we ate, a room in the prison camp and our new backpacks in the middle of the Russian market.

For more pictures click on this link...

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2057839&l=06e3e&id=54602099

Crickets, Curry and Pancakes

We arrived in Phnom Penh Tuesday evening after a long bus ride from Seim Reap. (Which by the way Leah and I both had our first roasted cricket on that bus ride). We dropped the boys off at the local church then the girls headed over to the Dolans house. The Dolans are this wonderful missionary family that welcomed us into their home and spoiled us for a few days. That night the local church made us curry for dinner (which I'm trying really hard to like) and lots of wonderful bread.

The next morning we woke up to the wonderful smell of pancakes. Mrs. Dolan had woken up early to fix us lots of wonderful pancakes before we headed out that day. We then picked the boys up from the church and headed out to church/school/orphanage in a small village. It was so interesting just driving through so many different villages. These people live in little huts and farm for most of the day. There are many rice fields and fruit orchards in that area. It was so interesting to see a culture so different from our own but yet they are such happy people. They don't need money, things or air conditioning to make them happy, they just are. When we got to the village, the men told us about the orphanage and how they grow rice and raise cattle to bring in money for the children. We even got a tour to see the orphanage, chicken coops, and the room where they stored all the rice. We once again had fun singing and playing games with the children. They were a little more shy than the others but we taught them how to play "Down by the Banks" (the game where you sit in a circle and slap your neighbors hand) and then they warmed up to us. The second half of the day was spent at another village church and there we got to do some physical work! We carried gallons and gallons of water from their well to these enormously large pots where they kept the fresh water. It was kinda fun because you would carry two buckets that we attached by a long piece of wood that you thew around your shoulders. the people at the village were shocked because they had never seem Americans working before and especially American women! Before we left the preacher at the church told us all about his conversion and how he used to persecute the Christians in his village. It was a very touching and powerful story. What I loved the most was seeing the body of Christ come together across nations that day. We were just one big family!

That night we went to the church service there and then had another huge curry dinner, cooked by the wonderful Mrs. Dolan. During dinner a church member originally from Pakistan told us his story. His family pretty much abandoned him when he became Christian because he was no longer Muslim. He can not even go home at this point for the fear of being killed. He is such a sweet man that has such a passion for the Lord.

For more pictures click on these links...

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2057831&l=46aac&id=54602099

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2057831&l=46aac&id=54602099

Power of Prayer

We woke up Monday morning in Siem Reap and walked to a Christian orphanage near by. We did similar things with these children as we did with the street kids; played games, sang songs and loved on them. They were such sweet children that just soaked in any amount of love and attention they could get. I was a little low on energy due to an ear/ throat infection. I still had tons of fun with the children playing musical chairs, soccer, and jump rope. I wish I could bring all these children home with me because they were all so sweet and precious. They too taught me a lot about Jesus and how he ought to be more like children.

That afternoon we did a prayer walk in a beautiful park downtown Siem Reap. I decided to lay down in a huge green patch of grass. As I was staring at the sky I noticed thousands of bats hanging in trees nearby, kinda crazy. Later about 5 of us had a group prayer just sitting on a curb in the middle on this amazing park. While praying in that park I felt a spiritual unrest around me that I can not describe, like that evil was prevailing over what is good and holy... as crazy as that sounds. One of the WYWAM missionary girls we were working with in Siem Reap, Sarah, told us about the immense problem of prostitution in Cambodia. Fathers purposefully sell their daughters into prostitution to support their family and make money. Apparently, Cambodia is well known for its tourist prostitution because it is so cheap here. It is ll so sad and horrifying. the guest house we stayed at is one of the many places that tourist will bring prostitutes. It was so powerful to pray the holy spirit into this place full of prostitution.

That night we had a wonderful banquets dinner with our whole mission team including, the Aggies for Christ group, 3 students from Harding, WYWAM missionaries and then Leah and I from ACU. I learned that I actually do like Khmer (meaning Cambodian) food. We had several wonderful dishes with rice and then delicious fruit for dessert. the fruit here in Cambodia and Thailand is the most wonderful fruit I've ever tasted.I can't even describe all the different types I've tried... its just all good! It was our last night with the WYWAM group and it was sad to say goodbye. I don't know a lot about WYWAM, but it is a world wide mission group, that send missionaries from all over the world to all different places in the world. The Cambodian missionaries were from all over America and one guy was even from London. We were able to pray over them and for there long term mission work there in Cambodia. Their servant hearts and passion for God and his people amazed me. They taught me a lot about God and his kingdom and I am so happy to have met them. One final not about that... just one week ago this missionary team was on a prayer walk and walked right into the guest house we ended up staying in. They prayed to God that he might bring the holy spirit into this building and its room. They next week we showed up... the power of prayer is astonishing!

For more pictures...

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2057821&l=ca518&id=54602099

Children like these

There is so much to say about the last couple days here I don't even know where to start. We arrived here Friday night after 4 days of traveling for Leah and I and only a few hours of sleep. In Cambodia they don't have paved roads, so the four hour drive was VERY bumpy and slightly nauseating. We finally got a full nights sleep in what they call "guest houses" here, which are similar to old motels. Saturday morning we woke up and headed out to see the ancient ruins of Angkor Wat. I don't have words to describe these incredible ruins. We visited three different temples all which were amazing. Near all the temples lives many Cambodians who solely live off their profit from tourists. Even the children are forced to sell these goods. So walking around you constantly have little children who know enough English to try and convince you to buy souvenirs. These our the children that we got to play with for the next two days. I got especially close to one little nine year old girl named "Na". She was so so sweet. They all were just craving attention and love, which we all were happy to give to them. Na and some other children gave us a tour on the last temple and it was incredible to be taken on a tour by these young children who live there. The next day we went back and just hung out with these children all day. We played games, same silly songs and had them make picture frames to put a picture that we gave them of us. These children touched my heart in a powerful way. They live is such poverty, yet they are so happy. We came to play with them yet they kept trying to serve us. They would do things such as fan us with their hats when we were hot, give us free gifts to remember them by and help us in in every way possible. We tried to show them that we wanted to give to them, not the other way around. Some of these children got in trouble with their parents because they played with us all day and didn't sell. I just wish a could put into words the experience with them but all I can say is that when I was trying to show them Christ, they ended up showing me. Please pray for these sweet Cambodian children, I know they will forever be on my heart.

For more pictures go to these websites

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2057464&l=84c54&id=54602099

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2057468&l=561d6&id=54602099

Yay for 14 hour flights!

Alright so I finally have made it to Cambodia where I will be spending my first week here in Asia. I had a crazy time getting here but who doesn't love a good adventure? So I woke up at 5:30 Tuesday the 20th to make my 8:45 flight to San Francisco. We got there in plenty of time and after getting yelled at by airport security (apparently you aren't supposed to touch your luggage after it goes through security... who knew?) Leah and I boarded our flight. We arrived in San Francisco a little after 12, took some pictures of the beautiful scenery, ate some lunch and then went to wait for our flight to China. First our flight gets delayed two hours, then about an hour and half before we we are supposed to board the plane we hear our name being paged of the speaker. We arrive at the desk to find out that our boarding passes aren't valid and that security "should have" sent us back to get the correct ones...and they didn't. We were escorted upstairs to the main desk to then be told that the next flight they could put us on to Hong Kong would be June 9th. I laughed. After lots of confusion (maybe a little bit of complaining) and the not so nice ticketing agent telling us that it was all our fault, we finally were told that we would MOST LIKELY be put on the flight to Hong Kong the next day. We then starting worrying about where were going to stay until the ticketing agent reluctantly gave us a voucher for a hotel room that night and even free food! We leave the airport a little upset and very tired. We decided since neither of us had ever been to San Francisco to make a night of it and go downtown. With no luggage, meaning no extra clothes, we went out into the freezing town in our Texas weather clothes. We did get to ride the fun trolleys downtown and even got to see the Golden gate bridge, I'll post pictures when I get to Chaing Mai. The next morning we got at the airport, finally boarded our plane to Hong Kong and few 14 hours. 14 very long hours :) We then had a 2 1/2 hour flight into Bangkok and arrived to find out that we were leaving for Cambodia in 5 hours. Cambodia is amazing and I can already see God working powerfully in this country. I think I've rambled on enough so I'll save my experiences here for another day. I miss all of my family and friends VERY much but am also so excited to be here! God bless!!

PS The pictures are of Leah and my time in SanFrancisco and if you want to see more go to this website. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2057463&l=93d3b&id=54602099

8 days till Thailand!

I am so excited to be spending a whole summer serving the Lord in Thailand. I will be leaving on May 20th and be returning on August 6th. The first week Leah and I will be working along side Aggies for Christ in Cambodia. We will be working with street children for most of the week. The next 10 weeks will be spend with the other three ACU interns; Melanie, Whitney and Katie in Chiang Mai, Thailand. We will be working at a university center called "The Zone" that is run by the church there. Please feel free to post and words of wisdom, scripture or encouragement. I know this summer is going to be amazing and I can not wait to see how God will bless the Thai people and my mission team this summer. Thank you for your support, God bless!