Day Three -- Monday, July 4

Happy Independence Day!  Shelley had a great thought this morning.  While celebrating our country's INdependence, we need to remember our DEpendence on our God and Savior.  We are certainly in a situation here that demands we depend on Him for everything -- it's one of the best things about being here.

Today was our first day in the field.  We visited two schools where the rainwater collection tanks were built by RDI 5-10 years ago using an older methodology.  Neither of the tanks were being used by the schools.  Our goal was to retrofit them and bring them up to the current standard and make them more user friendly so that they would be used again.  

While we worked on the tank at the first school, Shelley did "boo boo care", or first aid for the school children.  She and another volunteer, A.C., took care of the cuts and abrasions on 21 children.  Shelley was in her element, using her nursing skills and mercy gift to care for these beautiful children.   Lori, Luke and Caleb (A.C.'s husband) played games with the school children in the courtyard.  How great it was to see 50 or more children laughing, smiling, and chasing a Frisbee.  Though they are poor, they don't realize it and are just like children of that age anywhere in the world.  I was touched by their innocent joy and prayed that they would come to know The One who brings true and lasting joy.

Shelley and A.C. provide 'boo-boo care'.

Luke plays Frisbee with the kids.

The schools are usually built near the wats, or Buddhist temples, so there is a palpable feeling of spiritual darkness there, despite the innocence and joy.  We took time while we were on the school grounds and in the surrounding village to pray for the children, their teachers, and their parents, that the Light of God would shine into their darkness.

It was a tough day -- hot, long, and physically tiring.  However, it was rewarding, as we were able to build relationships with the school faculty and some of the children and renewed the availability of clean water to them.  Tomorrow we'll do it again at some different schools.  Happy 4th everyone!

Day Two -- Sunday, July 3

Sunday began with the customary breakfast at "The Coffee Shop".  Rice with pork and a fried egg on top.  Not something I would have for breakfast at home, but "T.I.C." - This Is Cambodia.  The iced coffee is yummy.  A quarter to a third of a glass of sweetened condensed milk topped with crushed ice and coffee.  You get a little exercise mixing the whole concoction together and it tastes so very good.

The Coffee Shop

After breakfast we attended the village house church.  It is such a joy to hear the praise songs sung in Khmei.  Even though I don't understand the words, just watching the faces of those singing tells you all you need to know.  They are experiencing the joy of their faith in Christ.  Pastor Di shared from Galatians 4 - "Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman."  Our friends, Da and Lori, translated for us so that we could be encouraged along with the Khmer.  After the sermon, they sang "We Bring the Sacrifice of Praise" in Khmei and those of us who recognized the tune sang along in English.  Very cool!

Lunch was at "The Noodle Shop" in Phnom Penh ($12 total for our table of 5 for a lot of food) and then on to the Russian Market to bargain and haggle with the local merchants.  You can buy everything there, from meat and vegetables to T-shirts to parts for your motorcycle.  It's quite a cultural experience.

Tomorrow, our real work begins.  We will be going to the schools where rainwater collection tanks have been built in the past to make sure they are still working properly and that the school staff knows how to use them and maintain them.  We're the first team to be given such an assignment and are "guinea pigs" for this work.  Our team has prayed about being flexible and doing whatever we're asked, so we will have opportunity to test that commitment.  

We very much appreciate your prayers for us, for the staff at RDI, and for the people here in the villages that we are serving and building relationships with.  Thank you for praying.

The Journey and Day One -- June 30-July 2

"Travel is glamorous."  That's what I tell people who don't get to or don't have to travel as much as I do.  In fact, "getting there" is almost always a beating these days.  There was a 1 hour 45 minute delay for our trip to LAX.  We barely made it to the gate at LAX in time for our Cathay Pacific flight, however, we had been bumped from that flight since American had communicated that we wouldn't make it.  The folks at Cathay Pacific were VERY helpful and accomodating, booking us on the next flight out and giving us the best available seats (still coach, but good).  They gave us passes to the Business Class lounge and kept apologizing for the inconvenience and thanking us for our patience.  If only my usual airline was as customer friendly!  We made it to Hong Kong in plenty of time for our connecting flight on Dragonair to Phnom Penh and the rest of our trip was uneventful.

We arrive in one piece in Phnom Penh.

Our friends from RDI, John and Vicki, Lori, and Da met us at the airport.  It was great to see them again after a year apart and there were lots of hugs to go around.  The key to the first day of arrival is to stay awake as long as possible since Cambodia is 12 hours ahead of Fort Worth and your day/night is totally upside down.  So first we went to the big mall in Phnom Penh for lunch and enjoyed some Cambodian food court cuisine.  We then went to Wat Phnom, a Buddhist temple on the hill where the founder of Phnom Penh had built a small shrine to house some special statues she found in a tree by the river (or so the legend goes).  Da promised us that we would see monkeys, but when we got there we found that the monkeys had been moved to the zoo.  Very disappointing... don't promise monkeys unless you can deliver! (haha)

The evening festivities featured a Khmer housewarming, which is a very large neighborhood party/reception to celebrate moving into a new house.  We paid a $5.00 cover (in lieu of gifts, I think) and were treated to some traditional Khmer dishes and Coca-Cola.  Yes, evidently, Coke is an honored beverage at such parties since Cambodians don't drink soda often.  

The Housewarming Party
(L-R: Chad Brantley, Chanda "Da" Cheng, Luke Mitchell, Mike Lee, Shelley Lee,
A.C. LaFond, Caleb LaFond, Jess from the RDI lab)

By 8:00 we were falling asleep in our chairs so we went back to our "luxury suite" at RDI.  For the second straight year Shelley and I are in Bungalow #1, which features indoor bath and shower.  Poor Chad and Luke have to go outside for the same amenities.  Now for some Ambien and some much needed sleep! 

The Bungalows at RDI.  Ours was on the second level, far left.