Day Three: Battambang sunsets

Day three. Half way done already. Insane. The morning started off with worship music, and then puff paint on our tie dye t-shirts from Sunday. The kids love getting everyone's autograph or name on their shirts. They find a way to make you feel like a celebrity at any given time. What an amazing feeling. Once the shirts were finished, we left them outside in the lawn to dry.

Side note, for you previous construction trip members, the pathways are still looking great and holding up. However, due to the city wanted to pave a road on the street in front of the orphanage, they had to move the property line, aka the fence, on the other side of the water puddles. Which basically means the field is much smaller, and they had to lose the volleyball nets.

So we kicked off this morning's skit with the story of Daniel and the Lion's Den. We made some lion masks and ornaments as crafts and then broke for lunch. Pomme dámour restaurant is highly not recommended for future visitors. The wait was long, the orders were wrong, some were forgotten, but hey, this is Cambodia, and we're on a mission. So as soon as returned to the orphanage, we jumped right into the last Bible story of the week, David and Goliath, which was a great hit with the kids. After more arts and crafts, we finished the afternoon with worship. There is nothing more moving, more emotional and more joyful, than to sing praise songs with the kids, especially when we sing in English, and we hear the kids sing the same songs in Khmer. So to the writers of "How Great is our God,""Hosanna," and "Heart of Worship," thank you for allowing us to experience a cross-cultural experience and spiritual connection unlike any other.

Pastor Vek's and his wife Samouen briefly greeted us at the orphanage, as they were making their round briefing with all the local pastors. Samouen was so impressed with the crafts and skits, that she wanted to take copies of everything to bring to the children at the other 2 orphanage sites.

But the highlight of the night belongs to dinner. Ratha, the orphanage director, wanted to surprise all the kids with a Christmas treat. He wanted to take the all the kids, the church staff and our team to dinner at a BBQ buffet restaurant. (No there is no BBQ pork ribs, sauce or the like. Just cambodian deep fry and cook your own meat). So as soon as we left the orhanage in the afternoon to freshen up, Khandy, our bus driver, returned to pick the kids up at the orphanage. We quickly rushed to the restaurant, so when the kids arrived, we could greet them with the same enthusiasm and over-the-top excitement they give us every morning. And it was pandamonium! For all the kids, this was the first time they have ever eaten in a restaurant, and the ages of these kids vary from 4-18. Imagine never eating a restaurant in your life until you were 18, such a drastically differently lifestyle, and yet, you wouldn't think anything was missing in your life.

Being able to enjoy the sunset on the second floor of a restaurant, all closed off, with kids in an all-you-can eat restaurant, and God on our side was bliss. The evening flew by so fast, with photo ops galore, and a clam eating contest amongst the teenagers. Borey seemed to win that, hands down. What feels like hours of chatting and photos til 2am is only 9pm here. And in our hearts, and the back of our heads, the good byes of tomorrows are starting to creep up on us.

Because tomorrow evening, we must say goodbye to 39 angels. Angels with a joy in their eyes that reflect the heart of Christ shining through. To quote Scott Ekman, "His love for us pours through the kids, in a way we rarely ever see in our daily existence." So as we prepare our hearts, and our tissue paper, for goodbye tomorrow, we must remind ourselves, to not forget God's instruction to us on this journey. To pray for Him to do whatever it takes with us, so we may do whatever it takes for Him, for His glory. And to love our neighbors as ourselves, when we return the true mission field, our homes, our community, our city, our state, and our own country.