Tuesday, July 19 2011

It is 9:00pm now in Cambodia. We just got back to the guest house from a long day. I woke up at 5am and Jake got going not much after I got out of the shower. I did my devotions and looked on the computer they have in the lobby for guests.
We went to camp at 7am. We went to the upsatirs and I saw they were serving porridge for breakfast. I knew from last year that I don't like that stuff, so I decided to get something to eat from a street-side vendor. I walked up to one which had some bread-like stuff in it. I would have eaten that but didn't know how many days ago they made it. I then saw a guy making some kind of meat over a fire and remembered one of the missionaries from a few years ago (Kim Bui) saying that iuf they make it right in front of you, you usually can trust it. So I did and had a nice conversation with an older man sitting nearby. I had the cook take a picturre of me :-)
We sang songs as a big group and 2 people gave their testimonies and another guy taught a lesson. Then we broke into small groups. Jake and I got the 4 Vietnamese students in our small group. We went around asking each other questions so they could practice asking and answering questions. They know quite a bit of english but not enough to speak it real clearly. This was good practice for them.
When they asked Jake questions, I said they had to ask him in Vietnamese so he could practice using the language as well. They enjoyed that. I think he did too.
This afternoon's trip was to the waterpark. As we have mentioned in past years, a waterpark in Cambodia is not much like a US waterpark. Pretty rugged and loose on the rules. Jake played and swam with Sarorn and Ty. I didn't swim because my luggage still isn't here. I took pictures, talked with Bopha, Than Than, and some other kids who didn't swim. It was good but very warm.
The best part of the day came at teh end. I used Bopha's phone to call Buntheoun. He is a boy who has been at English Camp each ofthe past 3 years but didn't come this year. I arranged to meet him at Savonna Mall (a shopping area) at 7pm. Bopha, Sarorn, and Ty also met us there. We ate at Lucky Burger, had ice cream, and had a nice time visiting. Buntheoun looks so much older. He has grown into a godly young man!
The funniest part was right when I saw him, I said that he looked so much bigger! He patted my stomach and said, "Tom, you have gotten bigger too!"I laughed and cringed at the same time. After Lucky Burger, we were walking to the ice cream and he askëd,""How do I get fat? I eat a lot and everyone says I not fat. How do you get fat?" I pushed him on the shoulder and we both laughed. I said, "You go eat ice cream...that's how you get fat."I love their honesty!
On that note, this post is ending. Despite the crazy stuff which happened, God is awesome and this is a grteat trip!