Happy Easter! He is risen. Here are a few thoughts about Cambodia, given through the five senses….
Sight– Spending a morning walking down the busy market streets in a slum town on the outside of Phnom Penh, Cambodia is quite the sensory experience. There are small vendors every few inches selling everything you can imagine. There are people selling bread, frogs, fish, snails, crabs, chickens, ducks, and about a million other things that I don’t recognize. Everyone is dressed in bold colors and patterns, and the exotic fruits and many vegetables litter the streets with vibrant colors. There is a sweet lady that we always get our coffee from. She gets a huge kick out of us trying to order drinks with such a distinct language barrier in the way, but somehow, we always get our coffee. There are kids running around and riding bikes, whole families trying to get through the narrow streets crammed on motorbikes, and everyone from the town out and about. Every morning when we walk out the front gates, we see three little neighborhood girls running towards us to give us hugs and high-fives.
Smell– The smells of the market are….unique. The market smells like seafood, raw meat, exhaust from the motorbikes and everything in between. I’m pretty sure all we smell like right now is sweat and paint! (From painting the preschool classroom that we are working in).
Feel-The only thing I have been feeling these last few days is constant sweat! Cambodia summers are very hot and extremely humid. I don’t think there is a moment in the day that we aren’t sweating in at least some capacity. There are fans in the home we are staying in, but no A/C. Somehow, it feels like it gets even hotter during the night, and I always wake up practically stuck to my sleeping pad! But our showers are cold and our host always provides us with ice-cold water because she is amazing.
Taste– Our amazing host prepares our meals and they are delicious! She makes us green curry, yellow curry, egg rolls, noodles, stir fry and the best wontons I’ve ever had! Cambodia has the most delicious mangos that I have ever tasted. They are so sweet and we have been eating them with practically every meal. No complaints here. We have coffee or red tea most mornings, and we recently discovered a drink made from the juice of sugar canes. The man strips the outside of the bark with a butcher knife and runs then under this wheel-like contraption that crushes the cane and squeezes the juices out. Its cold, refreshing, and delicious.
Sounds– No matter what time it is, there is a rooster crowing somewhere. Not a super reliable alarm clock. We can hear our host’s son, little Manna, downstairs playing with dinosaurs or yelling at Peppa Pig on the television. We can hear the loud music playing outside of our windows at nights and are greeted by high-pitched screams and giggles from the little girls next door when we walk down to the market in the mornings.
~FUNDRAISING UPDATE~
I AM FULLY FUNDED!!! Thank you thank you thank you. The Lord provides! Thank you all so much your your support, it is a huge weight off my shoulders! Here are the squad mates that still need to be fully funded, in order of the amount they need. Please take the time to pray over this list and pick someone to bless with a donation. I truly believe that your investment in S Squad is an investment in the kindgom! (my teammates are in pink)
Klancy Baker – Has $10,783 – Needs $6,234 to be fully funded! – klancybaker.theworldrace.org
Linsey Cuffy – Has $13,134 – Needs $3,883 to be fully funded! – linseycuffy.theworldrace.org
Danielle Farina – Has $13,135 – Needs $3,882 to be fully funded! – daniellefarina.theworldrace.org
Sara Santiago – Has $13,408 – Needs $3,609 to be fully funded! – sarasantiago.theworldrace.org
Janibel Ramirez – Has $13,864 – Needs $3,150 to be fully funded! – janibelramirez.theworldrace.org
Kaiti Navarrete – Has $13,915 – Needs $3,102 to be fully funded! – kaitinavarrete.theworldrace.org
Quinn Diaz – Has $14,066 – Needs $2,951 to be fully funded! – quinndiaz.theworldrace.org
Bryce & Kimmy Whittington – Has $29,392 – Needs $4,642 to be fully funded! bryceandkimmywhittington.theworldrace.org
Jessica Ganci – Has $14,828 – Needs $3,492 to be fully funded! – jessicaganci.theworldrace.org
Allison Kennelly – Has $14,685 – Needs $2,332 to be fully funded! – allisonkennelly.theworldrace.org
Courtney Neigh – Has $14,709 – Needs $2,308 to be fully funded! – courtneyneigh.theworldrace.org
Leah Schult – Has $14,850 – Needs $2,267 to be fully funded! – leahschult.theworldrace.org
Sarah Patty – Has $15,295 – Needs $1,722 to be fully funded! – sarahpatty.theworldrace.org
Alyssa Muntz – Has $15,450 – Needs $1,567 to be fully funded! – alyssamuntz.theworldrace.org
Mikayla Pearson – Has $15,461 – Needs $1,556 to be fully funded! – mikaylapearson.theworldrace.org
Rachel Stewart – Has $15,742 – Needs $1,275 to be fully funded! – rachelstewart.theworldrace.org
Anna Beth Cook – Has $15,826 – Needs $1,191 to be fully funded! – annabethcook.theworldrace.org
Maggie Higginbotham – Has $16,022 – Needs $995 to be fully funded! maggiehigginbotham.theworldrace.org
Katie Sparks – Has $16,234 – Needs $783 to be fully funded! katherinesparks.theworldrace.org
Allie Redding – Has $16,488 – Needs $529 to be fully funded! allieredding.theworldrace.org
Paige Lindner – Has $16,672 – Needs $345 to be fully funded! paigelindner.theworldrace.org
Kierstin Foltz – Has $16,735 – Needs $282 to be fully funded! kierstinfoltz.theworldrace.org
Last thing, our Squad Leaders and Squad Mentors are also fundraising! Our squad leaders, Tammy, Lo (who, I believe, is fully funded) and Amanda have given up 4 months of their lives to help us goofy kids in S Squad! As former racers, they have been an amazing help and resource to us, so we want to be helpful to them! They are fundraising $6,500 to be with us, so please consider giving to them so that they can be fully funded this month! There’s also Beka, our Squad Mentor. She too has been a FANTASTIC resource to us. Her wisdom and knowledge is such a gift to our squad. She works at Adventures in Missions full-time and fundraises her own salary every year, and we hope that the Lord BLOWS HER MIND with the donations this year. Please consider giving to Beka, someone who has sacrificed so much to be there for us!
Beka Hardy – Has $6,295 – Needs $7,705 to be fully funded! – bekahardy.theworldrace.org
Tammy Moye – Has $6,300 – Needs $200 to be fully funded! – tammymoye.theworldrace.org
Amanda McConnell – Has $3,970 – Needs $2,530 to be fully funded! amandamcconnell.theworldrace.org
