Weather Report from Battambang! Monsoon Season!

When it rains it really rains here. Monsoon season seems to be in full force. So instead of saying "it's raining," we are now saying "it's monsooning." It "monsoons" quite often... probably 5 times a week... sometimes everyday. It is usually short lived though lasting for 1 - 2 hours. Check out this update from Laura! :)

Also check out Paul's (one of our students) recent blog post showing many pictures from the streets of Battambang during one of the daily monsoons. Just last night Paul and I got "monsooned" on at a BBQ buffet effectively ruining our food... it was quite the experience. Watch for story to be posted soon.

Beauty in the Rice Fields

This past Saturday Paul (the only other guy on our team) and I got up early to ride our bikes out to the nearby rice fields to capture the beauty in the early morning light. We left around 6 am and began the pleasant ride in the cool morning air. We arrived at the rice fields after 15 minutes. It was beautiful. I have been told that many of the locals like to hang out at the rice fields with friends. I can easily see why; it is so quiet, and peaceful.

As we rode further in to the fields, the roads got worse. Because we are in monsoon season, it rains nearly everyday causing the once nicely packed dirt roads to turn into a muddy, rutted mess. I would be peddling my bike forward but moving sideways through the mud instead. I tried to get off and walk my bike, but my flip flops would get stuck in the mud. It was mostly a reddish brown clay which was very sticky. Eventually it became impossible to ride because of all the clay caked between our tires and fenders. We got off and tried to push our bikes, but the wheels still wouldn't turn which made it very difficult. We ended up leaving our bikes and flip flops by the side of the road and just walked barefoot through the mud. This really was the easiest and least messy option. As the sun got higher the clouds began to separate and disperse creating some beautiful scenes for us to capture. I played around a lot with taking multiple exposures of every shot so I could create HDR (high dynamic range) photos later. Some of them look a little fake to me, but I love the detail that comes out with such a wide range of light being captured. It's incredible to be able to see detail in the highlights and shadows at the same time. Anyway I will stop talking about technical details before I bore anyone.

Playing with HDR. The photo doesn't look real to me, but it is definitely interesting.

Close up of rice.

Paul cleaning his hands in a mud puddle.

By 9:00 am it was already quite hot, so we decided to head back to base. Well we attempted to go back... it was still impossible to ride our bikes, so we pushed the non-moving tires through the thick mud. It was very tiring and I was quickly sweating. I was able to clean out the fenders enough to ride for a few minutes before being forced to either get off or fall off. My flip flops and peddels were one giant clump of mud. Eventually we made it to the nearby village where we stopped to try to clean some of the mud off our bikes so they were ridable. Paul was digging some the the clay out with his finger when an elderly woman walked down the road and seeing what we were doing began yelling at us in Khmer. She pointed at Paul's finger and then to some sticks by the side of the road yelling the whole time. We figured out she didn't want us to use our fingers. So we grabbed some sticks and continued the tedious process. She observed us very closely and kept giving us instructions on how to do it, none of which we understood. She looked very upset that our bikes were so muddy. She went and got a bucket of dirty water and began splashing it on our bikes which helped a lot. Once our bikes were rideable we were going to leave, but the woman had other ideas. She continued yelling at us and pointed to our feet. She dragged us to a nearby gutter and scooped out some water and began pouring it on Paul's feet making him clean off all the mud. She then prompted for me to get down in the gutter and wash my shoes and feet.  Then a younger woman who was in the background laughing came over to me and took me into her home and began scrubbing my feet with a brush and clean water. When it became clear that they weren't going to let us leave until every speck of dirt was off, I began scrubbing my legs, arms, feet and flip flops. If I missed a spot she was quick to either point it out or just clean it herself. Then she made me wash with soap until I was completely clean. It was quite humbling but incredible at the same time. Here were complete strangers taking us into their homes and washing our feet. I asked for her name in Khmer (which I have now forgotten) and thanked her profusely, "Akun jann." As we rode off, the older woman kept speaking harshly at us while the other women grinned or laughed. I could just imagine what she was saying, "Ignorant Americans! Riding your bikes through the mud and getting them stuck." It was quite the humorous situation. I'm pretty sure my feet aren't that clean after I take a normal shower here.

Well week 4 is over and gone and week 5 is right around the corner!  It's Saturday morning in Battambang which means it's 9:55pm on Friday evening at home.  I got up early this morning and came to Sunrise Cafe for breakfast.  The base closes the kitchen on Saturday so our team eats all our meals off base on Saturdays.  Saturday is also our teams day off.  This is typically the day that Zach and I go into hibernation where we try and not do any work.  We try and catch up on emails, upload a blog post and just enjoy the culture.

This week has been extremely exhausting.  Our team has been in bed by 9pm almost every evening this week.  It seems like as soon as our head hits the pillow we are out!  It's a good exhaustion!  Our schedule is crazy busy from 7am until 7pm Monday through Friday.  Zach and I both feel like our team is pouring so much into this country.  I really do believe that there is going to be so much fruit from this outreach and I can't wait to see lives radically changed.  

Our team has spent tons of time building relationships with their students in the Youth Center.  So many of the students have been asking questions about God and have been really hungry to hear more about Christianity.  This is extremely exciting for our team.  Pray that the students will take the leap of faith and turn their lives over to Him.  

This is Zach's computer class...aka "Computer Squad." One of the girls, Pach, invited Zach to her home to watch her family bake.  Her family begins baking every morning at 3am and then sells their baked goods in local bakeries.  It's a huge honor in this culture to be invited into anyone's home.  This usually means that they consider you a real friend.  

I had a great time in my cooking class this week!  This week we started simple with No Bake Cookies!  This was a treat for me!  The students loved the cookies...which was somewhat surprising...typically they don't get very excited about our western food!  The cookies turned out great considering we had no measuring cups. 

All of our cooking students working on 1 batch of no bake cookies!

 On Thursday our cooking class went to the local market and we had the students pick out various fruits.  We brought the fruits back to base and sat around and taste tested them all.  The fruit in Cambodia is soooo good and so extremely cheap!  I wish that Kansas had fruit like this!  My favorite fruit is mangosteen!  It is somewhat compareable to the taste of a grape..but even better!

 One of the fruits that we bought at the market is called durian.  This is one of the most expensive fruits in Cambodia.  Most Cambodians only eat it on special occasions.  The students were so excited when we bought the fruit.  We bought it inside the market for $7 and the woman sliced it open and cut it up on the side of the road.  Never have I smelled anything quite like this!  It's a smell that just doesn't go away.  Needless to say my taste buds didn't really agree with this particular fruit.  It's certainly not something I will be buying again!

Pictured on the right is durian!  When Zach and I stayed in the hotel last weekend we saw a sign with a picture of durian on it and an 'X' threw it.  Since then we found out that a lot of hotels will not let you take durian into the rooms because of the potent smell!  It's crazy to think it smells that strong!

This week our village ministry started!  The team absolutely loved it!  Below are a few faces that were captured from the last couple of days.  Four of us have been taking a tuk tuk out to Ghosthead Village and spending our mornings teaching Bible and building relationships with the people.  I had a great time hanging out with the children and playing with them.  Below is a little boy named Heng...who is quite the ham.  He typically wears no clothes and runs around naked all the time.  The last day we went this week he was wearing clothes...which is huge for him!  The last team that came to Cambodia made beaded bracelet and necklaces with the kids.  For three months now Heng has been wearing the same two necklaces and the bracelet.  He absolutely loves them!  

This is the typical Heng!  

This is my precious friend Chickye from Ghosthead village.  She is an absolute doll!  She wears her pearl necklace every day.  I held her for 40 minutes the first day we went to the village.  It's crazy to see the difference between kids in the US and kids in other countries.  I picked her up and she just put her head down on my shoulder and just laid there for the longest time.  I later found out that because of the genocide a lot of parents don't really know how to show their children love.  Her mother rarely holds her or shows any affection.  This was such a treat for me to hold her for so long and just love on her.  I love going to the village just so I can see this adorable face.  I want to pack her in my suitcase and bring her home.  If only things were that simple.  

The drive out to the village is absolutely gorgeous!  Everything is so green!  

This is just a quick overview of week 4 of outreach!  Zach and I are both so excited for week 5 because we have a pastoral visit coming up!  Next Sunday Zach and I will be traveling to Seam Reap to pick up our school leader and her friend!  It's going to be so refreshing to see a familiar face.

Please continue to pray for the team!  Pray for Zach and I that we would have patience as we continue to lead.  The two of us are really learning to rely on God for strength.  We have been so exhausted from the constant go, go, go way of living!  Please pray that we would feel refreshed and full of energy as we head into this week!  Praying that all is well at home!  We have heard lots of stories of how hot this summer is back home.  Praying that God will send a cool week your way!  We miss you all and we miss so many things at home!  Have a great week and know we love you!  

Life on Base!

Week 4 of outreach begins tomorrow!  Not really sure where the time is going!  Before long Zach and I will be on a plane back to Kansas.  Craziness!

This week has been an extremely busy but amazing week.  Our team typically gets up at 5:45 and eats breakfast at 7 am.  Then they do their 30 minute work duty on base.  At 8am we regroup for a time of intercession and worship and then we disperse and go our separate ways for morning ministry.  Everyone's schedule looks a little different in the mornings.  Zach spends his mornings working with King's Kids, teaching photography to a man on base and visiting the local orphanage.  King's Kids works with street kids and neighborhood children, sharing Bible stories and just loving on the children.  One morning a week Zach teaches, Date, a man on base, photography.  Date works with families in the slums and hopes to learn photography to raise money to eventually start his own slum ministry.  I am also doing King's Kids in the mornings, visiting the local orphanage and watching a little boy named Rain at Jeevit's House (http://jeevitshouse.org/).  Several members of our team are teaching at a local Christian school and ministering in a local village.  Several of our team members are extremely passionate about the orphanage and have some great ideas to make a difference in the children's lives.  Zach and I are extremely excited to empower the team and turn them loose!  The afternoons consist of building relationships and teaching at the youth center.

On Sunday Zach and I made our first Cambodian hospital visit with one of our students.  She had missed a step and sprained her ankle.  It was instantly swollen which raised some concern.  We loaded her in a tuk tuk...which was somewhat interesting and took her to the local hospital.  Zach and I were impressed to see that they had an X-Ray machine.  It certainly was different than the U.S...but we were thrilled to see that they had one.  They took an X-Ray and diagnosed a severe sprain...big sigh of relief from both Zach and I!  Kat, our student, was extremely excited when they let her keep the X-Ray.  The hospital bill was $8.00...wonder what it would have cost in the U.S!

Well to answer some of your questions...many of you have been asking about living conditions.  I took some pictures this week and thought you might appreciate seeing where we lay our head at night...all our storage space...etc.

This is home sweet home for the two of us.  We have two fans which is amazing.  The base is not air conditioned and it gets extremely hot!  We never take the electricity for granted.  Four days in a row we had no power from 8am until 5pm...which typically wouldn't have been bad..but with the heat and no fans it was somewhat miserable.  On the left is our precious shelf and all our possessions for the next 2 months!  We both love having such a small amount to travel with...though it's really nice to go home and have a different variety of clothes! 

This is our washing machine on the left!  Even though it takes two hours to do 1 load of laundry...it is still a blessing!  We love, love the fact that we have a washer.  We dry all of our clothes on the clothesline and we always pray that they will dry before the monsoon rain hits!  On the left is the crazy parking area on base!  Notice there aren't any cars but only motos and bikes!  

These are several shots taken at the youth center!  This is where we spend from 2:30-7pm every day.  The top left is a picture of Zach teaching in his computer class.  He is currently teaching several of the students how to type.  He has 8 students in his class.  On the top right is our students, Kat and Josie, in their conversation class.  They are playing a game with the students.  They spend an hour each day with the students teaching them how to converse in English.  The bottom left is what a typical classroom looks like.  This is where Carrie and I teach Level 12 English.  The bottom right is Carrie and Katie teaching in their art class!  They started with 1 student and currently have 11.  The youth center has been a great way for us to build relationships with the students and really pour into them.  We are excited to see lots of fruit from this ministry!  

This was taken in what the Youth Center staff calls "the cage."  Each week there is a relevant topic taught and the students congregate together to hear a speaker.  This week was extremely special because our very own Sharon, shared her testimony with all the students at the youth center.  Zach and I were really proud of her.  She has an amazing testimony and it's exciting to see her use it to further God's kingdom!  

Zach and I were pleasantly surprised and beyond blessed by our team on Friday night.  Every Friday night we take our team out for family dinner.  It's a great way for the team to regroup and share about their week.  It's also a great way to just hang out and relax after a crazy week.  This week after team dinner our team presented us with a room key at a local hotel.  We were blown away.  They told us to go and relax in air conditioning.  Oh and they also bought us a pool pass for the next day.  Zach and I were blown away by their generosity and thoughtfulness!  Below are some pictures of the amazing hotel we stayed in.  The biggest treat of the night was the air conditioning and hot shower.  What a blessing!  

One of my students, Grace, delivered these to our room the other day.
She bought them at the local market.  They are absolutely gorgeous!

So this is our week in a nutshell!  It has been a great week with a very packed schedule!  We are waiting in great expectation that God is going to do something amazing while we are here.  We recently were told a crazy statistic that 80% of Cambodia is under the age of 30.  45% is under the age of 15.  After hearing these statistics it made our team way more aware of how valuable our time is at the youth center.  We are getting an amazing opportunity work with this generation that really can turn this nation around!  If you think of our team this week and want to pray for us, please pray for boldness and confidence!  

We miss you and love you all!  Blessings!

Welcome to Cambodia

Zach and I are currently on outreach in Battambang Cambodia. We left from Kona on Sunday, June 26. The journey to Cambodia was very different from our last adventure to India. This time Zach and I had 11 other people relying on us to get them from point A (Kona) to point B (Cambodia). We flew from Kona to Honolulu to Seoul to Phnom Penh. For the most part the trip was uneventful. We arrived in PP on Monday, June 27 at 9pm...very tired! An hour later after going through the Visa process and customs we soon exited the airport to find our PP contact Kimson standing on the corner in the midst of chaos. I immediately felt like I had revisited India but on a smaller scale. Cars and motos were whizzing by as we hurried to pile 13 peoples luggage into a 12 passenger van. We packed ourselves in the van and soon found out that our plans had changed. Before arriving Zach and I had been in contact with the Phnom Penh base and were told that we would be staying on their YWAM base for 2 days before traveling to Battambang. Upon arrival we found out that the PP base was full and we would be staying in a hotel for 2 days. Zach and I both were somewhat uncertain about this but in the end it turned out to be a blessing. We checked into the hotel and quickly discovered there was air conditioning, a real shower, and comfy beds...all for $15 a night. For the 2 days we stayed in PP we felt extremely blessed. Coming home at night and having a hot shower and air conditioning was not at all what we expected.

We spent our time in PP familiarizing our team with the culture and the recent history of the country. Our team had a great time riding tuk tuks around the city, bartering at the market and learning basic Khmer. Three of our team members walked into an amazing opportunity to go and shoot pictures at the Not For Sale factory in PP. Not For Sale is a widely recognized campaign that is fighting to abolish slavery world wide. Part of their campaign is focused on rehabilitating women into society by providing jobs and skills. Our three team members, Grace, Paul and Katie were able to meet with the CEO of the campaign, go in and shoot photos of the products the women make and sit and talk with several of the women. It was an amazing opportunity for the three of them! The photos will hopefully be visible on the Not For Sale website very soon!

Our team did spend a very heavy day visiting killing fields and museums focused on the very recent genocide in Cambodia. God really gave the team His heart for the people. We saw countless pictures of horrific killings and acts of torture. Many of our team members have spoken to several Khmer who have lost parents in the genocide. This truly brought the history to life for our team.

On Thursday our team hopped on a bus and traveled to the Battambang YWAM base. All 10 of our girls are sleeping in 1 room! The room is extremely packed with 5 bunk beds and 10 girls worth of luggage. Our 1 single token guy, Paul is rooming with YWAM staff and has a huge room. Funny how God works. He must have known that Paul was going to need his space from all the women on the team!

Since arriving our team has been extremely adventurous. The first day in Battambang, the staff sent us on a crazy scavenger hunt all over the city. We had to ride on the back of a moto, visit several various locations and barter for fruit at the market. We had a few of our teammates get a little lost and ended up missing lunch at the base...but they came home happy. On the 4th of July, the base had a “base fun day.” Our team was responsible for making 2 American desserts, which was extremely challenging in the midst of Cambodia. Finding American ingredients is a challenge in itself. Somehow we pulled together a cake with frosting and a peanut butter, cream cheese dessert. It took us several hours but I along with 4 other girls on the team managed to get it done. It’s crazy how the simplest tasks can be such an ordeal in another country. Everything in the US is all about convenience...we are quickly finding out that this is not the case in Cambodia.

The highlight of this trip has been purchasing 13 bikes from a local bike shop. Zach and I had decided before leaving Kona that we wanted each person on the team to purchase a bike so they can get around the city. Little did we know how much fun this really would be. All 13 of us spent the afternoon at a bike shop testing out bikes and finally purchasing them. Each bike came equipped with a little bell and a basket in the front...all for $35. The bikes have been such a blessing for our team...allowing them to learn their way around the city quite well and not restricting where they can and cannot go. On Sunday we went to church...all 11 girls in long skirts riding a bike down the streets of Cambodia. It was pretty challenging but lots of fun!

Zach and I have spent hours working on a ministry schedule for our students. Each week our students will have 2 consistent ministries they will visit from 9am-12. This can be a variety of things...working in the local orphanage, working with a program called Kings Kids (sharing Bible stories to children in villages), teaching English and Bible at the local Christian school, working at an AIDS home, working with a street children’s soccer program, ministering to street children and simply doing manual labor around the base. In the afternoons our team will be teaching a variety of classes at the Youth Center. Several of our students will be teaching photography, Bible, art, voice and piano, conversation and sports. Zach will be teaching a computer and English class. I will be teaching a cooking class and helping one of our team members teach hip hop. Both Zach and I are extremely excited about our team teaching the classes. This is a great way for our team to build relationships with the students and really invest in their lives.

Well I know this has been extremely lengthy...but a lot has been happening over this last week! Please pray for our team as the heat tends to suck all our energy out. Pray for protection and health and that many lives would be transformed. We pray that each of you is doing well and having a great summer!