Woderful Stories

A couple of posts ago I wrote about Sreyroth and the first time she ever to enter school she entered at the 4th grade level.  

It is worth going back and reading if you haven't done so.

Anyway I am proud to report she got her grade early December.  She place number 3 in her class of 66 children.  I was so proud of her when I saw her grade I went around the house telling everyone.

Tea was asked to be the Red Cross representative this year for the school along with Nerday Ream's Niece that lives next door.  Basically he will assist when Red Cross in our area gives out assistance to the needy.

Tate was asked to be the equivalent to a boyscout along with several other children.  He is also being asked to represent the school as the leader when they have to go to the city or else where.

Basically they go out and do good deeds as a group clean up places, help people fix their houses and learn how to do different projects.  

It made us very proud of our kids already achieving goals we had hoped for them to achieve later in life, being leaders and making a difference in their country. 
Being in a Buddhist country these type of activities are always surrounded by and celebrated by Buddhist chanting and doing things that Tate and Tea may not want to do.   Please pray for them that they would remain strong and be able represent Christ well.

Action, Danger Take Photo

Years ago one our honeymoon in Thailand we decided to see the floating villages.  So we took a really  long bus bide to I don't remember where to find a fairly small canal crowded with tourist.  We got in the canoe and motored a couple hundred feet south and back.  Mainly it was a short boat ride through a supper market.   I think if the bus didn't take like 4 hours to get there it might have been more enjoyable.  At the end of the trip there were to unexpected stops. 

One was at the Royal Handcrafted Wood Museum where they spent years carving in intricate works of art on to 8 to 10 foot long tablets of solid and rare woods.  This place was impressive.

The last stop on the tour was a snake show where there was a mini zoo of crocs and snakes.  When the show started the announcer pretty much only to say 4 words in English "Action, Danger Take photo" and every one in the crowd would raise their camera for a photo op.
What was so funny that the announcer said it so much and so often that the words have for ever etched into our thoughts.

I told Ream the other day I was going to takes some action shots with the kids and the big ball.   She says "Action, Danger, Take Photo".

The kids love to see their own pictures of them in action and I like trying to take the weirdest photo I can.  Grab the big exercise ball and play soccer get in the most action possible.  It is a little bit of fun and I hope you like them.   There also some shots of the girls in the yard playing as well.

     

Young with the backwards kick that lands a head shot was the winning shot today.

Neal and Nop giving it all they've got.

I like these series of shots.  You can tell something big is coming.

Tong tries a Karate block.

I think this was Hua about to take a shot to the head.

With the size and weight of the ball most kids end up on the ground. 

Sambat also get the award for effort on highest kicks.  He completely misses it and ends up on the floor.

Tee 

Unfortunate thing about being an orphan is there are times a fathers advice could have been useful.

  Like "keep you eye on the ball" or " Don't run between people playing a game" Soray learn this lesson the hard way today. ;)

The Big Ball had been the best toy that we have had for the longest time.  It always generates laughs, some times tears but mostly laughs.

Rachel and girls playing Ring Around the Rosy

Tong and the girls in Tug o War.

The Girls playing London Bridged

Did I mention that we love our girls.

They were playing ghost or lava monster or something.  Manglee with her tongue hanging out was the ghost at that moment.  I hope she was it.

On and Chantrea

Vanack

Mangju, On and Vanack

Mr. Joe climbing mountains

and exploring life.

"Action Take Photo"

Little trips we've made

This is when we went to pick up our newest guest Neal and Rachel.  Own came a long for the ride to see the sites.  This is the first time we got to see the pretty water fountain near the river front.   

 Last month was the Cambodian Water Festival the children got to go home for a couple days.  Mom curled the girls hair before sending them off. 

Some of the kids did not go home.  Wut stayed home and came to the mountain with us to show Neal and Rachel the temple ruins in our area.

Alicia                Wut                   Rachel

We have small boat races in our area like they have in the city.   We decided this year to go because we had guest here and did not have many kids.  

This is one of two lakes near us I have it located on the google map link on the left of the blog, once the map is open pan to the left some and you can see how big they are.  This are man made lakes dug during the Khmer Rough time with forced labor. 

Neal was the star attraction for the day, the people here who rarely see white people let a lone a group most likely have never seen a guy with red hair before. 

Ream  and   Rachel

 Wut was offering me some peanuts

 In the city the boats seat around 100 people.

 Just a few people ;) , actually I thought this was going to be a nightmare trying to drive out but is was far easier than I had thought.    

Just a little bit of fun we had that I thought I would share with you.

One for the birds

Recently my father in-law took us to a special spot where the cranes Sleep. 

They spend all day at the river but sleep miles away in one small area of 5 or 6 trees. 

 We were also told that they lay their eggs at the river and leave them there while they birds sleep in the trees.

Every day for 5 years we have watched the cranes fly over the orphanage around dusk.

This photo is them flying over the orphanage the day before we went to see their home in the trees. 

This photo is at the bird sanctuary with all the incoming birds.

 My flash scared some of them off the trees.

 It is hard to tell but there are thousands of them in the trees.

 Just some interesting photos and something else fun to do when your plan a trip here.

Our Guest

What do people do when they come here?
They take time to look over all that we do, try and fit in and apply their strengths to the tasks they feel lead to or are asked to do.
Sometimes stretching themselves sometimes humbling themselves.   Over all submitting to God's will in their life for the period time they are here.

Each person brings something different.  Each guest makes their mark on someones heart here and inevitably and mark is left on theirs.

Each guest time here is invaluable to the people they have worked with.  A time that both people will remember for ever.

Here are some older photos I missed, back in September Grace and a couple ladies from New Zealand did some lice clinics and one of our Girls houses.  They washed maybe 30 peoples hair for about 4 hours.
I though the best part was just the service to the people, it was intimate and personal.  I don't think ever in their wildest dreams would they have thought to have a group of white ladies washing their hair.  It was hard work but I think the guest enjoyed it s much as the people.

 Rachana's grandmother

 Rachana helped rinse them off.

She was so cute, a bit naughty but cute

 All the kids had a mass amount of lice in their hair.  They would come in with all scraggly, knotty dirty hair and they left beautiful little ladies.  

 Sarah came to us at the end of September.  She is an American who has been living in Germany the last 9 years.  She has been teaching English, Violin, and helping the kid with their math classes.
She has also been helping teach English at the high school.

 Alicia has come to us from Hawaii.  She has has her masters in eduction and has been helping teach Sam, English and helping the children with teaching Sunday school classes.  Alicia has completely fallen in love with the kids and is having a hard time imagining having to leave.  

 Neal, the white guy in the back :) with his wife Rachel has just arrived from Philadelphia.  Neal has been helping around the property and been trying to excite the children about gardening.  He is also helping teach at a few of my father in-law's churches.

His wife Rachel loves children and is currently a nanny, she is helping teach the smaller kids English and helping us watch Joe for an hour or so, giving us a much need break during the day.  She might possibly be teaching a parenting class while she is here.   

 Sam is really helpful when he comes with us.  The kids absolutely love that he speaks Khmer

  Nop always there to steal a photo.  Sarah wanted proof she was helping with the yard work when Nop steps in with his 10 inch earth worm he just found.

Our children have been getting more involved in ministry.  Wut and Young have taken really big roles in helping with children churches.  The other month Wut said I want to learn more English and like over night she has been speaking like crazy.  She has even translated for Alicia the other day.

We are really very proud of her.

 Finally after 4 year some one used our flip books.  Alicia taught on Daniel this week.

 Alicia brought some puppets with her that were a big hit.

 Kind of like Marco Polo with out the pool.

 Jump rope

 Singing and dancing.

 This little girl stuck out.  It's the only Afro we've seen on a Cambodian, she gets teased a lot at school but we thought she was just so beautiful. 

 Neal and Rachel and Sarah have links to their blogs on the right hand side of the page.

Get a different perspective of how they see life here.