Angkor of Faith 5

You might have read about my last trip to Cambodia in December. Well I went again this last week and it was nothing the same but so amazing! Angkor of Faith is a week when Christian youth from all over Asia come together to serve the kids in Siem Reap. This was the fifth time that they’ve had it and the first time that it was planned by some of the younger generation, my age not the missionaries. I had heard lots of great things from friends here and some from the States who have been and I was expecting great things. Last time we taught English at schools and gave out donations and it was good but this week I loved being able to hang out with the kids everyday who left their things to sell outside and ran in and jumped into my arms ready for a day of fun.

I had several kids who really attached themselves to me and I was able to really invest my time and energy in them. Niang came everyday and loved loved loved holding my hand and hanging on me. He loved singing and everyday when we would singe praise songs he would sing so loud and then sing them again to me at dinner.

Deaun didn’t speak much English but her smile would melt any heart. She loved to have me pick her up and spin around really fast. She didn’t show up all the time but she knew when dinner time was and always came running up in time to give me a hug and order some fried rice.

Rexar was one really crazy kid. He would climb all over me and say the funniest things. He wanted to give hugs and kisses to everyone and was a really good photographer. He gave me a tour of Angkor Wat and then proceeded to drink all of my water. He's the little bugger on the right trying to kiss me.
 

I got to visit the orphanage that I went to on AFCO 08 and I found my favorite little girl who slept in my arms the whole time. She is so much bigger now and so loving and precious. I picked her up and she wouldn't let go of me the whole time we were there. It is a Christian orphanage and the kids sang us some really great songs and prayed together and it was so touching. I am so thankful there is a good place like that in Siem Reap for kids that need a home.

 
My international group was such a blessing to me. I loved meeting people from lots of different countries. In my group there were people from Singapore, Malaysia, China, and South Korea, and me, the American by way of Thailand. It was really good listening practice to figure out what everyone was saying in English but with their own accents. I had a great time with Elaine who is from China but studying in Singapore right now. She said she was excited that I would be her first American friend and liked to practice her English with me. Elaine was so sweet and we had fun going through Angkor Wat together the last day. Sheena was our fearless group leader and I just loved her! We are both kind of in the same place right now, just out of college and trying to figure out how best to serve the Lord so we had some really good discussions. And she was just fun! 

Elaine and I at Bayon

Sheena getting her hair done by the girls

 
In all it was an amazing trip and so great to see the youth of Asia come together to serve the kids in Cambodia. P Robert mentioned several times how this trip really felt like we were able to do more than just play with the kids and help them, we were able to teach them about our Savior and it was so great to hear them singing praise songs as they rode home on their bicycles. Please pray for the continued work in Siem Reap with these children and for the unity of the church here in Asia through its young people that were at AoF 5 this week.

Babysitting and Bus Sitting

Today I am home at the Zone alone trying to get over a cold while Mark and Robert are taking the Chinese students to the caves. It's a good time to catch up on the blog. This weekend Mark and I went to Phayao with our friends Nathan and Neung to babysit for the mission team there while they had a workshop. Pretty much the only kid I ever see is Onglee on Sundays so it was great to hang out with the 6 kids from the team. They are so cute and full of energy and we had a blast playing games and having dance competitions and watching movies. It was a good time to catch up with the adults as well and see how their ministry is growing since we saw them last. They are having worship every Sunday rotating between their houses and they are inviting lots of their neighbors and friends and it is really encouraging to hear about the connections they are making with people in the community.

Meg loves to take pictures

Feeding everyone lunch

On Saturday Mark and I went to Mae Sai, the Burma border, from Phayao to renew our visas. It turned out to be a lot more complicated than we thought getting all the right buses but our Thai was equal to the challenge and after a long day of bus sitting we made it back to Chiang Mai. One of the buses was a fan bus that wasn't too full at first but as we went it got more and more crowded til we were pretty much sitting on top of each other and sweating like pigs. Two girls started talking to me on that bus that were students from Phayao and we had a lovely Thai conversation that felt like it was straight from a class exercise. I actually could understand all of her questions and asked some of my own. I've been feeling frustrated with myself that I don't want to practice my Thai more so that was a good confidence booster.

Dao and Onglee at Amanda and Kara's going away party

Yesterday my friend Dao came to the Zone to say goodbye. Finals are this week and all of the Thai students and going home for their summer break. I won't see her again before I leave on May 1 so I was sad. She hasn't been coming very often this semester but always brings a big smile and hug when she does. Her friend Bew also came and gave me a hug and we promised to Skype to practice our English and Thai. This coming Saturday I am going to Angkor of Faith 5 in Cambodia. The Thai team has a lot of responsibilities so we have been planning and buying things to prepare. Apparently Thailand has the cheapest stuff around so we bought hygiene items for all the kids, about 200, and are taking them with us. It is going to be interesting to see how we fit all of the stuff into our bags. I'm really excited to see all the kids again and get to know some more international friends from all over Asia!