A Very Blessed Christmas at Sovanapoom Care

A VERY BIG  Praying Manits

     December 24th was a very busy day here at Sovanapoom as the preparations for Christmas dinner began in earnest! First the 3 of the main cooks headed off to Phnom Penh to purchase the ingrediants. in the meantime I helped one of the other girls prepare lunch, and get all the cabbbage and carrots ect. chopped and ready for dinner (I was informed "I 'm a good chopper") .  Andy rounded up some of the Aussie team to help get started butchering chickens,

These were for Christmas Supper, along with fries, Sovanapoom version of KFC! Kids loved it

Stan's trying to enjoy himself.....

    Soon after lunch the cooks arrived back from Phnom Penh with a Tuk Tuk load of food.  Time to get a crew and begin chopping a pile of beef into chunks. They said it was a 1/2 beef, (must have been a small beef), Still a big pile!! After the beef was cut up we began cutting, and pounding into powder or paste all the spices, from fresh that went into this very special dish, "Saraman Curry" Served traditionaly only on special occasions, They don't get this every year, So it is a very special time when they get to enjoy this dish, 

preparing all the fresh spices took hours!! of pounding! 

squeezing the milk out of the  fresh coconut

someone has to held the light while the other stir, huge pot!! 

even the boys got into the action of stirring! 

After supper, they began cooking, the beef was browned while supper was prepared, Then all the rest of the ingrediants were added and the cooking began, lasting until way past dark, I was very intrigued by this dish, and enjoyed being a part of helping prepare it!  At home we spend the day baking, here we spent the day pounding fresh herbs and spices, and chopping meat, ...

Anxious for Christmas day so we can try this carefully prepared beef dish! 

Christmas morning the big girls, prepared fruit bags for all the kids, to give with their dinner, this is a special treat also, they don't get fresh fruit much because for 100 people it costs more than the food budget allows, 

Christmas Worship service time before dinner! It was a very good service, remembering the magnitude of the birth of Christ and how prophecies are happening nearly every day, marking the soon return of our Lord and Saviour!!!  Christmas carols weren't sung, but many very meaningful songs of worship and Praise!! the kids had been preparing a surprise "skit" for us all. They did a great job, on the nativity scene, (sorry the pictures are a bit dark, its hard to get good pictures in there) 

( baby Jesus is the pink teddy bear) kids in front are animal at the nativity scene

Enjoying the bag of fruit and trying to fit some bread into the bag for later!  maybe!!

Kids Christmas Dinner

Our Christmas Dinner table, Bread, fruit and Saramam! was good but
a bit spicy:) 

Time for a Christmas day chess game for the guys

Soon after this meal was cleaned up, time to begin peeling a massive amount of potatoes and slicing them for fries, and fried chicken supper, lots of time cooking.... a very hot job!! 

Enjoyed watching the kids play with new jump ropes, balls, and hula hoops! some were quite good at it! 

I hope you enjoyed a glimpse into Christmas at Sovanapoom Care! 

     John, Stan and a couple of the older boys and a few of the Aussie team  headed out early this morning for the Farm,  yesterday I made Peanut No-bake cookies (ther wasn't any cocoa to be found) for the boys that are up there for a little Christmas treat, (hopefully they will like them, ) they will be gone all week, Please Pray that all goes well up there! they have alot they want to get done in a short amount of time! 

finishing up welding the landplane

   Will attempt to finish the farm update! I think I left off with building the harrow,, 

pivot on foot....

landplaning

unloading roots/sticks ect from field, gotta get another load

Last week we were able to go into town to shop for much needed improved sewing machines, Seena went along, to help with translation and to learn how to operate the sewing machines from the shop. 

We were able to purchase an overlock machine and 2 basic sewing machines with tables, Sewing classes went much smoother with the new additions!! Thank You so much!! the girls are excited with the addition of the overlock machine!! 

It was a bit of a challenge to get all of them in the tuk tuk and us also!! 

Stan talked the driver into taking us all the way to Sovanapoom... (Seena asked him and he said no, cuz he had never been across, so Stan asked him, and he agreed, Seena couldn't believe it, she says  why?? he tell me no..... Papa asked he say yes?  it was his first time across the river he said) 

Sovanapoom Farm Project update

    Stan, John and Tree returned Tuesday late afternoon from the farm,  with plans of returning again  on Dec. 27th. with some of the guys from the Aussie team that will be arriving Dec. 22nd.

donations came in, and were able to purchase a rototiller for behind tractor

 While they were up there they helped finish cutting, sheaving, and threshing the rice. 

 

They also did a bit of plowing approx. 5 acres gathering up the sticks, roots ect.

casova plants on east side of driveway, 

ed.

 

seeing all these bags was a good reward for the boys hard work!

Stan helped the boys build a landplane to help get the field a bit more level.  Praying that they get some rain up there so the plowing can be finished.

starting to build the landplane

To be continued,  (my blogger changed languages on me:{)  weird computer.......