For the past three mornings I have
joined Team Nessa at the Love House Orphanage.
The kids made it easy for me to fall in love with them. Every day I received hugs and smiles from the
minute I stepped out of the tuk-tuk until the minute we drove out of the bumpy
drive-way.
Each kid has their own
personality. Like all kids they joke, they tease, they fight, they cry, and
they laugh.
We spent most of the time
playing silly hand clapping games, drawing pictures, or we held the ones that
seem to need to be held. I have loved
being a short part of their lives.
My
favorite little girl, Noy, would greet me with a hug each morning and barely
leave my side until I left. She does not
speak English, but today had a huge smile and hug waiting for me, “Mommie…what
is your name?” I gave her a big hug and
praised her for the English phrase.
Later during the day she spoke to me in English for the second time. Noy
looked up at me with a stoic face, “Mommie…you…go…America?” I told her yes and
tried to pull her attention to something else, but she did not smile much the
rest of the morning.
To celebrate the
final day at the orphanage Nessa provided cake, cookies, and soda for the kids. As I helped to pass out the cups each child
put their hands together and said thank you or aw kohn. The kids sang songs and said thank you for the
water park, the food, and for the visits.
Saying goodbye to Noy and pulling away from the orphanage was not easy. As we pulled away many of us talked about how
we would consider adopting a child from Cambodia. I
would love to see some of us adopt, but unfortunately the price of
adoption is very high and it would make more sence to funnel the money
into a program to help many children rather than just one.
The kids are just so darn cute I
wanted to post tons of pictures, but I just put them in My Pictures. So if you are interested check out My
Pictures.
This evening was our final
gathering with our Bible Study group. We
played games that mainly involved avoiding embarrassment. The students loved the games and laughed a
lot. The Pastor gave a thank you speech
and encouraged us in our journey. My
favorite part of the talk was when he talked about us to the students, “Why are
these young people here? They are
jobless. They are not pretty or
handsome!” I was stifling my laughter so
much that I missed the point he was trying to get across. I really enjoyed getting to know each of the
students this month and feel like I learned as much from them as they learned
from me.
Last evening Emilie, James,
Candice, and I went roller-blading on top of the mall here in Phnom Penh. I think everyone was pretty much dazzled by
our amazing skills.
Angkor Wat temple in addition to the temple used in Tomb Raider.
We will debrief for three days then head to Bangkok before our flight
to Hong Kong.
