Date Night and Village....

Craig and Jenny (father/daughter) offered to watch the kids so Pat and I could have a DATE NIGHT! Can you a believe it? A date night on a mission's trip! We went to get foot massages and had a great time!

Off the a village to do medical work and VBS

The kids at the Village VBS. They were so sweet and well behaved!

Telling the story of the Good Samaritan and how to be a good neighbor.

There are not tables to color on so the kids colored and these wooden platforms and on the jug of water (their water source).

Taliah actually helped pass out balloons! Sharing is hard for a two year old. She did great!!!

Trent wanted me to take a photo of the cow's anus.

The team walking to the village to do medical work.

There is such an abundance of fruit here... all kinds!

You can see the the sewage from the pipe running into the black river...

Homes on the Black River

Here is a wonderful family that Pat met. The dad has heart issues and will most likely die in the next year. He is too far progressed to have it be corrected. This just breaks our hearts. This is simply because he is poor and because he does not have proper medical care. Pat and I can't help but think this really could be any one of us. We could have been born where they were born. We could have lived like they lived. We could have been exposed to disease without medical care like they have. Please pray for this family. The mom has a few small children at home and soon will be left to raise them alone. They are Believers. Today, the team went to take them a Bible and song book. They are going to read and sing together. I love that in the midst of their pain and sorrow, this family asked for a Bible and a Hymn book.

Tan, VBS and Walking Around

Tan, our Tuk Tuk driver is so great with the kids. Here, he is helping Taliah put her shoes on!

The kids LOVE him!!

VBS today.... We put hair clips in the girls' hair, made hats, played with balloons, had lollipops, colored and read the story of The Sower.

Images from the area the kids that are attending VBS live in.

Part of the bridge we walked across. We were just hoping in didn't come crashing down... not the most sturdy bridge! :-)

The other part of the bridge.

Trash

One of the homes had the color page we did at VBS on their door!

This home sits above the Black River. You can see the river behind their home.

FROM PAT:

We are out in the villages this week with the health promoters. We worked today in a village that sits along a river called the "black river" basically because the water looks black and it is one of the main routes of sewage for Phnom Penh. Truly disgusting. Some of these peoples homes are right on the river. It is where they get their water, etc... During the rainy season, the water actually rises into their homes and some of them live in the sewage. Most of the homes are about 10 ft x10 ft and that includes kitchen, living area, sleeping. I am having to redefine my definition of poverty. The team met a woman today with HIV, badly beaten. I think her neighbors are trying to kill her to get rid of the "evil spirits" that surround her because she has HIV. The whole thing is breaking my heart but the Cambodian people we are working with are trying to make life a bit better for their people.

The outside of one of the homes in the village we visited today.

One of the health promoters using the manual from the health and hygiene seminar.

Many houses are built on stilts. Trash covers the area beneath the stilts of the homes we visited.