Visits with Friend & Lesson Learning

Singapore Airport, Floral areas 

Shocking Chocolate Prices at Singapore airport!!

Beautiful Florals at Singapore Airport!!  All Glass and Real Flowers! 

This trip back to Cambodia we took a different route, with extra stops to save quite a bit of money, also a chance  to see different airports :) Since we had a fairly long layover in Singapore, we got a chance to check out the airport. It was very well laid out and lots of areas created for showing the beauty of the area. When I added up all the flight times and layover times, it added up to 24hrs in the air, and 12hrs in 4 different airports. Our God is so good to us, taking care of us thru all our travels!!  Here are a few pictures.

We arrived back in Cambodia on Thursday, and headed off to Battambang on Saturday, so we could spend a couple days catching up with Phally and family and visit Vondy and Sokry and visiting their Sunday ministry time. We were hoping get to Battambang in time to see visit Phally kids ministry at her farm on Saturday, but we missed it arriving just after they all had gone home :(( 

Sunday morning, Phally's dad asked Stan to share at the church, so he shared a bit of what Gods been doing in our lives, Sreynoit did a great job translating as always. :)

Stan sharing at Christian Church in Battambang and  Sreynoit  translating for him

Then we went to Vondy's after lunch and watched as Phally did the music lessons, Stan shared with the kids, and Sokry and Vondy taught Bible lessons and worship songs with all the kids participating its always so good to be a part of what they have going on here!! They have arranged with a local TukTuk driver to bring the kids from the local slum area, they used to walk, but Vondy felt this would be safer for all the kids that come from that area. 

Kids arriving by tuk tuk at Vondy;s from Slum area

 

After the kids went home, Vondy and Sokry wanted to show us where the kids from the Slum live, so we all got it the pickup and went to visit that area. 

little ones, bring the food from Vondy back home to share with siblings:))

 It was a nice to be able to visit briefly the people in this neighborhood, Vondy has a wonderful repertoire  here with these people.

After we left we took Phally, Sokry and Vondy  out for to Pizza and Ice-cream to enjoy some time visiting ! 

Back in Siem Reap, we had to wait in traffic for this funeral procession, to go by. it was quite long.... If you notice the Buddhist monks in orange, a big percentage of them were young boys, so sad to see!! 

We then spent a few days at the farm, we actually drove up the day after we got back from Battambang, thinking we would be there a week, but learned more paper work was needed for export document project, so back to Siem Reap, then back to the farm, the next day. 

I think the farm workers think we like to drive or something!! as much running back and forth that ends up happening! not usual by our choice! 

It was nice the brief time we spent there, Everyone seemed happy to see us again, saying how they missed us:) 

June 9th we sent Pichit to the farm so he could keep us informed of what was happening there, while we headed off to the beach town of "Kep" to be a part of Mandies Wedding, for those who don't know, we met Mandie when we were helping out at Sovanapoom. Mandie and her daughter Gabby, (from Texas) worked at Sovanpoom for at least a year, then she felt God  was calling her to Kep to start a ministry, she has done an amazing job there getting the Gospel introduced and a Christian ministry that helps the poor in her community and starting a Christian church service and Bible study there, she has Pastors from neighboring Kompot, volunteer to come and help Pastor the church service.

It was nice spending time with Mandie, and her husband, meeting his parents, and being able to see kids that we knew from our time at Sovanapoom ,  Mandie has basically been their "foster mom"  Here are a few photos of getting things ready. 

view of sea near Kep's crab market  ( I was wondering if the monks umbrella was to be used as a kite:) )

this is where the wedding service will be held, the Kings old vacation home ( its basically deserted, and Mandie had to get special permission!! we were very fortunate we were able to be here, they tried to stop us from having the service here, but God didn't let that happen!! 

bouquets
Sopeak and Thouen brought all the flowers from Phnom Penh and  all of us put  the bouquets together, 

boys putting lanterns in the trees. yikes!!! 

 The day after the wedding, Thouen and Speak and their boys invited us to go on an excursion, going up Bokor mountain and then seeing waterfalls. near Kompat town, we ended the day visiting Stephen, Mandie and Gabby at the resort in Kompat where they were spending a few days as a new family.

Thoeun and Speak and there NEW CAR! catching the clouds as they are coming down to touch the ground on the mountain !
Cambodians like to come up the mountain so they can touch the clouds when they come down! 

Tuk Tuk in Phnom Penh waiting patiently for us while we were getting Pizza's in a huge rainstorm !! 

Pizza's to take to Sovanapoom kids 

Sovanapoom kids, with Tree, Seena and Jeremiah in charge 

 The cutest one of the bunch! little Rosie Seena and Trees little girl, she is 2yr old loaded with personality!!

view of the village from the ferry, kinda nice to be on the ferry again! 

We went over to Ra's house to visit her, she is really ill, struggling with diabetes and some stomach issue, be praying for her! It was difficult to see her so "down" and sick.....  helped her out so she could go to the Dr. . I'm looking forward to calling her when I get back to Cambodia to check on her.

  We then flew back from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, last Monday, with the plan to finish up the Seed cleaning Machine, Stan has been building and get back to the farm, but, You all know how that worked out!!! 

 I was busy catching up some bookwork, and Stan and Pichit were working on the machine, when Stan yells at me, that he cut his hand , with the Skil saw....and thinks its bad..... 

 the scariest part, was NOT knowing where to take him!!! I'm running around getting towels for the bleeding and keys for pickup, asking Pichit where to go, he didn't know what to do... I go outside and my neighbor that can speak a little English happens to be outside her house, doesn't happen very often that I see her, ( I know that God worked that out!) I ask her where do I go?? She just says I'll go with you, and show you. Such a relief!! I'm so incredibly grateful to her for coming with me, She probably thinks I drive like a crazy person, honking constantly hoping people/things will move out of the way, afraid Stan will pass out anytime... but we got him to a clinic, where they were able to stop the bleeding and stitch him up the best they could do. They had us stay overnight at the clinic, It was an experience... Hopefully we won't ever Repeat!!   A piece of advice, when going to a new place, always find out where to go if you have an emergency!! later we found out we should probably have gone to the International Hospital there in Siem Reap, it would have been farther to drive though ....So maybe it was still good we went where we did.  Pastor Ivor, from the Siem Christian Church we attend when we are in town, was so nice, coming and visiting and helping me with arrangements to go to Thailand the next day... the Doctor at the clinic also felt it was a good Idea to go to Thailand for another opinion, although he did try to encourage us to stay at the clinic for 3 days, and he could clean & re-bandage it each day.....

At the clinic in Siem Reap

Cup says it all, ( At Bumrungrad waiting to see the Dr,)

We flew out of Siem Reap to Bangkok, its an hour flight, in the evening with Stans appointment the next morning. The Doctor he saw, had his nurse re-move the bandages, it took them several bottles of solution to get them loosened up and off.  It looked even worse , then when we saw it in Cambodia...

Doctor wasted no time in getting him scheduled for surgery the next day to open it up and clean it re-sutured up properly, He said Infection was already setting in so advised him to be admitted to hospital that day, to have IV antibiotics started. 

Everything has gone very well here, we were released from the hospital on Saturday, but advised to stay and have his hand cleaned and re-bandaged everyday at the Bumrungrad clinic,  Friday the Doctor will check it out and remove the drain that is in his hand and evaluate the thumb. The knuckle was cut and fractured, so not sure how it will heal, possibility of having to put in a screw if its not stable. Praying we don't have to go thru that..... 

We thank everyone of you who have stood by us in prayer!! we cannot begin to Thank everyone enough who has sent kind words our way, encouraging us. and to our Home church for graciously helping out financially !! a mere Thank You doesn't seem like enough! 

but know we are so very thankful  for each one of you!!!!

View of Bangkok from hospital room, Thunderstorm!

I've been reading 1Samuel about David's life, and all he went thru as a young man, how God prepared him to be King, thru many trials. How God brought him thru all the trials. So many lessons here for us to learn from!!! while David was constantly fleeing Saul, he wrote Psalm 54 & Psalm 62: 6-8 Where he states, God alone is my Rock and my salvation, my fortress, I shall not be  shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him, God is a refuge for us.
   So encouraging was this Psalm during this time. We often wonder why things are happening, but just knowing God is in full control and He knows the end, is reassuring we don't have to know everything, we just are asked to trust HIM, and rest in HIM. let HIM fight our battles for us!