Team Nessa is working at an orphanage that is home to 60
children; newborns to teens. They
decided to treat the orphans to a trip to the Phnom Penh water park. Sixty children running around a water park
would be mass chaos, so they arranged trips on three days and asked us to help
out. This morning Emilie and I went to
help out at the actual orphanage, while Morgan went to help at the water park. I
climbed out of the truck and was greeted with a big hug from Bra. Soon I was surrounded by a dozen youngsters
offering hugs and asking, “How are you, what is your name?”
Emilie and I gathered a group to play a game of Duck, Duck,
Goose. The kids recognized the game as
one that they play in a similar way. A
boy ran to get a rolled up piece of cloth.
We squatted in the dirt while whoever was it ran around whacking
everyone’s back with the cloth. Then
they would put the cloth over someone’s shoulder.That person would chase the person that was
sitting to the left trying to smack them with the cloth. I was not very good at getting to my feet out
of the squatted position, so I got whacked in the back quite a bit. The kids loved the game, but I thought it was
painful. While we played the game, Shawna from Nessa, helped the
orphanage care workers to clean the babies room. The rooms are very simple; wooden beds with
no mattresses, a straw mat, and maybe a mosquito net. Many of the children at the orphanage have
been sick lately, so Nessa team members have been trying to encourage the
workers to do more cleaning. They have
also been trying to get the staff to hold the babies and work on getting them
to sit up. Shawna did a great job of
instructing the staff on how to clean.
Shawna told us that when she first arrived at the orphanage,
Brad was in a corner by himself. She
asked one of the kids about Brad. They
told her that Brad has no friends.
Shawna played and talked with the boy, but worried about him, “He had
such anger in his eyes.” I could not
believe that she was talking about the boy who had greeted me with a hug. There was nothing but joy in his eyes. Shawna said she simply showed Brad love by
playing with him and giving him hugs.
It’s amazing what the love of God through Shawna did in the boy’s
life.
I was ushered around the orphanage by a few of the young
girls. They took me to their room where
we made bracelets together. I learned
from a staff member that the string is donated by Hong Kong church
members. The staff and children make the
bracelets then sell them for 200 Riel or about 5 cents. It was not long before I had bracelets
adorning both of my wrists.
The bracelet making came to a halt around noon. Lunch consisted of a bowl of rice with a
scoop of bean sprouts and chicken broth.
After lunch the kids dispersed and most of them laid down for a
nap. I was ready for a nap myself, but it was time for Emilie and
me to go to Joy Club across town. The
two of us decided to take a moto, so we hailed the first guy that drove passed
us. Both Emilie and I squeezed onto the
seat of the motorcycle. The orphanage is
on a dirt road with pot holes and speed bumps and puddles. I griped the bottom of the seat as we bounced
along. The driver edged through the sea
of traffic to get us on the right side of the main road. Watching cars and mopeds speeding towards us
is quite a rush. I don’t know what I
will do when I return to the states; no adrenaline rush during a commute.
I helped to pack food again for Joy Club. This week we put ramen noodles, soy milk,
laundry soap, and shampoo in a bag for the kids from the slums. When I was done preparing the food I joined
the program where I found Emilie sitting with a little girl on her lap. The girl’s eyes slowly closed and she fell
fast asleep.
Later I came back to see
the girl awake, but still in Emilie’s arms. She did not want to run and play like the other kids, but wanted to be
held. The Joy Club is an amazing
ministry where kids can come each week to get clean, play games, run around,
and receive love from the staff.
