"Sunny" visits with Special People!

A couple weeks ago we braved the roads once again, and headed off on a quick trip to Phnom Penh.

I ( Lori)  really wanted to visit as many of the girls we could get together as possible, since its been awhile since Ive heard from many of them.. so I mentioned this idea to Srelyn, one day when she messaged me. She was very helpful in gathering all the ones who she could get to come. For a fun day of lunch and singing ending in swimming at the hotel, where Srey Leak works. the girls were very happy! and my heart was blessed to spend time with so many, who I have continued to pray for, wondering how they are doing..... There was a few more I wish could have joined us, but am grateful for the time I got with the ones that could. We had a nice visit with Hannah and Zoey's mom when we took the girls back home. So encouraged to hear how they are doing in school. Proud of so many of them!! 

waiting at the ferry for some of the girls to come across

left to right. Zoey, Junea, Maly's nephew, Sophia holding Maly baby

Hannah and Zoey singing:)

SreyLeak and Sophia

Maly's baby

Sunday morning we headed back to Siem Reap, Stan wasn't feeling well, so we didn't stick around and go to church with some of the kids there, It was a quick trip...

Monday morning we were back in class...

  Thursday, - Saturday the 2 families from the farm area came for a visit, we tried to get some intense Discipleship/Bible teaching done since our time is short here in Cambodia.  

took them to experience "Hamburgers/Fast food " at Lucky burger... not impressed!  

Girl in blue shirt close to front, came over to share her testimony

We had fun, Friday evening having movie night with projector putting it on the wall for Big Screen! and Stan made a giant pot of popcorn.. the twins thought that was pretty special! The 2 ladies pretty much did all  the cooking and cleanup, so I felt a bit spoiled.. not sure what to do with myself! Pichit, had a vietnamese lady come and share her testimony with them, as she has an amazing testimony to Gods faithfulness to her. 

After they went home, Saturday morning we went to Randy and Krystals for a lunch date, to catch up with them.. then off to Battambang to visit with Chris and Phally and Vondy's family and ministry.

It was an exciting time on Sunday as Vondy shared during the church service, and Sunday afternoon when all the kids come, we were just getting started and it opened up and poured!!!!! with thunder and ALL, Big Rain! Pleeung Toem!  there was over 185 kids there and where do you put them all so we can keep the program running? crowded together in the carport area! Pichit did an object lesson, which had the kids attention! 

Rajana Phally sister and little MaiMai

Vondy sharing in church

Chris and Phally teaching Bible story and then music at Vondy's

Many Postures of Prayer photo1

Many Postures of prayer photo 2

Storm clouds moving in :(

Love the girl in the hat! and the little one in the front! 

Pichit and friend doing their object lesson on how are Sin in washed away 

 It takes 3 trips for the tuk tuk to gather them all up, ( the ones that come from other neighbourhoods..) about 17 kids in each load. I went along to pick them up and take them home. I was so happy to be able to see where all these kids come from... Quite something! 2 sisters brought their baby sister who I estimate to be about 7 months old?( I asked them, they didn't know)  pee'd on me during the program, so by the time we got them delivered in the rain and mud.. I was quite a mess .. skirt was a  " little" wet.... All the streets were flooded, so the tuktuk driver had his hands full trying to get his tuk tuk full of kids thru the flooded streets ( which are dirt...) and to their homes.. 

Monday we went to Chris and Phally's to spend time visiting, had a good time together at their place. They took us to visit a place where they had their wedding photo's taken. Here are some pictures I took there.

lotus flower bud

Lotus "field" they harvest and use everything, stalks, leaves, flower, seed pods, etc. everything has a purpose

I'm wondering " What country am I in??"

one HUGE BULL! the man ( photo below) said he paid $20,000? for him.....

This man owns this place, he enjoys singing, so he sang a song about Battambang for us.:) then Pichit sang a song from a hymnal he carries with him.. 

Camping at Chris and Phallys. Pichit and his friend in our Mosquito net, Tent 

On Tuesday morning we headed back to Siem Reap. Tuesday evening after we got home we were able to meet "SreyLy" and take her out for Pizza! (she was from Sovanapoom, when we helped out there) and is now in a different organisation, where she is able to go to high school and learn job skills, this next month she will start grade 10, and also start an accounting program. Super proud of her!! She was selected from her school, to join there camp program here in Siem Reap, as a leader. So she spent 1 month in Siem Reap. We were very happy to see her and encourage her.  ( Her youngest 3  siblings are at Place of Rescue, since their mom passed away nearly a year ago). 

Today, Aug 27th Chandy took  Srey Leak, and SreyLy  out to Place of Rescue to visit their younger siblings , sent me pictures:) 

On Wednesday we went to the Dentist here to try to get a few things done, before we come home.. and then Thursday off to the Farm in Dai Krahom to take a generator and pump to be stored at a neighbors until it can be used somewhere. We then visited with the farm workers and 5 more new families that have professed to Pichit after he explained the Gospel to them that they believe in Jesus! David and his assistant went along with us, to see where it is and see whats happening up there. We had a fun time visiting and eating lunch together, then spent about 1 1/2 hrs sharing about Jesus and the Gospel. we all ( Pichit, Stan, David and I ) took turns sharing. then after more goodbyes we headed back to Siem Reap. Long day but worth the trip!

YanTen, Sara and their son. ( YanTen is the one hurt in weed-eater accident) starting to get around a little! 

In case your wondering who is this? left to right Stan and Pichit :))

We have been busy selling/giving away and delivering our "Stuff," and Burning the mountain of documents and contracts from the NTC Project.. This morning Sunday 27th Stan and his helper  Nawyn, (neighbour boy) finally conquered the piles! whew, we didn't know if it was possible... but didn't feel right about just tossing papers that had peoples ID info on them in the dumpster :/ So early mornings was the burn project ..

We fly home September 11th, Prayers would be appreciated as we finish up the last 2 weeks here.

This week will be filled with Dentist appointments, finish packing, moving out of apartment.. 

We also will be visiting with different ones, learning what we can and figuring out the best way to help Pichit and others who will be overseeing and caring for the new budding church up at the farm area. with 7 new families of believers! persecution from family and friends is very real to these people,  prayers are much appreciated!! We have seen Satan attempt to discourage the growth here! he doesn't want to see this Christian growth up in his territory!

Then we will go back to Battambang staying with Vondy and spending time with the Phally and Chris and the families there. Also taking over some of our things they can use. 

We will then return to Siem Reap for the last few days, hopefully rest up before flying out. Thank you so very much for all your prayers and support! see you in a couple weeks! 

Our time here has flown by! 

Our Return to Cambodia

  As many of you know Stan and I arrived back in Cambodia on July 13th, We possibly had the roughest flight here... at one point our plane hit an air pocket or something and it bounced pretty hard we all flew up along with stuff... and my cup of orange juice painted the wall, window and my pillow :( along with my clothes.... we arrived in Singapore airport in one piece and luckily I had a spare set of clothes:) . I hope not to repeat that episode! Our friend Randy Odom met us at the airport, and reunited us with our pickup:) .  
   We rested up for a couple nights and off to Battambang we went! We had a special 80th Birthday party to attend!!

Phally's Dad's 80th Birthday Party! Nearly all his family was able to make it, This is just the Grandchildern!

On Sunday ( July 16th)  we spent at their Church "Cambodian Christian Church, worshiping together.

Then after lunch  we went and visited Sokry's Dad in the hospital, where he had his leg amputated a month earlier. Hospitals aren't like at home:/

 ( He was able to go home 2 days after we visited him)Praise the Lord!! 

Sorry's Dad, Phally went along with us, translated for us when necessary.

Then off to Vondy's for Kids Ministry! It was special time, of reconnecting and visiting! Pichit came to Battambang with us, and met up with a friend of his, from Battambang, who had just graduated from Bible School in the Philippines! He came along also and shared His testimony with the kids. Which they seemed to enjoy hearing ( at least he had their attention!) 

Monday we visited Chris and Phally's place, and enjoyed hearing about their plans and how their kids ministry  is getting up and running again, after their time in the States caring for Chris's mom.

  we returned back to Siem Reap, Monday afternoon, ready for a good nights sleep! Since we hadn't quite recovered from our trip from the States! before heading off to Battambang!! Tuesday morning we headed out to attend A couple different Khmer Language classes, to see what we felt was the best for us. It was a full first week back here! We attended classes at the university in the morning and LEC. ( ( language exchange cambodia,) in the afternoon. After the first week, of double classes, we decided to just attend the University Class in the morning we like how the teacher mixes many teaching methods, ( the focus is on Speaking and Reading) we felt like we get the most for the dollar spent! and then it takes most of the afternoon, studying to try to get all the information we learned assimilated, if that is even possible at our age!!

Stan is faithfully video taping the lessons, so we can review, as many times as we need to keep learning.  We are actually both reading some!
I (Lori) still struggle with my sentence structure...in speaking, ( Its so backwards from ours)  ( Stan is the star student in speaking, pronouncing the words correctly, ( according to the teacher) :)  ( but I can read better :) ) oh well.....someday maybe we will "get it".
The teacher is good, we have Koreans, Japanese, Australian and Americans all in class together at different levels of ability, and he is great at keeping the class going! learning together.

    We were supposed to head up to the "Farm" to visit and have a time of Bible Study with our farm families, 2 weeks ago, but as we were getting ready to drive up there, we got a phone call that the road was "broken" washed out or something due to heavy rain, So we had to put the trip off until this last Saturday, they were able to have us come, It was very muddy drive up, we were meeting out at YanTin and Sarah's house, so we parked the Pickup out at the main road and walked/took turns riding on Buntie's moto, hauling in the food and water we brought for making lunch together.
Remember when around the end of June, we asked for prayer at church for Yantin? we heard that he had something serious wrong with his stomach, but with the language barrier, we didn't know if he was just really sick or what? Well, we finally got the whole story!!
Here it is, YanTin and his wife Sarah were out working in their field, He was running a weed eater with a steel blade, cutting grass. when it hit a large rock, a big chunk flew off of the rock about the size of a small dinner plate, ( the way they described it, using their plates) into his abdomen!! laid it wide open! they could see his insides moving around, (Sarah's description... ) she showed us a photo on her little phone!! also broke a couple of ribs. She said, she heard the thunk, and him scream I'm dying! then he passed out cold.. she carried him into their little house, up the little ladder, and laid him on the mat, and said she just prayed to God to raise her husband back up!! she made some kind of sling and the neighbours helped carry him out the path to the main road and a got a car to haul him to the first small hospital or clinic, they couldn't do anything for him, thought he would die, so took him to the next town.. they said the same thing! so they brought him to Siem Reap Hospital.. they needed to pay $2000. before they would do anything for him.. remember this man, has a large hole in his abdomen,  So they called up relatives and got the money together, ( which they need to pay back right away, somehow) so they could get medical care for him.  The hospital didn't expect him to live. He is a soldier, and has a very small farm... and now can't work for several months while he heals up, its been about 6 weeks since the accident.

YanTin, still healing, hurting a lot, but scar looks good!! no infection which is amazing! 

    Only by Gods healing touch and Grace is this man alive today!! and they give Him all the credit! an amazing story, about the power and Love of their/our God!!  Another thing we learned when we went to their home! they had started making more grass roofing sections ( I thought they were for repairing their roof) but they are for adding on to their house so they have more room for holding Bible Studies, "Church"!!  There is approx. 20 plus families living around them out there and they have several neighbours wanting to learn more about their God!! especially now that they have seen God's hand in saving  YanTin!

Sarah 

enjoying lunch together

Bible Study, fresh boiled Peanuts and fruit to snack on! doesn't get much better! :)

walking back out on the muddy path, ended up barefoot, since the mud kept sucking our flip flops off our feet!! 

Back to Siem Reap, enjoyed a great time of worship on Sunday at the Christian Church here, and another week of language classes. 

  Our neighbours here have been happy to have us return, especially Nawyn our little neighbor boy, Well maybe not so little, but he is only 10yrs old. he asked if he could stay with us.. says its more fun than his house.. not sure about that.. but He does enjoy hanging out with us:) 

This Friday, Aug 11th we will drive to Phnom Penh to visit some of the "kids" from Sovanapoom care days.. 

I've arranged with a couple of the older girls to get as many of the girls as possible that want to visit together for a little "reunion" It looks like there will be about 12! Pray this goes well! Im looking forward to catching up with them! Also pray for safety in traveling ! 

We will return Sunday evening, 

And then on the 18th we will be going back to Battambang for a visit. 

Friday Aug 25th I (Lori) will be holding our monthly Ladies Fellowship here in Siem Reap, for missionary ladies to get together and share and encourage each other. have a devotional or special speaker, 

Saturday the 26th will possibly be back up at YanTin and Sarah's home for Bible Study and Fellowship with everyone up there. Please keep these families in prayer, especially YanTin's healing and financial needs with this added burden of medical bills owed to their relatives. 

Thank you all so much for your continued support!! prayers, friendship, encouragement etc. !!