Pictures from Cambodia

Kristen and I at our favorite Local Cambodian Restaurant which translated is called Cows Climbing the Mountain!  Each table is complete with a small cooker in the middle on which you throw your raw meat and veggies and cook to perfection.  The charge for bread and coke is a little high plus Cambodians don’t eat near the same amount of bread as some hungry Americans, so we stopped on the way there to pick up our own and enjoyed quite the feast!

 

 

Liz, Ashley, and I trying a beetle (which later we found out may have actually been a cockroach) on the street near the ferry.  Once you ride the ferry across the Mae Kong there is quite the selection of critters and sea creatures to choose from.  It was an experience, but not one I’m dying to repeat!

 

My lovely assistants for Intro level English and also students of our Level 3 class Malise and Donnie.  After church last weekend they gave me a beautiful manicure complete with pink polish and pink glitter! I am going to miss these two!

 

 

My amazing Intro English class.  They pay attention so well and I’m pretty sure it’s because they are terrified they will miss whatever ridiculously crazy thing I do next.  Everything about my personality is opposite of Cambodian culture… speaking loudly, laughing even louder, a desire for class involvement… they think I have absolutely lost it, but we had a great time!

 

Ashley and I’s Level 2 English class on the last day! We had an American party with lots of Coke, Candy, Cookies and Chips!  With the class only having 9 students, we got really close to these guys.  From the top left Thea (who wanted to be called Eugene) , Rady, Molika (goes by Jenny), Sina, Sokny, Heak, Mao, and Sovanndy, and not pictured Sokleap!

 

My beautiful 5 year old class in the mornings. They are only 5 so there English is limited but they would definitely impress you with their knowledge of the ABC’s, numbers, days of the week, months of the year, and ability to sing ‘I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart!’  A class picture was a little less successful than my older kids but I wanted to share them with you all the same. 

 

One of the cutest and smartest 3 year olds in all of Cambodia with Big Brown Eyes that light up every time he sees us!  His dad is the security guard where we live so we get to see him and play a lot.  Still plotting as to how exactly I can slip him into my backpack as we head to Thailand. 

 

We ran in to one of my students at the water park where Team BLING and Team Tikvah went to ride the Ferris Wheel after dinner one night.  It was super fun to see this little one out and about!

 

Ashley, Liz and I got the experience to go to a village outside of Phnom Penh one day with one of our ministry contacts.  The group set up a medical clinic for the people of the village and we got the awesome privilege of praying for them after they saw the doctor.  Phnom Penh is a large city in Cambodia so it was interesting to travel to the outskirts and see how different life was in the village.  The people were beautiful and so accepting of us, allowing us to share the gospel and pray openly for them.

 

 One morning we got to go to an area called the Relocation Center where many people were brought with the promise of a place to live only to find out that the government wasn’t going to fill their part of the promise and dropped the people with no where to go.  The area has now turned in to a slum.  We got the opportunity to team up with YWAM and help out with a clinic washing hair with lice shampoo, cutting nails, brushing and braiding hair after it’s been washed, and painting their nails as well.  It was royal treatment for these little girls and a blessing to us as well.  (I have shared this with many of you, but Cambodia is one HOT country and this picture beautifully displays the massive amounts I sweat each day!)

 

 When in Cambodia…  Ashley and Shannon on their elephant ride with a big thumbs up from me! =)

 

 Jars of Clay is an extremely Americanized coffee shop with air conditioning!  Our dear friends Diana and Renee from California were a blessing to us in more ways than one, but this picture was taken as they treated us to a delicious meal while pouring out and sharing their lives and stories with us as well. 

 

Just for fun…Those of you who know me well know that I used to have a minor obsession with crispy M&Ms back in the day and was extremely hurt and disappointed when they stopped being made in the United States.  When in Vegas with my family a couple years ago I went to the M&M factory desperately hoping to find them there but again was told they were no longer being made in the U.S.  Therefore, imagine my excitement as I saw a beautifully fresh blue bag with the word Crispy on the outside in a local Cambodian supermarket!  This has definitely been a highlight of my time here!