Miu-ling and I
Yesterday, Annie, Morgan, and I met with Miu-ling (Hong Kong Free Methodist Missionary) again. Miu-ling and two of her co-workers volunteered to take us to one of the child care centers outside the city. We travelled about 45 minutes to Kandal province. We arrived at the “House of LOVE” care center. We arrived to hear the children reciting school lessons in Kamai. In attempts to not distract them, Miu-ling gave us a quick tour of the grounds. Then, we tried to sneak into the back of the classroom. Being tall and white doesn’t allow us to be very sneaky. The children all noticed us. We observed for a few minutes before being asked to walk around and make sure none of the children were cheating on their tests. The children ranged in ages between 5 -15 years old. Nothing like 3 giant white people staring over you to make sure you don’t cheat. I saw quite a few wandering eyes, but didn’t have the heart to call them out. Oops! After they finished the test, we were asked to lead some games. We sang “atootytat,” and then they showed us up when they sang a very similar song in Kamai that had them full out dancing and singing at the top of their lungs. We played “Red light, Green light” and “Duck, duck, chicken.” It was fun! I love seeing the joy on the faces of the children.
Atootytat Kamai style
Miu-ling explained that the South Pacific FMC believes in having a stable church running for two years before it will add an adjoining care center. The church is located right next to the care center. It is a beautiful new church, the building is less than one year old. The church has approximately 100 members, the majority being youth. Because of Cambodia’s history and the genocide, the average age of Cambodia is only 19-years-old. We met the pastor and his wife and got to see their hearts for this village. The pastor asked us to pray for his church, for new believers, for the youth, and for believers to stay true to Christianity. The pastor explained that many people claim to be Christians, but when they get sick or it becomes hard, they go to the Buddhist temple for help. Please join us as we pray for this church, community, and country!
FMC church
This morning Annie, Morgan, and I joined up with Team Nessa to help at the “LOVE House” orphanage. Morgan helped take some of the children to the water park while Annie and I stayed and played with the children. When we arrived there, we were greeted with numerous hugs, high fives, and “what is your name?” These children are so hungry for love. We had kids hanging on us all morning. We made friends with the preteen girls and I walked away with four handmade bracelets and a necklace. We played thousands of rounds of the hand game. We had 11 and 12 year old boys holding our hands, twirling around, and dancing with us. We got to hold little babies. We got to love these children and it was amazing. Tomorrow, Annie and I get to help take some of the children for the waterpark. Tomorrow will be “Day 3” of taking children to the water park. It was fun as we made friends today, they would ask “Wata pak day threeee?” And we would nod our heads and they would smile, giggle, and hug us. I’m excited to hang out with them again tomorrow.
Love House orphange girls
