Hello all.
Back in Phnom Penh (PP) tonight...so thought would send an update.
Friday
Went back up to Krong Lovea. Arrived about 3pm (got a late start as one of our vans broke down).
New driver is scary. He drives so fast. If animals are in the way, he will run over them (killed 3 chickens on the way). Best to just sleep while he is driving.
One of our translators (Naree, who owns the restaurant in PP) had prepared ribs and corn on the cob for our dinner tonight. So we went right to work grilling everything for a communal dinner tonight. The meal was fantastic! In fact the kids said they want us here all the time so they can have these great (and different) meals. I think we are spoiling them.
After dinner, we set up for the Bible-lympics (essentially, Jeopardy, but with the categories being Biblical events). We had 12 categories, with 3 questions under each category. The categories were Creation, Adam and Eve, Noah, Jonah, Moses, Samson, The Good Samaritan, the Crippled Man, Jesus' Birth, Jesus Part 1 and Jesus Part 2, and .....I forget the 12th category. The kids divided into 4 teams. Each team would send up a contestant, and we would ask a question both in English and Khmer (though our translators).
The quickest on the buzzer would get to answer the question.
I was amazed at how much the kids knew about the old and new testaments!!!!
It was great fun, with the winners winning the games that we brought up.
Thanks to Carol for putting together the game. T his is a must for future teams.
Sleeping was difficult as we had a big thunder/lightning storm. It really lit up the sky!!
And then there was a wedding that started at 4:30 am (they start that early....and go all day).
So we did not sleep real well.
Saturday.
Found out that the day after a big rainstorm is miserable (high humidity when the sun comes out). It was tough to do things today.
We started with a good breakfast of pancakes, which the kids love.
Then we had our daily Team devotional (the theme today was our favorite Bible passages and why).
Then, Scott and Chuck did a tour of the Orphanage to come up with a to-do list for the next year. Carol worked on painting, and Deb and Beth spent time with the cooks.
Scott and Chuck also spent quite a bit of time with the caretakers (Varek and Sra) finding out about each kid, and how we can help them better operate the orphanage. It was a good meeting, with each side setting out expectations.
As usual, play games with the kids. This is such a good way to spend time with them, and get to know them better. However, we realized that we (and all future teams) really need to separate into boys and girls groups, and honestly discuss the roles and responsibilities of Christian men and women. This is so important ......so they can truly learn Christian principles and values. They don't have a whole lot of role models in their society.
Late lunch at around 3pm (another American meal of spaghetti and bread).
Then we packed up and said our goodbyes to the kids. This is always such a difficult time for us all. We never know what the Lord has planned for us in the next year....so we never know if this will be our last goodbyes. It really tugs at our heartstrings when we leave.
After another frightening drive back to PP, we met up with Ken Armstrong.
Good to see Uncle Ken.
We took him out for ice cream.
Sunday.
Will attend an 8:30 service at Open Gate Christian Fellowship, and then go to Narees restaurant for a Khmer lunch (looking forward to it as we have eaten so much American food this trip).
Then we will spend time with Ken discussing needs for the orphanage.
Will post our final update on Monday.
As usual, thank you again for your prayers. They have truly been helpful.
Back in Phnom Penh (PP) tonight...so thought would send an update.
Friday
Went back up to Krong Lovea. Arrived about 3pm (got a late start as one of our vans broke down).
New driver is scary. He drives so fast. If animals are in the way, he will run over them (killed 3 chickens on the way). Best to just sleep while he is driving.
One of our translators (Naree, who owns the restaurant in PP) had prepared ribs and corn on the cob for our dinner tonight. So we went right to work grilling everything for a communal dinner tonight. The meal was fantastic! In fact the kids said they want us here all the time so they can have these great (and different) meals. I think we are spoiling them.
After dinner, we set up for the Bible-lympics (essentially, Jeopardy, but with the categories being Biblical events). We had 12 categories, with 3 questions under each category. The categories were Creation, Adam and Eve, Noah, Jonah, Moses, Samson, The Good Samaritan, the Crippled Man, Jesus' Birth, Jesus Part 1 and Jesus Part 2, and .....I forget the 12th category. The kids divided into 4 teams. Each team would send up a contestant, and we would ask a question both in English and Khmer (though our translators).
The quickest on the buzzer would get to answer the question.
I was amazed at how much the kids knew about the old and new testaments!!!!
It was great fun, with the winners winning the games that we brought up.
Thanks to Carol for putting together the game. T his is a must for future teams.
Sleeping was difficult as we had a big thunder/lightning storm. It really lit up the sky!!
And then there was a wedding that started at 4:30 am (they start that early....and go all day).
So we did not sleep real well.
Saturday.
Found out that the day after a big rainstorm is miserable (high humidity when the sun comes out). It was tough to do things today.
We started with a good breakfast of pancakes, which the kids love.
Then we had our daily Team devotional (the theme today was our favorite Bible passages and why).
Then, Scott and Chuck did a tour of the Orphanage to come up with a to-do list for the next year. Carol worked on painting, and Deb and Beth spent time with the cooks.
Scott and Chuck also spent quite a bit of time with the caretakers (Varek and Sra) finding out about each kid, and how we can help them better operate the orphanage. It was a good meeting, with each side setting out expectations.
As usual, play games with the kids. This is such a good way to spend time with them, and get to know them better. However, we realized that we (and all future teams) really need to separate into boys and girls groups, and honestly discuss the roles and responsibilities of Christian men and women. This is so important ......so they can truly learn Christian principles and values. They don't have a whole lot of role models in their society.
Late lunch at around 3pm (another American meal of spaghetti and bread).
Then we packed up and said our goodbyes to the kids. This is always such a difficult time for us all. We never know what the Lord has planned for us in the next year....so we never know if this will be our last goodbyes. It really tugs at our heartstrings when we leave.
After another frightening drive back to PP, we met up with Ken Armstrong.
Good to see Uncle Ken.
We took him out for ice cream.
Sunday.
Will attend an 8:30 service at Open Gate Christian Fellowship, and then go to Narees restaurant for a Khmer lunch (looking forward to it as we have eaten so much American food this trip).
Then we will spend time with Ken discussing needs for the orphanage.
Will post our final update on Monday.
As usual, thank you again for your prayers. They have truly been helpful.
We made it home safely with no problems (tell Deb my "plan" basically worked...but we are still very jet lagged today!) It's good to hear your last trip up to the oprhanage went so well. We'll look forward to your last update, and if you get a chance, let us know what Dr. Sheehan did for Pan. Miss you all!
Amy and Jason
Posted by: Amy DiGregorio | February 28, 2009 at 03:09 PM