Cambodia is incredible –
I knew little to nothing about this country or what to expect coming into my fourth month.
I am happy to inform yall that every month on the race has gotten better and better.
Transitions are getting easier (thanks to my support team back home.)
But this month – there are no words and its only DAY THREE!
James 1:27
I wake up every day around 5:30AM as the kids rise with the sun –
They begin their chores, the girls brush each others hair, they eat breakfast, wash their dishes, sweep common areas, shower, and take down clean clothes from the clothes lines.
There are five adults who live at the New Hope for Orphans building in the Pailin Province of Cambodia. 43 kids ages 4 – 17 share their lives together every day here. Gathered from near by provinces, our host Rotan (28 years old), his wife Hannah, and their son Daniel (4 years old) have brought children here who have been abandonded by their families and left to starve or fend for themselves in the village markets.
7:00AM – I go downstairs from my room I share with three other girls from my team and make a cup of Thai Tea.
[I must insert here that we live in what we call the “Princess Fort” – let me explain:
Our bug net hung from the four corners of our room to cover all of our gear and blow up pads is BRIGHT PURPLE – there is no where to walk in our room that is not covered by this huge net – at night, our favorite activity is to lay on our backs, look up at the ceiling, and stare at the hundreds of bugs that lay on the top of the net – its really quite the spectacle.]
8:00AM – Hannah and the two other women who live here full time always have a delicious breakfast prepared for my team. This morning it was a fried egg with fried rice!
9:00AM – 11:30AM THE CHAOS BEGINS!
Games are played, dances are made up, songs are sung, flower crowns are woven together, trees are climbed, bouquets of wildflowers are arranged, instuments are played, home grown bananas are eaten in one bite, lots of coffee is consumed – honestly the kids just get to be kids.
11:30AM – The kids eat lunch. So, we help set out bowls and spoons in groups of 5 to six for the kids to sit around and eat with each other.
12:00PM – Our lunch time! Another delicious meal prepared by Hannah and the girls.
12:30PM – 2:30PM – This is what I like to call, “Quiet Time” The kids rest – I rest – it’s a gift from God.
2:30PM – 4:30PM English lessons ensue –
Our team has divided the kids into 5 groups based on their assessed level of English when we first arrived. Morgan and I work with the oldest group and have an absolute blast teaching them vocabulary and short conversations. We play games and get silly – very different than the English classes I had growing up – but still effective all the same.
4:30PM – 5:30PM – More games – more fun – I like to call this hour, “Round Two”
5:30PM – The kids eat dinner.
6:00PM – 7:30PM – We eat dinner, have team time, and bible study (Every night we read one chapter from John as a team and spend time discussing what each of us took away from it.)
7:30PM – We crash and burn hard and go to bed very promptly – exhausted from a full, incredible day of ministry.
This isn’t a hard schedule – but it’s a rough outline of what our days look like here.
Living full-time at an orphange is really 24/7 – but every day, Jesus shows up in the most unexpected ways. He continually presents me with opportunities to trust Him more, love Him more, love His children more, rely on Him more, and ultimately experience HIM MORE.
This month is off to the most unexpected start, and I am expectant of what is to come.
Please, please be praying for the children, the staff, and my team throughout this month. Even the thought of having to leave in three weeks breaks my heart.
