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This is how the kids greet us when we arrive at Kontrak Village.
Connie with Hawaiian Girl.
Ben and Connie with Witu and Vuta in Treak Village. The two boys attend the Rainbow Kindergarten.
Big Guns.
Some of the older students at Kontrak village, ages ranging from 15 - 20.
There's always time for a cute shot amidst the old temples of Cambodia.
A mom picking up kids from Rainbow school.
Class photo for Ben.
Kids showing off muscles during My God is So Big.
This is how the kids are waiting for us when we arrive at Kontrak Village.
Cute boy a.k.a Som Hang a.k.a. Gangster Boy a.k.a. Al Capone, taking a break with his shirt out.
Two more cute kids in Kontrak village
Teacher Borean with the children at Kontrak. She's helped us a lot with translations. She's the regular teacher for the kindergarten students throughout the year.
Shot from our team bus that shuttles us back and forth
Hawaiian Girl. She used to always wear a hawaiian skirt last year.
Children at play in their house at Treak Village
Connie teaching Bible lessons to some deaf students
A child showing off his latest capture: a large grasshopper
Weasna proud of his accomplishment in Rainbow School.
Kids at Kontrak Village singing along to "Amen, Praise the Lord"Commuting on BART, eating lunch at my desk in front of the computer, constantly checking email and Facebook... these things seem so foreign right now.
Commuting on a tuk-tuk, eating mangosteen and dragonfruit, constantly swatting mosquitos... ahhh... these things are now familiar. :)
It's our 11th day here in Siem Reap and I am stuck inside the hotel room sick, watching a gecko scurrying across the wall. It seems unfair that I have to waste a day (when the number of our days here are so precious) vomiting, and having diarrhea, a fever, and body aches instead of being out there with the kids and my team. I've abandoned my 4-year-old class at Rainbow School and my older teen girls at Kontrak Village school who I've been teaching. Perhaps it's a blessing in disguise? I'm forced to sit here and reflect. I can read and journal with no rush or interruption. And of course, sneak in a few hours of TV - a luxury we're normally denied here! - just to see where the U.S. stands in the number of gold medals so far!
I can hear the rain really coming down outside. The monsoon season has officially started. Our first week here was unusually cool (relatively for the area) and the humidity was bearable with frequent cool winds coming through (these breezes were few and far between for the team last year!).
With this final week being combined with my time here last year, this is actually my 4th week in Siem Reap. I have grown to know this place and love these kids even more.
One of my favorite students at Kontrak from last year we lovingly dubbed "Jungle Girl" has been MIA this year. But her little sister, Bopha, who was just a baby last year, has grown so much. She's become one of my favorites. She sings with enthusiasm (trying to sound out the English words, so foreign to her). She grabs my hands and counts, "Mooey, pee, bai" and I lift her up over and over again - a great workout for my arms!
There's a boy about three years old we call "Little Gangster" because he really looks and acts like a little gangster! Wrestling with the big boys, he can take a kick and a punch like the best of them and he just gets back up with no emotion. He wears a button down shirt that's always unbuttoned. And when we arrive, he's always standing out in the front, hunched over with his hands on his waist with a look that says, "What are you gonna try to teach me today?" He's a tough little one but he loves praise time. Once, he was sucking on a lollipop when we started singing, "My God is So Big." As soon as he heard the music, he threw down his lollipop stick and started doing the motions. I think he just likes showing off his guns (if you know the body worship for this song, you know which part I'm talking about!). He's one of my favorites, too.
There's also Heean Heean, Heean, Heean Heean (another one), and Hen. It's hard keeping these names straight but these older boys are great, too. They tease the girls endlessly, throwing grasshoppers at them, but when things get too wild they say sorry. And when I hand out stickers, they all want the heart.
We spent a Sunday afternoon cleaning Kontrak village school and they were all so eager to help. Picking up pieces of glass and dead frogs with no fear, walking barefoot around the prickly plants that stick to your pants and pinch your legs with no hesitation. Living in this environment, they've become tough - physically able to handle so much more than I could.
Then, there are the kids at Rainbow Kindergarten.
Sreyya is quiet and never asks for seconds during snack time - just patiently waits as her fellow classmates hungrily grab for more. And she shares her toys when her friend starts crying.
Peakadai is one of my smartest students. He's always solving puzzles and finishing his worksheets first.
Choree has the cutest smile, but she always ends up crying at least twice a day.
Srey Mae yells out "Father Abraham" in Khmer with such fiercity you want to immediately raise your right hand! left hand! right foot! left foot!
Eat, who reminds me of Sayeed from Lost always pretends he's revving up a motorcycle as he goes to his seat.
As you can see, I have many favorites. It's hard not to fall for these kids.
After 10 minutes, I'm exhausted.
But at the end of the day, I can say that was a day well spent. And it's hard to say that everyday back home. When we're in a routine. We go to work and each day just seems like the day before.
I'll savor my time here - savor each day left.
An unexpected opportunity turned up for me. Two deaf guys came to the NIBC Siem Reap Church on Sunday and the pastor introduced me to them (after learning that I knew sign language). It was great chatting with them and despite our language barrier (American Sign and Cambodia Sign are different) we were still able to communicate.
One of them was introduced to Christ at age 11 (now in their 20s) when missionaries showed a Jesus film in the local villages. He watched it 4 times and didn't fully understand it until several years later. Most of the other deaf people in the village are Buddhist so these two friends come to Sieam Reap Church together on occasion. The pastor, seeing me sign with them, asked if I could spend some time teaching them Bible stories.
So my first day teaching them was Monday. I have to admit, the two hours with them were pretty exhausting. Chatting casually for a bit is fun, but having serious Biblical conversations for two hours (with the differences in our signing) is hard! I was a bit tired and wondered if I was even being effective and why God put another task before me, when it meant I had to abandon my Rainbow students once again.
But my second day with them was better and I realized how much they are in need of Christian fellowship. It's currently so limited right now, with the pastor writing down his sermon and gesturing motions to preach to them when they do come to church. Something I thought to be a bit of a burden turned into another blessing in disguise.
It's amazing how God works. Whether you feel like a 'missionary' or not, with just one small step of faith, God provides opportunities to serve, love and to be a part of His great plan. We just have to keep our eyes open and be willing.
Thanks for your prayers!
