2. The fact that we can eat and drink coconuts straight from the hundreds of trees that surround our house.
3. Cambodian mud stains clothes: Therefore, think twice about getting into a mud fight with the entire youth group when wearing your “nice” shirt. However, jumping into the pond right after gets rid of most of the mud.
4. He has called Vuthy, a local 27 year old, to transform this village into a community of believers. Vuthy has been called by God to develop a Christian school (already in progress), building an orphanage, and expand the church. He was the first and only Christian in this village for several years. The rest of the family accepted Christ about 3 months ago.
5. We ride our bikes to the market each morning to purchase bread and fruit for breakfast.
6. Vuthy’s mom is an excellent cook and one of my new favorite cuisines is Cambodian.
8. Four girls in a canoe carved out of a log WILL sink. There is a video to prove it.
9. House visits often include a parade of local children following us.
10. Waking up to the most obnoxious quacking duck I’ve ever heard, crowing roosters, a pig that is constantly moaning over it’s crooked leg, barking dogs, and hip hop music at 6am….
11. It is possible to live without electricity. Though, we get really excited when the generator turns on for a few hours each night…
12. It is also possible to live without running water. I’m okay with bucket showers after sweating all day and all night.
13. Rain is a huge blessing! Our showers and laundry depend on rain water! We have a huge basin of water that is filled with rain.
14. I’ve been severely allergic to mosquito bites my whole life…Cambodian mosquitoes have become my LEAST favorite mosquitoes I’ve ever dealt with.
16. A smile goes a long way when you know about 3 words in Khamer and they know about 3 words in English.
17. Cambodians love to play cards. I’ve played more games of cards this month than I have in my whole life.
18. Friday nights in the middle-of-nowhere Cambodia involve searching for crabs by headlamp and coaxing “flying snakes” out of the pond with Vuthy and his brothers.
19. Lake water is HOT in Cambodia…Growing up going to the U.P. of Michigan for vacation causes me to brace myself for icy temperatures before stepping into any lake…Not necessary in Cambodia.
20. These children go to school ALL DAY! They go from7-11 in the morning, come to us for English from 11:30-12:30. Then go back to public school from 1-5. The older students return for English from 5-6.
