They say...

...a picture is worth a thousand words, right?  Well how about 15 minutes of pictures and video? 

Here's a recap of the entire trip...slide-show style!  Sorry for the lack of posting, but hopefully this give everyone a pretty good idea of the awesomeness of our god and our trip.   It's pretty cool to be able to share the gospel in a foreign land on the other side of the entire world.  Truly amazing!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXEQ5slGVWU

Our days went a little something like this:

Wake up about 6:30am - meet the rest of the team in the lobby of the hotel by 7:00am - head next door to eat breakfast (devotional with team @ breakfast) - leave for the orphanage around 8:00am - bible lesson, art project, recreation activity - lunch - back to the orphanage for another round - dinner - devotional with the team - bed.  Now for the detail...

When we first arrived at the orphanage, as you can imagine, the kids were ready and waiting to greet us as we stepped off the bus.  We weren't all feeling 100% healthy, but seeing the kids definitely helped.  It was nice to have bonded with them at the beach for the few days before we arrived at the orphanage because they really made us feel like we had been there last year (half of the team actually was returning from last year).

As we stepped into their dorm (place where the kids stay and all of the activities are held) the first thing you do is take off your shoes and leave them at the door.  You always do this before entering, but it was particularly muddy outside due to a recent rain shower.  It has rained a lot more on this trip than in years past.  Once inside, the kids organized themselves into a circle and started singing songs - worship songs of course :)  We joined in on the ones we knew and at the very least participated in the hand motions on the songs we didn't.  So much joy! 


Then we kicked off our first bible lesson - Peter was our man for the job.  He talked about how we're all the same in God's eyes.  It was "awk-chaw" (awesome) for sure.  The art project aligned with with the lesson and the kids had to draw themselves as they saw themselves.  It was really cool to see.  Most of them ended up drawing pictures of our team :) The recreation for the morning was a mixture of soccer, volleyball, and frisbee.  Basically, just anything to release some energy and let the kids have fun.  Off to lunch...

After lunch we came back and started with more singing and it was Candy's turn for teaching the lesson.   Her message was about God leading your path straight.  We handed out mazes to the kids that had crosses in different places in the maze to help show the "right path."  Get it?  See what we did there?  We're so clever!  For recreation we switched it up a bit and decided to play some indoor games because it was sooo freakin' hot.  First on the list - musical chairs!  I don't think I've ever seen the kids get so excited.  The screamed with joy and Allen and Drew were all over some sweet tunes for the occation - Techno!!  That's right, these kids love the beat.  And that takes me to the next activity of the day - "freeze dance."  Freeze dance is pretty hilarious.  The kiddos (and our team) start dancing to the music (in this case it was Thriller by Michael Jackson) and every time the music stops, you have to freeze.  It was soooooo funny!  There was one particular little boy named Tha-ra (not sure about that spelling, but said like this:  tay-ra) whos smile was bigger than his whole body.  When the music was on, his smile was huge and when the music stopped, his face shut off.  It was awesome.  I only wish I had it captured somewhere other than my mind.

We'll continue catching up with the blogs and happenings at the orphanage.  Wifi has been a serious challenge this trip.  Just made it to Siem Reap safely, but want to fill you in on the rest of the trip first.

Much love,
Mike & Candace

Backtracking to the beach...

Hey everyone!

Wifi is definitely scarce here in Bantey Meanchey - sorry for the lack of posting.  We kind of skipped telling you about the beach adventures, so here it goes...

After about a 4-hour bus ride from Phnom Penh to the beach we were ready for a little fun in the sun...or should I say fun in the clouds?  It was actually pretty nice becuase the sun wasn't blaring down on us and, with no rain, we were able to have tons of fun.  The waves this time were like we've never experienced before.  Well, at least I've never experienced before in the past 3 years of being here :)  They were huge!  We brought beach balls and rafts and all kinds of beach toys, but the waves stole the show.  The kids wanted nothing more than to ride out backs through the surf and jump over the waves as they crashed against the shore.  It was a perfect day.  All 3 teams were together still at this point in our trip and it was really nice to be able to bond with everyone before we had to go separate ways. 

The hotel was another adventure in itself.  The rooms were a little bit scary, but it was only for one night.  It happened to be the exact same hotel we stayed in last year so we knew what we were up against....and they had wifi... yay!!

The next day we woke up and hit the beach again early so the kids could enjoy the awesomeness again.  Unfortunately, it was raining and that pretty much continued the whole time.  It didn't get us down though.  We all played in the waves as if it were all of our first times at the beach - so much fun!  2 girls from other teams were baptised.  It was a little rough to stand out there in that surf, but there's nothing more special than seeing the kids sing from the shore while the baptism took place at the hands of pastor Vek.  What another amazing day. 

You can only imagine what the ride back to Bantey Meanchey was like.  All I'll say is "11 hours on a bus."

Now, back to our regular schedule program here at the orphanage.  This is the end of day two (which will be blogged about later).  See the pattern here ;)  Starting day 3 tomorrow AM. 

Stay tuned...

-Mike & Candace

First day in sisophon!

hey everyone! we found an internet cafe here in sisophon!!! there is no wifi in the entire city... how crazy!!! if you are curious where sisophon is, check here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisophon several team members are pretty sick today, i think they got food poisoning from the seafood at the beach yesterday. please pray that the Lord would heal.

today was our first day at the orphanage doing activities with the kids. we gave them each their own bible and journal. we were also able to go in to go the market and buy them each a new set of school uniforms and shoes, we'll probably give it to them tomorrow but its very exciting! Amazing how far $12 can go here... being back I am totally aware of how much i love this country and these children... they are beyond precious!!!!!

God has been so faithful during our trip. what a mighty God we serve!! Thank you for your prayers and support!

Saturday Recap and exciting news!

Sorry for the late post...

We arrived in Cambodia late Friday night and basically went to bed as soon as we made it to the hotel.  The travel (as you can imagine) is pretty exausting and we were all ready to sleep in something besides our airplane or bus seats - but God helped deliver us safely and that is all that matters, right?

Saturday - Everyone is in good health and in good spirits.  I woke up a little late becuase my phone was still set for US time, but thanks to my teammates (knocking at my door and eventually calling my room) I didn't delay breakfast too much and we walked next door to enojoy some eggs, cerial, and, you guessed it, fried rice :)  What a great start to the day!

Next we headed to S.21 (a concentration camp) in Phnom Penh.  This really helps the teams remember and also realize the hardships the Cambodia people had been through not so many years ago.  The images are horrifying and you can feel the pain on the beaten faces of the prisoners whos pictures now remain as a reminder of a time these people never want relive.  It's aweful - really aweful.  The torture rooms and weapons are there for everyone to see.  Blood stains on the floor still remain and the skulls... some with bullet holes, some with fractures that clearly show severe impact.  Illustrations of babies getting hurled against trees by the hands of the Khmer Rouge soldiers and screaming mothers who are helplessly being held back.  Barbed wire line each floor so that prisoners can't hurl themselves over the balcony to end their misery.  We left with heavy hearts and swelling eyes to say the least.  Then, off to the killing fields...

This is another horrible place that has a history much like S.21.  The name explains exactly what it is - fields and fields full of dead bodies.  Wooden signs reveal just how many people were found in certain places.  There are so many small areas that are dug out (maybe 12x15 feet - no deeper than 2 feet) where hundreds, yes hundreds of bodies were found.  There had to have been a huge pile and, of course, an unmistakeable stench.  Now, only bones can be seen raising above the surface of the soil where the years of rain has unearthed them.  It's a terrible reminder of the men, women and children that were so brutally murdered there. 

It's hard to get back on the up-swing after a morning like that, but we broke for lunch, reflected on everything we just saw, and headed to New Life Church.  It was so amazing to see the progress that has been mad there over the past year and it was amazing to hear the stories (from our translators) about just how much they are spreading Christianity over here.  It's still less than 2%, but the church continues to grow and grow.  Next, a surprise better than any other surprise we could have gotten came our way... We got word that ALL of the children from each orphanage had arrived in Phmon Penh earlier than expected and that we would get the chance to see them that day.  YAY!  Talk about a change of emotions.  Going from a pretty rough morning to a very exciting evening made Saturday, all in all, an awesome first day.  More news tomorrow about our adventures from Sunday @ the beach :)

Exciting News!
We found out today that some of the leaders in charge of S.21 (who up until 2007 had not been arrested for their crimes) are finally getting senenced tomorrow!  Only one has admitted to any wrong duing and only God knows what their true punishments will be... 

Check out this article for more information!

Much love,
Mike

Thank You!

I just wanted to send out a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who not only has supported Candace and I, but also support the rest of our team!  We couldn't have done it without you.

Our team has almost reached 100% of our financial goal and that is absolutely incredible.  With times the way they are, to be able to raise enough money to send 9 of us across the world to care for, teach, be tought, and most importantly, love these orphans, is God's work at it's best!

Our team stretches far beyond the 9 members who are getting to travel to Cambodia and we'll continue to rely on everyone for your prayers while we're away. 

Again, thanks from the bottom of my heart.  We're less than 2 weeks away!!

-Mike

Almost There!

I can't believe our trip is less than one month away! The excitement is certainly building - it was recently pointed out to me that I say something about Cambodia every day.

We had our last regular team meeting on Sunday, and we finalized our lesson plans for the week. We all discovered last year that the orphans have a great hunger for God's Word, and He has given them an impressive capacity for understanding it. We are going to present some deeper concepts this year, like the fact that we are all made differently and given different gifts but are recipients of the same gift in Christ. Please pray that God speaks through us and that the kids will hear what He wants them to hear!

Each team member has been assigned a job, which will spread the work and allow each of us to use our gifts. Most importantly to our followers, Madison will be making posts on this blog to update all our supporters on our trip. We want all of you to be able to share the experience with us, so we will keep you posted as we go along!

Thank you all so much for your prayers and support. We are planning a send-off/prayer time for families, friends, and supporters before we leave, probably on July 18, so please keep that in mind. Updates to come!

Just Getting Started

As part of team Bantey Meanchey 2010, I'm super excited to see what God will be doing in our lives this year as we prepare for our journey. I truly believe that God has hand-picked the groups I've been on in the past and I have no doubt that this year will feel the same way.

I was unable to attend the first meeting, so I'm still anxiously awaiting my chance to meet all of the members of our team. My fiance, Candace, told me that we have an amazing, dynamic group and that gets me really fired up!

I've been to Cambodia for the past 2 years, but never to Bantey Meanchey. The opportunity to serve and spread God's love to a new group of children is just awesome! Praying for the strength and the wisdom to accomplish our goals for this trip, and of course, praying for the children of Cambodia.

Much love,
Mike