Partnering with A Greater Hope Orphanage and A Heart for Wisdom Schools, our team, (Caleb Smith, Cameron Moore, Hannah Smith, Laura Kebede, Rylee Duckworth, and Courtney Cain) hope you will join us as we experience all the Lord is doing in and through the nation of Cambodia. We cant wait to participate in the Lords global plan of redemption and salvation and we are eager to see Jesus's name be made known and glorified through all the nations of the world!
After many calls and a trip to the airport this morning, Hannah will be able to not only get her exit visa but come home with the rest of the team TONIGHT!
At the airport, we were shuffled around to several offices from immigration to police to airport staff. We were told the immigration office had stand by staff for emergencies (since the office is only open from Monday to Friday), but the stand by staff was more interested in standing by than assisting. We finally got to the source of information and talked to immigration police and they said Hannah will be able to get her exit visa after we check in for our flight.
This has been a tiring yet growing process for all involved and it was good to see God open the doors that seemed impossible to get through. Thank you for all your prayers!
Through a series of unfortunate events, Hannah doesn't have an exit visa needed for our flight on Sunday night.
After weighing several options and our friend Ra calling lots of people to get some answers, we won't be able to get her a new exit visa until the immigration offices open in Phnom Penh on Monday. Right now, we are waiting for USA offices to wake up in the next few hours to figure out when the next available flight is for Hannah to get on after she gets her visa on Monday. She would have a place to stay until then, but she would have to miss school and work and not be able to come home with the rest of us.
If parts of the Cambodian system weren't so corrupt, we might have already had this figured out. For now, please pray that we will be able to get Hannah a visa as soon as possible, preferably before the rest of the team leaves Sunday night.
Tuesday was our last full day at A Greater Hope Orphanage. And what a great day it turned out to be! We played games and had a dance party that Ream let go a little past their bedtime.
On Wednesday we went to school as usual and had our last and largest clinic with more than 50 people in the span of three hours. It may not seem like a lot, but for two caretakers and one translator, it was exhausting. But then the new team from Hawaii came to the clinic and helped with greeting patients as they were waiting and praying for them as they left.
By then, it was time to leave. The goodbyes were slow and hard. Most of the kids cried, most of our team cried and we left with so many bracelets that the kids had been making for us. The ride to Phnom Penh that night was pretty quiet as the reality sunk in that our time there was over. In the city we met Ream's brother, Ra, at the hotel and he and his girlfriend Anna (a YWAMer from England) took us to a nice (yet cheap) restaurant. Their company was a blessing to us because both of them are hilarious and took our minds off leaving the kids for a bit.
Siem Reap and Angkor Wat
On Thursday, we made it to Siem Reap, which is about a six hour bus ride north from Phnom Penh. Once we got there, we shopped, explored and relaxed. All of sudden we became tourists after living in the village. It was a weird transition, seeing all the foreigners and more diverse foods and souvenirs everywhere. Fortunately, Rylee is an expert heckler and knows how to get the good bargains.
View from Rylee and Laura's hotel room in Siem Reap.
Siem Reap is the city next to Angkor Wat and the temple system there (yes, Tomb Raider was filmed here AND a portion of the most recent Transformers). The buildings are hundreds of years old, huge, beautiful and a lot of fun to climb. This is just a small sampling of the wonders we saw. See more on our Facebook album.
Every wall had intricate designs on it. Amazing to think of the design, time and talent it took to build these temples.
Trees grew in, around and through this temple.
Friday was when we explored Angkor Wat, but otherwise, we've been relaxing, winding down from a long yet exciting couple of weeks, gearing up for cold weather and the start of a new semester next week.
What's next
On Saturday, we'll head back to Phnom Penh for some shopping and more city life before we catch our plane on Sunday night. Because of the time change, we'll be arriving in Missouri on Monday afternoon. Stay tuned for one more blog post and thanks for keeping up with us.
View from backstage. This concert was Cameron's first use of a drum set instead of a djembe. I couldn't tell the difference.
The second half of the concert went extremely well. Since most of the kinks were worked out the first night, things went smoother. The crowd was about the same size, but there seemed to be more energy. From the reaction of the kids, the play (spoken in Khmer of course) was really funny and the drawing for prizes was a lot of fun to watch as kids took turns picking the winning entry out of the box.
Rylee (top left in case you couldn't pick her out...) praying with some people at the concert.
In the middle of the concert, the area pastors called for a time of prayer for healing of any illness. They also asked if anyone had something they wanted to share about how God had been working in their life. Several people came up and talked about how they had prayed the previous night and felt the peace and hope of Jesus. Afterward, people came up to one of the musicians from a neighboring church and reported they were healed from deafness, headaches, vomiting and diaherra.
Also, the first night, you couldn't step anywhere without crushing a bug (they must have been drawn to the stage lights). When we got on stage the second night, there wasn't a single bug! What a small yet encouraging answer to prayer!
Some of the older kids at AGH performing the coconut dance.
Some of the older kids performed a long-standing Cambodian dance called the coconut dance. They had been practicing a lot and they took the honor seriously. It was great to see how their hard work paid off.
Bonhouen (front) sings with the church worship band.
The last part of the celebratory Cambodian coconut dance.
Adventure day
On Sunday, Courtney, Ream and her two boys went to the beach for a couple of days to relax and spend some time together. While catching a small glimpse of what it's like for Kit and Ream to run and orphanage, school and family, we can see how tiring it can be. But as Ream has said, "the joy of the Lord is our strength." The joy of serving Jesus in their community is worth the long hours, emotional overhaul, tearful decisions and persecution.
Rylee and her golden child, Borin.
Meanwhile, back at the orphanage, the rest of the team went on an adventure day with some of the kids. We biked to some of their houses and visited their families that are in good standing with the kids, watched one of their seamstress friends work on making fabric for a skirt (it takes six days to make one that costs about $40), drank coconut milk and enjoyed hanging out with these kids who have graciously invited us into their lives and hearts.
Monopoly is a favorite game around here.
Hannah karaoke with Soy, a neighborhood boy who is deaf and a lot of fun to hang out with.
Prayer Requests
Caleb — Pray that the people who committed themselves to Christ during the concert will have good follow up with the next team coming and the local pastors. Pray for a true foundation to be built from the concert and not just fizzle out.
Cameron — Pray that the people we have seen will learn and share what they've been told at the clinic so that will be lasting changes and they won't have to depend on medication as much. Also pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to work in and through the prayers at the clinic and the time we have spent with the kids at the orphanage and they will know they are loved unconditionally.
Courtney -- at the beach and unreachable, but pray for peace and the transition of leaving the kids again on Wednesday.
Hannah — Praise God for all the healing that happened at the concert! And thank God that my two-month respiratory problem was relieved just in time for the concert.
Laura — Now that the concert is over I have been able to focus more on documenting the kids' stories (five). But time is running out since we are leaving on Wednesday for Siem Reap. Please continue to pray that I will be able to get all that I need for them.
Rylee — During the last days of the clinic, pray that those that need to come to the clinic most will find out about it and show up. The past couple of days a lot of sniffles and muscle pain cases have been coming up. This is a blessing since the people aren't seriously ill, but we have medicines ready for more serious cases we would like to use. Pray that the separation of us and kids will not be entirely painful.
The first night of the concert is over. The sound system had only minor problems, everyone involved had a good time and most importantly, more than 100 people finally found a lasting hope in Jesus. A number of the Takeo pastors got together in the afternoon before the concert and prayed for those coming. The best estimate we came up with was 2,000 in attendance!
We even had fireworks (they are super cheap here).
Takeo pastors gathering to pray in the hours before the concert.
You could definitely tell there was a baby duck inside. But apparently just add some spice and lime and it's good to go!
The local vendors selling food came around to 4 p.m. to set up selling soda, rice cakes, kabobs, icecream, and fetal duck eggs (our brave soul Hannah ate one with one of the kids and liked it). AGH kids had a raffle for bikes, fans and MP3 players, which turned out to be a great hit.
Five of the older girls at the orphanage performed the blessing dance. This is a Cambodian Christian dance introduced in the early 90s when Christianity was blossoming in Cambodia. Ream said she travelled to this older Cambodian woman's house everyday after work for months until she could dance it just right. The movements have strong meanings about Jesus and the gospel, so it was very touching to see the girls perform it with such conviction.
Some of the older girls at the orphanage performed the Blessing Dance, a Cambodian dance introduced in the early 90s when Christianity was blossoming in the country. Powerful message through their movements.
Then worship teams including one from a neighboring church and one with our own Cameron, Hannah and Caleb sang songs in Khmer and English respectively. As far as Caleb's composition went, we did the first two movements ending in Jesus' death. Since Ly (the all-powerful keeper of the concert schedule) predicts that it will be mostly the same people coming both nights, it was OK to split up.
Two kids from a neighboring church worship team during the concert.
In between each of the parts, the local pastors came and preached. Some were old, some were younger, but all had passion in their voices.
The local play group performed the parable Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:14-31). The comic relief characters came out with Laura's dress (on the right) that she had backstage for her dance!
The last part of the concert on Friday was a local theater group performing the parable of Lazarus and the rich man from Luke 16:14-31. I (Laura) only figured that out an hour into the play since it was all in Khmer. The kids thought they were hilarious and I guess they were. The funniest part though was when one of the characters came out from back stage with my dress on! I had left it back there after our part of the concert, thinking I could just pick it up after everything was over. I suppose he forgot his costume at home.
Tonight for the second half, we will perform the last two movements of Caleb's composition and some of the older kids at AGH will perform the traditional coconut dance.
Time to mourn...
Laura went to the public high school to get some video of some of the kids she is documenting their story.
On Wednesday night, our team had a time of reckoning with the kids' stories. After Laura talked to one of the girls who said she was willing to tell her story on video, she had a PTSD-type reaction. Each of them have a hard life story to tell. That's why they were brought to the orphanage in the first place. Most of their parents are still alive, but either unwilling or unable to take care of them. Story after story about abuse, neglect, poverty and traumatic things that kids should never have to experience. And it became so real to us because we've seen them in their most joyous moments. We've held their faces in our hands and playfully swung them around. We've been the recipients of their, "Can I help you?" questions and gotten to the point where we can recognize Jon's laughter from Tate's.
Chantrea, right, and a friend from school.
Srey Pow
So we took an hour to pray against and cry over the disastrous effects of sin and the evil influences that have tried to take over these kids' lives. We thanked God that these 41 made it to a home that provides basic physical and emotional needs, a place where they can belong to a family and go to school and dream big thoughts. But we also mourned for the thousands of other children in Cambodia who have yet to know that kind of love and for the parents who have yet to be helped who love their children but cannot provide for them.
Time to laugh...
Nothing like a late-night game of Buccaneer.
There has been good times of play after the kids get home from school. We are going to be leaving for Siem Reap on Wednesday, leaving these precious 41, so we've been taking advantage of every moment we get. We've been dragging each other across the yard (where Caleb discovered a small snake climbing up his leg), slingshotting water balloons, corn cobs and cow poop at each other across the rice field and playing baseball.
Cameron's name often gets confused with Khmarak, the famous Cambodian singer: http://bit.ly/zy9jLD
A few of the kids are really flexible and can in and out and all around that stick.
Cameron was on the first station checking for vitals and writing out the patient's concerns.
On Tuesday, we held our first clinic at one of the teacher's house. One of the elders in the nearby church had been telling people in the area about it so that they were already lined up when we came. We had the station where Rylee, Ream and Cameron assessed the person's need, a station for the medication they needed and then a station for praying for the person before they left. Fortunately, they were able to see all 23 people who came in the time frame we had.
Rylee treated things like colds, rashes, diarrhea, joint and muscle pain etc. with basic medication that these people did not have access to.
On Wednesday, we went back to the village we were at on Sunday to follow up with those we met and to see new patients. One woman who came on Sunday said she prayed she would be healed that night after taking the medicine. The next morning, she was feeling much better and was eating normally! Her family sent her back to get more medicine and to make sure we prayed for her again. It was so encouraging to hear positive feedback.
Another woman who had been demon-possessed and was taken to the church to be prayed for and healed, came to the clinic for a minor rash. She served as a reminder to us that nothing is impossible for God and almost laughed at the confidence we had that He could heal her rash. This time we were able to see the 33 people who came in the same time frame so we are settling into the flow.
A group of people wait to see Rylee and Cameron. We had 23 on Tuesday and 33 on Wednesday.
It's been a mental tug of war going between what we know of American health care and what is available in the villages. In the states, Rylee as an EMT and a nurse one semester away from graduating headed into medical school, would not be in charge of so much. But as Kit and Ream have dealt with so many nurses and doctors visiting through the years, they have stressed that any medical training is more than most of the village doctors.
Many buy their licenses and treat their patients poorly so that they will come back asking for more medication, thereby making them a continuous profit. The other alternative is witch doctors who routinely beat those they don't know how to treat because they believe by beating their patient they will release the disease or "bad spirit."
School teaching
Some of the 120 kids at A Heart for Wisdom school.
Each morning, we have taken turns teaching the morning Bible lesson to the 120 or so kids at A Heart for Wisdom School. Then we teach the first and second grade English classes for an hour. The regular teachers have taught the kids a lot, but they enjoy having native speakers come to further the childrens' learning.
Hannah then teaches English for another hour to other grades while the rest of us go back to the orphanage to prepare for the afternoon. The children are so eager to learn and it is drastically different than what the high school kids experience at the public school.
Second grade student in English class led by Hannah, Cameron and Caleb.
For example, one of the kids' teacher at the public school will just write a problem on the board and say, "If you want to know how to do this problem, see me after class." But after class, the teacher is found playing volleyball in the school's courtyard with the other teachers! Another time, the teacher was 30 minutes late — late enough that the kids could go home without penalty — but when he showed up, he was angry that the kids were still there, "Next time, just go home! Now I must teach since you're still here."
Since this is the first year for A Heart for Wisdom School, there as limited space and there is only K-6. As staff and resources grow, they hope to add on middle school and high school, but for now, they are focusing on what they can do and leaving the timing up to God for the rest.
"I should've stabbed it in the heart!"
Hannah got her taste of everyday Cambodian living. After days of begging, the older boys let her kill a chicken. The video of the happenings somehow got messed up, but feel free to watch what happened. Children and vegetarians beware.
Prayer requests
Caleb — Pray that the rest of the advertising for the concert will draw more people and that the final rehearsal tomorrow will bring the rest of the details together.
Cameron — The clinic has gone really well so far. Pray that there will more opportunities for our team to be a blessing to the kids, Kit and Ream and the staff here.
Courtney — Thank God that Matha (the baby mentioned last blog post) can hold her head up, communicate with her eyes and respond well to her mother — all things she couldn't do two years ago. Pray that we will be able to scope out the kids that need more attention and we can speak into the kids' lives in ways that they can understand (think Isaiah 61). Pray that the remaining time here will be well spent. Pray that Kit and Ream will find rest and encouragement amidst the chaos of having teams and leading the orphanage/school.
Hannah — That we as a team can love the kids in the ways they need to be loved. Tonight, we had a mournful prayer time for the kids after hearing some of their stories of their family background and how they came to the orphanage.
Laura — Pray that the interpretative dance for the Scripture reading during the concert will be received well and add to the message. Even though I love dancing in casual settings, I've never done anything like this before. Also pray that the stories told through the videos I'm piecing together will draw people in and be an avenue for revenue and praise to God for the orphanage and what God is doing here.
Rylee — Prayer for the patients that I have seen so far, especially the kids since they were the hardest to diagnose. Pray for Tong, one of the boys at the orphanage, who cut his toe open tonight and I had to stitch up. Praise God that we didn't have to take him to the mediocre clinic in the village.
The orphanage consists of a three-story house, livestock house and small patches of vegetation. We are staying on the first story of the house with our own small kitchen to make breakfast, the main kitchen and a common room for the kids to study near Kit and Ream's office space. The second story has the boys' and girls' rooms with bunk beds and their bathrooms. The third floor is being renovated to house Kit and Ream. They used to live on the first floor where we are staying, but found that being that close to the kids' activity 24/7 was emotionally impossible. By relocating to the third floor there will be a bit of separation from the everyday noise, yet close enough to respond to needs and emergencies.
The hut under which worms are harvested for the small fish ponds some of the kids take care of to sell for their own profit.
The chicken house (which includes pigs and goats nearby) in the distance with rows of Cambodian veggies.
Kids take care of the chickens to sell and pay for staff wages.
Washing clothes by hand is a work out, but oddly therapeutic.
Starting off the new year
On Saturday, our musicians jammed with the church worship team learning and teaching worship songs. We didn't exactly make it to midnight to celebrate New Years thanks to jet lag, but we got an early start at church at 8:30. Courtney taught on prayer via Luke 18:1-8 to the kids at Sunday School and then we proceeded to make a lot of paper airplanes that ended up being thrown at the fan to all our delight and laughing pleasure.
After lunch, we went to a neighboring village church on motorbikes and a tok tok with Kit, Ream and some of the older kids at the orphanage to sing and teach the same lesson. We brought some of the school supplies and candy we bought to hand out to the kids and played soccer, jump rope etc. while Rylee and Cameron saw their first patients which were mostly babies and the elderly.
Rylee and Cameron's first patient.
One of the most remarkable moments while there was Courtney being able to see a baby she had been working with weekly during her last visit. The short version of the story is that the baby was having a horrible time breast-feeding possibly because of vaccine poisoning. Her mom's community told her mom that she wasn't worth the effort and she should leave her to die. But this mother's faith compelled her to ask Jesus to send her help and allow her precious baby girl to live. Courtney and a few others pulled together with some basic therapy and the funds to get the baby to the hospital. Now she is as healthy as ever.
On the way back, Cameron and Caleb drove motorbikes for the first time. The bumpy, rocky dirt terrain wasn't ideal for first-time riders, but they took the challenge confidently (matter of perspective) and arrived home safely.
Caleb's game face for his first motorbike ride.
AGHO day off
The kids had Monday off for New Years (they go to school Monday through Saturday with only the days of holidays off) so almost all of the kids and a few of the staff went to the mountain — a 202-stair-step hike (Cameron counted) past old temples and breath-taking views. We all piled into the back of a truck standing up "factory worker style" to get there before mid-morning. It was all worth it.
This is how we got to the mountain — "factory worker style"
View from the bottom of the steep hill (we only came down this way).
Caleb and Borin on top of one of the older temples shortly after escaping an aggressive monkey.
Laura and Boon Boren at one of the shrines at the top of the mountain.
Caleb and Thea at the top of the mountain.
We could see the orphanage in the distance on one side of the mountain.
After lunch, Rylee and Courtney went to visit some of the kids' house. Most of the kids at the orphanage have living parents who cannot support them. So the parents bring them to the orphanage in the meantime. First they visited Vishna's mother who is staying with her sister. She was having post-pregnancy issues that Rylee helped treat. Rylee and Courtney prayed for her and went on to visit Wat's mother who wasn't home. Wat and her mother used to be homeless and their only shelter was a tarp in the bushes. Wat's mother's current living conditions were shocking for everyone. She lives in a shanty made out of bamboo made by people of the village (who are also poor to begin with) that was about to collapse. Wat was ashamed and sad to show them her mother's home and said that her greatest dream is to graduate from college and build her mother a new home.
While visiting some of the homes of the kids, Wat's mother's house was the most shocking.
They also visited Kyo and her sisters' family. Her father recently died and left her mother with a six-month-old baby and thereby no opportunity to work. Kyo's mother told them she is living on the equivalent one penny a day. She said that she often dreams of bringing Kyo's and her sisters out of the orphanage to live with her, but it is simply not feasible at this time for her because she knows it would ruin the future they have the opportunity for by going to school via the orphanage.
Our free time is mostly spent preparing for the concert, playing with and getting to know the kids, helping them do their chores and asking Kit and Ream what it's like to love 43 kids, run a school and keep a healthy marriage (of which they celebrated their ninth anniversary on Sunday).
One of the things that has stuck out the most to us so far is the simplicity of life here. Not just Cambodian lifestyle, but the ministry that Kit and Ream have here is simply a natural outflow of their heart. That has set our hearts at rest and ready to prepare for the coming days.
