| Cambodia Team (Feb 2011) |
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We have arrived!
Sorry this so late in coming. This is the first chance I have had to get on the internet since our arrival. Everything went smooth, our luggage is all here. The hotel is clean. Sam and Jork were waiting at airport for us. So far the food is safe and yummy. Will send more later. Please let everyone know that we are all well. Thanks, Marla Second Update (Feb 6th, 2011)Things are going great. We don't get internet opportunity very often. Only health issue is most of our feet and ankles are swollen. I guess I can just say it like it is and say it is us "old folks" with the swelling issues. Heat and all the sititng is the cause. Neither of them will be resolved as long as we are here. So our only hope is in a healing from God. Church today was great. Don had an interpreter sitting by him so Don wrote it out to share with us on our 9 hour van ride. We will arrive at our orphanage today. Then the fence building begins tomorrow. Food has been wonderful. We each get to order what we want at each place. Some have eaten safely while others ( Don had octopus for breakfast) have been local dishes. More to come as it gets here -- Thanks for your patients----Jim Cambodia adventure (Feb 8th, 2011)As it turns out for our schedule, a day of sight seeing was first on the agenda. So to the killing fields and S21 prision we went. I have to say the bits of clothing and bones sticking up from the mass graves was a bit unnerving.During the genicide some terrible things were done to innocent people. As a prayer is said for the hurt and pain that still remain, we move on to some more cheerful activities. We went to a local coffee place that was in the same of class Starbucks. I spent about 30 minutes talking to 2 of the employees. The young woman who was about 18 years old was working there full time and sending the money back to her parents. She acted more than willing to do this saying she really wanted her family to have better chances in life than she did. I don't know what grades she completed but she did not get her diploma from high school. The traffic is enterainment all in itself. It was not uncommon to see 4 people on a motor bike. Plus carring all their cargo from wherever they have been. We were very blessed to have some great drivers to get us around Cambodia. I have to admit it was a wee bit frightening at times as it appeared we were sure to hit that oncoming truck head on. But they always made it without looking the least bit frazzled. We also toured the offices of FCOP which is the organization we are there to volunteer with. Within their mission they have fish ponds with hundreds of fish, a tractor repair shop, sewing classes, and quial coobs. We were able to buy some of the items the garment classes . Each item has the name of the girl who made. Sunday we attended church at FCOP. They had special chairs saved for us in the front row. Don sat by Jork in church who translated the sermon for Don to write out to share with us later. Being that most of us on the trip are over 40 we had very swollen feet and ankles from the air travel and now heat. I counted it a huge bonus to discover if I took off my sandals in church the cool tile floor felt wonerful. Our hotels have been better than I expected. They have been spacious and mostly clean. Yes, I admit I did clean them before moving in, but that was just me. And they have had air conditioning. What a blessing when I think the tempurature has been over 90 everyday. One of my biggest fears before leaving was the food. I have been able to mostly shut off my brain and just eat what is sat before me. Our hosts have been great to bring us to places that have some semi-american food at them. Don on the other hand has enjoyed the octopus and unkown round object in the stir fry. Rice is a main stable here. So 3 meals a day I know there will be something I will like. We have even had ice cream a couple times. We finally get to go the orphange we are scheduled to work at. To get there 17 of us ride in a 14 passenger van down a dusty, bumpy road. We feel very spacious though as most vans appear to have many more in them. First order of business is to tear down the old wooden/bamboo fence. We were able to get that all done and space for the new fenced cleared in the first day. Only mishaps were a few bug bites and scratches. No nursing duties required, Praise God!! Everone on the team sends love and well wishes for their families back in good ole USA. I am only able to send this blog with a simm card from one of our hosts, Jork. Due to the cost we are just sending out this one note. I apoligize for the lack of communication. The only places that have internet are the 2 largest cities in Cambodia, Phnom Phen and Siem Reap. Also plase forgive my bad grammar. It is past 11:00pm and am a bit rummy after a day of work in the heat. Love and prayers, Marla and 11 other team members. 2 days of labor without a major incedent (Feb 9th, 2011)We have made it through 2 days of labor without a major incedent. Only a few scraps, bug bites, touch of tummy troubles for only 24 hours for 1 person, and a case of mild dehydration. I'd say that is wonderful for a team of 12 SFC members, 1 other American, and 4 Cambodians. I am not sure how much more post hole digging any of us can do. For as we were told by the Cambodian work leader " you are an older group". We have been on the learning end of how Cambodians make do with what they have. Someone asked the leader if we didn't have a tape measure to stake out the distance between post . He replied he had seen one once. But then even after we procured one for him in town during a supple run, he still used the stick to measure things. Speaking of a supply run. Since we were able to bring almost $2000 more than needed to build the fence, we have been able to hire 4 extra young Cambodian men to help us work and add some other chores to our list. Painting the inside and outside of building, lay vinyl down on floor of church as only about 2/3 of it has covering on it, put covering on ceiling of church, and lay vinyl down in the sleeping rooms. When we get the supplies all tallied, we may still be able to do more. We are so excited to see these projects come together. This home was established 6 years ago and has never had a team come work at it before. We are stared at by all the neighbors and towns people. There is one baby about 9-12 months old who still cries when we look at him. They older kids want to do anything with us we offer. So far we've played bouce the ball, Memory, game, and made bead jewelry. A bit about where we are staying while working on the orphange. Our hotel is a buidling that may have been an aprtment complex with added wings over the years. It is right on the corner of a busy street.There is loud music from a near by pub that plays until 3am or so. By 5:30 there is numerous motorcycles and trucks, and talking people in the streets. Businesses are setting up shop for the day. Marla Don here! (Feb 9th, 2011)Hello All! Don here! It is Thursday morning at 6am as I begin to write this note. I have just a couple of things I have time to share with you. First off, I couldn't be more proud of this team. Because of the amount of work we're getting done and the extra project money that was sent, we have been able to tackle more projects. What began as building a fence has turned into painting the inside and outside of the church, building a concrete pad approximately 12 ft. by 30 feet (first we had to add dirt to the depth of about a foot - by hand), installing ceiling tiles in the church, installing vinyl flooring upstairs in children's bedrooms, clearing and burning brush and more to come possibly. The team has also found time to enjoy our new Cambodian friends. There has been lots of laughs, shared love and meaningful conversation. Over the last 6 months I've gotten to watch this team build a strong unity (not without some hiccups) and now over the last three days I've seen a unity quickly develop between this team and our Cambodian friends. Acts 20:32-37. These verses are the end of a farewell Paul gives to the Ephesian elders. Paul reminds them of the work he did for the kingdom, not asking for anything in return. In verse 35 he quotes Jesus "It is more blessed to give than recieve." In no way do I compare the work this team is doing to that of the work of Paul and the apostles. However as in verse 36 and 37, the day is quickly getting here for us that we will pray and embrace before we part. That will be a sad but joyous day. The joy will be because we have seen first hand how Paster John and his wife have given their lives to care for their little community on a dusty dirt road an hour out of Siem Reap. They have very little but they freely give it all. All our team has done is to encourage them in their work and to hopefully leave them with a few more tools in which to continue the work God has called them to do. And this team comes away recieving far more than we could ever give. One last thing, we hope to purchase some newer cookware with extra funds as theirs is close to being inadequate. Don Thursday (Feb 10th, 2011)Thursday Another day of fun in the sun. A few of us have voiced how we will welcome the cold, Oregon rain. We'll see if we stick to it once we get back. Sure is fun to dream about now though. As always the kids are great helpers. Always wanting to be beside whenever we are there. The adorable factor keeps our cameras clicking. A few minor things to report; Either we hit a motorbike or it hit us while we were backing up. She smiled and rode off though. Like that woyuld have ever happeded in USA. Squid soup was one of our lunch items. While posing for a photo, someone tapped Jacks arm to make it go into his mouth. So Jack can be counted as one of us who ate squid for lunch. In the morning we had to move 3 huge bags of rice to paint by them. When we came back from lunch there was a leak from the above floor that was exactly where the rice had been sitting. Praise god the rice stayed dry. The kids are all really warming up to us. A few of us have even gotten to hold the shy toddlers. As always we ask for your prayers for our health. Marla has a bit of neausea today, we all continue to get scraps and bug bites, and some are not sleeping well. Also pray for our hearts message to be seen by all nighbors and town people. We are trying to let the spirit of American Christians impact the lives of all we run into. Hello my buddies (Feb 12th, 2011)Hello my buddies I have been typing up the team stuff so much I haven't had time to send out a personal note. I aploigize for my tardiness. I'll try to fill you in to the happenings here. Everything is such a blurr though I am not sure how well I will do. I am wishing I'd kept better notes. Oh well, .... Some things are better than I imagined and some worse. We have air conditioning in our hotel rooms. They kids are amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They have the sweetests personalities. One of the gifts we brought them was a tub of 5000 small beads. They had them all made into jewelry within hours. Yesterday one of the girls gave me her necklace. Today I was playing tic tac toe and connect the dots with a group of kids. One girl who wasn't playing at the time started combing my hair with her fingers. She put it up in a ponytail several times. Then another would that switched to play the game with me would fix my hair. This next tidbit is just between us close friends. I am not sure why but at one point they were chatting away in Khmer then they took their little hands to see how many it took to go around my thigh. Really. Is that embarrassing or what? My team mates are super hard workers. We are all gettting along fabulous. Especially that one really handsome dude. I didn't forget to pack anything. I am sure I've lost at least 5 pounds. All our luggage arrived safely. We occasionally have internet service and use of a cell phone. The locks on our hotel room doors lock. Okay, this one should be on the worse list too as we need our doors to lock. The night life here sounds a bit rowdy. For some reason today I just couldn't eat one more bite of food of unknown source. Seriously. In the kitchen of the hotel we are staying at is 5 water buffalo heads drying. I have no idea why. They squat in this shower stall looking thing and wash the dishes. There are flies everywhere. Okay, so we do NOT eat there. The place we do eat at we have never seen behind the kitchen door. We joke that they have Maytag, stainless steel appliances behind that door. We wipe off our glasses and plates before eating. I have no idea what good that does though. I knew it was going to be hot. But really, we have sweat dripping off us after only about 10 minutes work. Me, who rarely drinks water, has 3 bottles down by noon. 2 showers a day hardly scrathes the surface of the mud and sweat build up. Did I mention it is hot here? Today I washed my clothes and hung them to dry at lunch time. They were dry to wear by dinner. Did I mention it is hot here? I have so many bug bites and scratches I just rub neosporene all over my legs twice a day. I haven't seen my ankles in a week. I even sleep with my legs elevated every night. Well, I think that sums up my life here. I would say I miss you all bunches, but honestly I am so tired when I go to bed I don't think about anything. Life is really good here. I wouldn't trade it for anything. Love, Marla Friday night at dinner we all passed around a tablet and wrote the following: I am thankful for...... Being able to see and help the kids over here. -Jack Scrambled eggs and iced coffee.- Lainey To be filled with joy in this amazing place so far from home and poured out willing for this orphange. -Ava That Marla is with me to share this incredible experience. - Don That Desie and I figured out how to have Starbucks coffee in the mornings. -Donna That I wore Carhart long pants today when I fell down in the rocks. -Marla Cambodia kids and Iced coffee. -Sam (our USA host) Working lights in my room. -Sue My family at SFC praying for us. For strong bodies to do the hard manual work. -Deb For the prompting of the Holy Spirit that caused me to look in what appeared to be a bag of trash and found a vendors income from the day and her slowness to go on down the street allowing me to catch up to her. -Doug God sending Jack and I to Cambodia to see the work that is being done here and get to be a small part of this great work. (and my grandkids) -Desie For your team that came here to help Cambodia orphanes. For our God that we can work together. God bless your team. I love your team very much. -Khremara (Cambodian worker from FCOP) The welcoming spirit of our Cambodian hosts, their sense of humor, and Sam who is great USA leader. He is well equiped to lead teams and work along side Jork. -Ava The opportunity to serve. -Lissa For your SFC team help in Cambodia. I wish God bless your team and your family. I want to say I love this team. Rith (Cambodian worker from FCOP) For the relationships I have started with Khemera and Cheatra. They are such fine Godly men. -Don Your team and your church for supporting our orphange and kindly for your hard work. We are the body of Christ and we used one another to build the Kingdom of Cambodia for Christ. We love your team and we keep praying for your church and your family all the team. I love you all. Be blessed Jork loves Springfield. (Cambodian team leader) The wonderful time of sharing and worship as a team every morning at 7am. -Marla Dear team, I would like to everybody thanks from the Holy Spirit. God bless to team and your families. Working all together. Thank you God. -Cheatra (Cambodaia worker) Food "to die for" (Feb 13th, 2011)We had to drop Sue Crandall off at the airport. Sad but quick parting. We got her to the airport with 40 minutes to catch her plane. Then to this to die for place for dinner. So sad you all aren't here also. -Marla Sunday (Feb 13th, 2011)What a fun day we had today. We began by doing our usual meeting with our group for worship and a sermonette by one of the team. Today was Sue's turn. She had some great parting words of advice for us today. She has been on many a trips so has been there done that. As we return to USA she told of emtions and trials we will experience and how best to handle them. Then off to church we went. Just like USA the place was packed by 8:15, with a planned start time of 8:00. They had 2 young women lead singing. Then the sermon, by Pastor John, was full of passion. Even though we didn't understand a word, we felt the Spirit in the room as he spoke. They told us ahead of time that as visitng teams we were not going to be speaking or doing any leading in Cambodia. Much to Don's surprise, they invited him up to say a few words. He did a great job of thanking the church for their warm hospitality and the great work they are doing there. Right after church we drove with turbo angels to get Sue to the airoprt. We made it about 40 minutes before her flight. It did make it easier to say good bye at the airport since she had to litterally run. We had the best meal ever in Siem Rap at this fun place called "Blue Pumpkin". I had slow cooked pork medallions in a reduced mushroom sauce with a side of mashed sweet potates. Are you hungry now? To drink I had a pineapple and coconut smoothy. Okay, to put you over the edge I even had a chocalte multon cake with carmel ice cream for dessert. Grand total $11 US dollars. We did skip breakfast though so we weren't being toally aweful on the budget. We spent the afternoon at a tourist place. They called it a muesem. We did start by looking at some wax repliacas of Cambodia history. Then we watched numerous plays of Cambodia culture. Debbie Mason got called upon to be the mother of the groom in a wedding reactment. She did great of course. When it is over 90 degrees and muggy you can only stand so many silly plays. We finally told the tour guide enough and headed for a light dinner before bed. Well, that sums up our Sunday. I pray all of you had a blessed day also. See you soon, Marla and the team Shopping (Feb 14th, 2011)Wow, Shopping with 15 Cambodian orphans and 3 adults was the best fun ever. We each were given charge of one of the orphans and to the vendor market we went. They all got a pair of shoes, shirt, pants, and purse or backpack. Some even got a hat or toy. And we bought a few new kitchen cooking items. The clock in the sanctuary had quit at 2:45 and a new battery would not get it running again. So a new clock we added to the shopping trip. Each of the items were very inexpensive. For example shoes were $2.50-$4.00. The girl I had, Sapong, choose some red slipper/sandals with rhinestones. The smile on her face when she was allowed to get such a frivolous item was priceless. The bright orange outfit she chose did not remotely go with the red shoes, but that didn't even seem to enter the equation. I wanted to find cute little Hello Kitty, or Barbie undies for the girls. They only had plain or striped ones. The girls were thrilled though to just get 2 new pairs. You are greatly thanked for your generous support to allow us to treat the orphan home so luxuriously. Blessings, Marla |
