God uses 4-year-olds

Today I woke up feeling just plain yucky. It was one of those mornings you wished you could stay in bed, and things only got more challenging. The headache I went to sleep with was still there, but worse. My stomach was having issues, something I have unfortunately had a LOT of here. As I got on Brian's bike (mine was being repaired for flat tire #3), I came to the sad realization that he also had a flat tire. Oh well, had to ride to school on it anyway! Blugh. One of those days.
As I got to school, one of my students called my name. She was with her younger sister Maya. Apparently Maya had picked a flower for me on their way to school, but was reluctant to give it to me. Maya is 4 years old, and is an adorably hilarious little girl. Long story short, my student handed the flower to me for her younger sis, and it was perfect. A little pink bud nestled between sage green leaves. As I brought it to my room to put it in water, I couldn't help but think that my God put the thought in this 4 year old's head to pick me a flower today. I needed that flower. As the day has gone on, that pink bud has opened and graced my desk with its beauty. *Lord, thank you for using even the smallest of your children.*

Street 592

- - Where we work, and where we lay our head at night- -

Here, streets are given numbers instead of names. If you have a particular street number you are looking for, let's say there is a restaurant you want to find there, good luck! Only the few major streets in the city have actual names, and the numbered streets do not go in order on the maps!! Tuk-tuk drivers get soooo lost trying to find things, because nothing is in order. For example, Street 578 might be parallel to Street 3. Insane. Anyhow, we live and work on Street 592. Our new house is about a 5 minute bike ride on a nice, paved, fairly drained, street. We love it. Below are a few pictures of our new home:

The main, and largest room of our house: we have made it into a dining room, office, and guest area. The door you see is our front door.

The dining room and bookshelves; behind the shelves is our guest bed (w/o mattress yet...).

Karie's favorite spot: our veranda. Below is Street 592.

We see these beautiful sunsets from our veranda. Amazing.

This was one of our most rainy, flooding days. Look how deep the water was on our street!!

This ox cart comes by every morning, selling terra cotta pots and cooking containers. The oxen are badly malnourished.

I felt like a tourist, taking pictures of this normal event...however, the Cambodians think the oxen are pretty cool too!! They all came out to the street to watch them.

We have been here 3 1/2 months already, and we still have so much to see and do! There are days when we feel bored and trapped here, but even looking down onto our street can provide entertainment. In the recent weeks, we have spent nights out on the veranda watching spectacular lightning storms, colorful sunsets, flooding streets, ox carts, speeding motos, and much more. Hooray for Street 592....wherever you are on a map.

* * *Not All Daisies and Roses* * *

Lately, Cambodia has become a very tough place for Brian and I to be. I think the reality of the length of time we have committed here has set in, and we are finding it very challenging in many different ways. We try to make the best out of each day we have here, but there are just some days where this is fairly impossible. I have experienced a string of unfortunate events, so I thought I would share those with you. These just go to show it isn't always pretty and enjoyable here.

• Last weekend, some co-workers and I set off for a much needed girls day out. Our plans were to have breakfast (American style) at a cute little cafe called "Sisters: All Day Breakfast." After that, we needed to do a bit of shopping in the Russian Market (see my previous post pictures of the market with crowded, small aisles). Then, to top it all off, we were going to a salon called "The Oasis" to get manicures, pedicures, massages, etc. Believe it or not, I was going to be able to get a 30 minute foot massage and pedicure for $5.00 total. Anyway, during the market portion of our day, we were standing at a vendor's stall trying to find out the price for conditioner. As we began to walk away, she alerted the Cambodian women we were with to tell us to check our bags; apparently she had seen some suspicious people lingering behind us for a bit. When I went to take my backpack off my shoulder, it was WIDE OPEN. My wallet was gone. I had just visited the ATM to take out cash, which I had put in the wallet....not to mention I had my CA Driver's License, my USA bank's ATM cards, etc. etc. Well anyway, quite the commotion began as vendors, "police men" (really guys with walkie talkies dressed in everyday clothing), and shoppers at the market went scurrying every which way! Some thought they knew who did it: a women and her children. We were rushed over to the "police headquarters" (again, just a room with a conference table in it) and I was told to fill out a report. They say they might find the wallet, but I am not so hopeful. This event brought a real sadness to my heart, mainly because stealing is a WAY OF LIFE here. I am so saddened that the Cambodian government does not care enough about its people that the majority of its capital city are living in filth and poverty. Pray for whoever took my wallet, that they would someday know the love of Christ and realize that stealing is wrong.
  
• Yesterday a friend and I set off down the road on bikes during our lunch break; the cafeteria was serving hamburgers, and those who know me know I don't eat them. There is a little cafe down the street that serves great banana smoothies, so that is where we headed. I was riding on a flat tire, which I had discovered that morning when I got on my bike. As if this wasn't bad enough, I hadn't had time get it fixed before school started. Alas, one more ride on the flat wasn't going to kill my bike of steel. As we were backing our bikes up after getting our smoothies, I stepped back with my right leg and immediately began to feel my flesh burning. My senses took over, and I jumped; not quick enough to get a good little burn on my calf from a Moto pipe. This is VERY common here, as those pipes that hang out on the side of Motos are NEVER covered here, and get roasting hot. Yeay. 20 bug bites all over each leg, a nice burn situated on top of them, and a flat tire. What a day.
  

Anyway, I don't write this blog to bring anyone down; I write because I feel the need to communicate just how hard it is being here some days. I enjoy the people we work with and the students at the school: they literally keep us going on these hard days. Anyway, everyone back home be THANKFUL for where you are: in an un-corrupt country where things are kept clean and neat.

What we're up to

It's been awhile since I've written about the day-to-day things we stay busy with here. This blog will be all about that. In our few free hours each day and weekend, we love to hop on a Tuk-Tuk and venture out to new places. Here are a few pictures from one of the more bearable markets-Russian Market. The best time to visit Russian Market is in the morning or late afternoon; otherwise, you will nearly die of heat exhaustion as there are NO vents or things to let the air through the place.

You want a banana? They have 11 varieties here!!

The beautiful colors of Cambodian silks

Oh the choices! DVDs, CDs, TV Series....all for about $2.00!!

This little beauty was strolling around in underwear, no shoes, and a half drunken glass bottle of Green Fanta. I wanted to swoop her up and take her home. . .what a precious babe.

...and it was! I had a cup to-go, about the size of a Starbucks Tall, and it was 3,000 riel ($0.75)

Other than visits to the local markets, we have enjoyed teaching at the school very much. We work here about 9 hours each week day and usually at least 6 hours one of the weekend days. It is our second home, and the kids here are amazing. What a true blessing we have to work with them as they grow up in the Lord. Below are some pics Karie snapped of her class in action on a normal Friday afternoon:

Playing while having P.E.

Playing Guess Who!

A busy room during Friday Fun time!

We will continue posting on the day-to-day occurrences as time permits!! We love you all and cannot WAIT to come home this summer.

- -5 Senses of Cambodia- -

So many of you are interested in knowing what life is like for us here: how it is different, the new things we are experiencing, etc. The best way I thought to communicate that to you is through something we can all relate to...our 5 senses. Going through each of the five senses, I will try my best to give you a visual of life in a third world country:

SEE:

• Busy roads
• People going to the bathroom on the side of the road
• Dirt everywhere
• Tropical plants
• Large insects
• More motos than I have ever seen
• Worn faces on older people, hopeful faces on the youth of Cambodia.
• Dogs and cats without homes
• Markets crowded with people
• Darkness (the power goes out almost daily)
• Rats and rat poop everywhere
• Geckos magically climbing walls
  

HEAR:

• Horns honking
• A language I don't understand
• Multiple questions: "Excuse me, Tuk Tuk?" "Where you going?" "Where you come from?"
• Dogs barking
• Loud claps of thunder
• Children laughing
• American rap music playing
• Tukai Geckos doing their call (hard to explain, but it sounds like some sort of bird)
  

TASTE:

• Tropical fruits with FLAVOR
• Dirt in my mouth, blowing up from the roads
• Amazing iced coffee with sweet milk
• A multitude of new and exotic spices
• Filtered water
• Fanta soda in many flavors (including Orange, Green Cream, and Pineapple!)
  

TOUCH:

• My keyboard keys (lots of touching these; it's how I stay in touch back home)
• My bicycle handlebars
• Pencils galore!
• Riels and dollars
• Strange fruits

SMELL:

• Pollution
• Our helper cooking dinner each night
• Rotten trash
• White rice cooking (...far too often)
• Plumeria flowers
• Fresh laundry off the line
• Coffee brewing in the morning
• Human waste
• Rain falling on the cement
  

It is truly so hard to describe our lives here. I feel as if our lives here are completely opposite of our lives in California; not only are we on the other side of the world, but we are on another planet in terms of how we live day-to-day. I deeply miss the things and people of "home", but I know we are here to be challenged and sharpened.

Vacation at the Beach

Sorry it has been so long since we have updated you on life's happenings!! The past 2 weeks have been filled with packing our home, moving somewhere new, unpacking our home, finalizing our first quarter of the school year, and going on a mini-vacation! Our families blessed us by sending some extra money our way, and we were able to use that to treat ourselves to a beach getaway! We had a 4 day weekend at school because of a Cambodian holiday, so Brian and I, along with 18 other friends, set off last Friday to the coast.
The town's name is Sihanoukville, and is between 3 1/2-5 hours away by van. There is 1 highway we took to get there, which is only 2 lanes wide. What a difference from highways back home!! Anyway, we left on Friday after school and arrived around 8:45pm that night. We spend 4 nights and 3 full days there, and we had a BLAST. We were so fortunate to see another part of Cambodia, as well as to get out of the noisy polluted city. Phnom Penh is the most populated city in this country, and the rest of the country is virtually farmlands and rice paddies. We drove through very small towns, saw a very rural way of life, and enjoyed every moment of our trip. We swam in warm, clear ocean waters, we drank coconut milk, we played in the waves for hours, and we enjoyed thunder and lightning storms. Definitely a trip to remember. Here are some visual images from our incredible weekend (Remember: click on these photos to make them bigger):



The view from the highway: rice paddies and palm trees!



Occheuteal Beach (2 blocks from our Guesthouse)



One of the beautiful little girls selling bracelets, massages, etc. on the beach. We sat and talked with her for a long time, and taught her some songs about Jesus!



Fresh lobster anyone?



Occheuteal Beach at sunset (although the sun was being blocked by the clouds)



SO happy to be on vacation!!



Joanne, Anna, and Karie playing in the waves.



Loving life under the hut: we were waiting for the rain to stop so we could to play!



One of the sweet boys who was selling things: here, we were teaching him to play Uno.


Overall, great fun was had by all!! We are SO THANKFUL to our Mom's for providing us extra money for this trip. Without it, we would not have been able to go. We love you all; look for more updates to come!