Abundance!!

Okay so I don't even know where to begin about these past few days. They have truly been a gift from God! So Sunday went very well, we had a few new faces, and then lots and lots of returning new faces. It is wonderful to see my English students there. My love for my English class grows stronger each day as I get to know them and they get to know me. Its wonderful to chat with the girls about school and home, also I play games with them on occasion, they all love to play games, even the big boys! Its also great to hear, "Hello Bong Courtney" pretty much any time I enter the market. So back to Sunday, we talked about the life and death of Jesus, and I can still see the faces of the children that were listening. Its so beautiful to see them mull over what your saying, to see the wheels turning. I pray and hope that my students will come to know Jesus, I pray and hope that in this season of mercy they would come to know him. I pray that now is the time for harvest. However, the harvest is plenty but the laborers are few, pray for laborers to Cambodia, pray that strong christian Cambodians would rise up. This is really what we need strong and dedicated leadership. Sunday overall was a beautiful day:)

Then comes Monday!! This day was one for the books! It was a holiday so the kids didn't have school, we celebrated the quarterly birthdays, and we had a love banquet! It was pretty fantastic. So this day consisted of lots of games, lots of fun, and tons and tons of food. So the love banquet was a surprise for the kids. Basically its just an experience based off of John 10:10, that the Lord wishes to give us life Abundant! You pair scripture with a experience to physically show the children the love and heart of the Lord. It was fantastic. We started with snack at 2:00, the kids plates were overflowing with fresh fruits, crackers, cookies, and lots and lots of candy. You could truly hear the sounds of "abundance," as candy and cookies hit the ground right and left because bowls were to full! It was a wonderful sound. They snacked all afternoon, unable to finish even 1 round. We played tons of games, the favorite would have to be the final race through the pond! The pond is empty and full of mud, this was a fantastic time! The pictures are sure to be my favorite. Then we had dinner, this was also fantastic. We had the biggest dinner I have ever seen. Shrimp, chicken, beef, clams, rice, stir fry...all in abundance for 40 plus people..imagine!! I sat and ate with the kids it was so fun. In Cambodia meals are a totally different experience, especially for me. You see the meal requires that you eat with your hands and it ends with piles of scraps all over the tables: clam shells, shrimp heads and tails, chicken bones. Sauces are placed all over the tables as everyone dips from them. I discovered this lime pepper sauce last night, amazingly good! Anyway, I can't fully explain how much I love these meals, there messy and smelly but I wouldn't trade it for anything. It just feels like family to me. So the kids loved the meal! I watched with glee as Somerang popped shrimp after shrimp in his mouth with giggles each time. Mela, one of our oldest, asked if I wanted a clam, I said no, there no bad but I don't prefer them. I ask him if he liked them, and He responded with an enthusiastic yes as he piled about 20 into his bowl for safe keeping! I think Channee ate more food than I have ever seen anyone eat in my life, faster than I have ever seen anyone eat in my life, and really with quite a bit of gusto! He asked me to take a picture of his remaining scrap bowls. He had 2 bowls entirely full of meat remains!! We played some more and then had dessert. This had the greatest response. Normally each child gets 1 small piece of birthday cake, however, in the name of John 10:10 we cooked 7 cakes and each kid began with 4 pieces of different cakes. It was so fun to watch there faces as we piled 4 pieces on their plates. It was a mix of confusion and bliss. We had nearly 3 cakes left over, and most couldn't even begin to finish their first round. It was Abundance and it was beautiful! It was such a memory, I will never forget it. I pray and hope that the message was received as well as the food! We all went to bed full and exhausted!! It was such a wonderful day and I thank the Lord above that abundance is in his character, and he longs to heap blessing on our heads! He is such a good father and He gives such life-altering gifts.