Day Four of Phnom Penh English Camp

Up early again this morning, we enjoyed our daily ride in the truck. It really is an adventure each day, and I love it. Once we arrived at the church, we had a minute outside the building to chat with one of the ladies who makes our rice for the day in a big, fire warmed, wok-like pan. We have watched her with great interest from the rooftop, but today we had the chance to thank her for her work and watch her do it. She was kind enough to pose for a picture for us.

Marti and a few of the girls

After breakfast, we headed to the sanctuary for our morning worship time. I really love hearing these kids sing to the Lord! I know I have said that before, but it bears repeating. We split up into groups and spent the morning practicing English. After looking at some of Marti’s flash cards for animals, to prepare us for the zoo tomorrow, we asked the girls to tell us their stories. It was so interesting to listen to them talk about their lives. Most of our girls are already Christians. They shared about their families. Many of them do not live with their parents, but are attending school in Phnom Penh. Some see their parents on the weekend, some only once in a great while. A couple are attending a boarding school; one is living with her grandparents. We were so proud of each and every one of them for sharing her story!

Our English Camp Team, filling up the orphanage

Lunch was again delicious, with that rice that we had seen being prepared. After lunch, we had a short break and then received our English Camp 9 T-shirts. We are all supposed to wear them to the zoo tomorrow. Then we loaded the buses and headed to the orphanage. The camp field trip did not go to Place of Rescue 1 (we will head there Monday), but the orphanage we did go to was close to Rescue.  Anyway, we didn’t have an abundance of time with the orphans once we got there, but we did separate into groups and learn songs with them. Then we came back together and each group performed their songs. I enjoyed hearing some songs in Khmer, some silly songs I had never heard before, and some wonderful praise music. It was a great concert!

One of our little singers

Scenic Cambodian landscape

On the way back, I was looking out the window of the bus and noticed the stark contrast of this land. The scenic vistas are amazing. The land is lush and animals plentiful. There is money going into construction in the Phnom Penh area. However, right next door to a new construction you will probably see poverty unlike anything you have seen in America. But the one thing I notice the most is that the faces are beautiful everywhere, whether in poverty or in plenty.

Poverty, viewed from the window of the bus

We arrived back at the church a little late and headed up to the rooftop for our supper. We were tickled when Ron joined us. Yes! Our Phnom Penh team is complete.

Praises:

1.       Ron arrived safely with no complications!

2.       Praise God for the stories each one of these young people at English Camp have to tell.

Prayers:

1.       Pray for continued health and for recovery from any aches and pains we may be feeling.

2.       Pray for safety and continued relationship building on our trip to the zoo tomorrow with the students.

3.       Pray for the team members back in Rochester who are in their final days before departing on Monday, as they take care of last minute details back home.