Saturdays are our off days, and we get to hang back and relax without any classes planned. The first Saturday we had originally planned to go into Phenom Phen to use internet, but since there was some political unrest last week, our ministry host, Umong, had advised us that there would be a high risk of riots in the city so it would be best for us to stay back in the village that weekend. Even though it was a little disappointing, we all decided that our safety is much more important than using internet! We ended up having a great day, anyway! Umong took us to a temple where we got to feed GIANT, 5 foot long fish! It was so fun, and the kids hanging around there were really excited to see us and play with us! And then in the evening we got to paint our nails and hang out with the village girls! When we asked them if we could paint their nails, they kindly declined though 😛 It was such a great day!!
Sundays we have been assisting Nary’s father’s church and serving there in whatever way they need us! Each week, someone on our team preaches the message to the church, another person shares a bit of their testimony and then we do something altogether! The first week, we sang Blessed Be Your Name, and the second week we performed a dance routine, which was our very first time doing praise dance!! This coming (our last!) Sunday, I will be singing a solo! I’m so excited!
Last week, we had the treat of visiting another church in a village about 30 mins away. It was SUCH an awesome experience! This church was simple and beautiful. It was a pretty building out in the middle of some rice fields, completely surrounded by God’s glorious creation. There were about 10 members, who were all incredibly sweet, welcoming, and appreciative of us just being there. We all sat in a family style circle in the middle of this small church. They started the service with worship on a little drum and some other super cool instrument I had never seen before! During worship, there was a refreshing breeze blowing through the church, and I took delight in gazing out the window, soaking in the worship in a beautiful other language as I appreciated the way the wind blew through the grassy field. It was so serene! We also danced our praise dance for this church, and they seemed to love the new form of worship!
After church, the tuk-tuk ride home was a blast! We drove past gorgeous scenery of Cambodian wilderness, as well as countless herds of water buffalo! Umong even stopped and asked some kids herding them if we could ride on them!
Some of my other favorite memories are of the moments when I have been hanging out in my hammock with sweet little Nita, Buag, Pina, Trey Tom and Nary’s sister as they go through my pictures on my camera (some of which they took themselves), and even my family pictures. They love my dog, Jack, and laugh every time they see him! They are also so amused by the videos we’ve taken and love to see them over and over, it’s so cute! It’s fun to see how entertained they are by both, taking and looking at photos!
I couldn’t think of a better way to spend our weekends! The Lord has blessed us so much to be able to serve in this incredible little village, I’m going to miss it so much!
