A New Chapter

Yes, I finally have internet at the house. I no longer have to suffer the frustration of slow computers, broken keyboards, interrupted service, and hot buildings. It really is a blessing to be able to sit at the house and use internet. So thank you for lifting that up in your prayers. I will be able to email, post, and do work for Asia's Hope without having to time my trip to the cafe. Not only much more convenient and easier, but also better to not have to go out there at night.

So much has happened in the last couple of days. I will start, though, with trips out to the orphanages in Saturday and Sunday. It is always a joy to see the kids, but even more so now that they know my name and know that I am not leaving after a couple of weeks. They are even more comfortable with me...if that was even possible!

The kids in the orphanages come from all over Cambodia...some places are remote and far away. There is no shortage of kids when a new orphanage opens. In fact, there is a waiting list already. Dave was sharing the other day that most have had parents that died of disease...about half from AIDS, some from malaria, some from other diseases.

Some kids have also been abandoned by parents. In this society, if one parent dies, the family is considered to have bad karma. People tend to not want to have anything to do with the remaining family. So, if a woman is widowed, she will often abandon her children and go off to remarry or work in another city and never contact those children again. Imagine the emotional consequences for these kids...not to mention that they are also often left in a situation where the relatives are unable to care for them. This is one of the reasons many of them could end up victims of child traffickers.

There are now four orphan homes in Prek Eng. One just opened about three weeks ago. It has been fun to watch the transformation of these children from the first time that we met them. They were understandably shy around a bunch of westerners, but now come rushing to greet us as all the others do. The owner of the house Asia's Hope is renting for them is building two more rooms below the house to accommodate all the kids. Right now it's under construction so more cluttered than would normally be, but the project is going quickly. Below is a picture of the house and the kids.

This home is unique in that it's not supported by a church. This summer, at a Grace Brethren youth conference, teens from across the country gave enough money for two new orphan homes to be supported for one year...this one and one in Battambang. One night at a conference after the speaker spoke and challenged the kids, they came walking down to the front and giving whatever they had in their pockets. $90, 000 was raised with some of it going for these homes. These orphans were rescued because of the generosity of teens.


Ravi is the orphanage director. He speaks very good English. Funny, though...he was taught by Australians. You can hear the Australian accent coming through when he speaks:)

Below are some kids jumping rope at Prek Eng 2. This home is sponsored by Central Vineyard in Columbus (Clintonville area). Like all kids, they love to jump rope, kick the soccer ball, play badminton, chase, etc. When we show up, they will start pulling everything out.

But, unlike many kids in America, they are just as happy inventing games with a rock, a stick, or a bottle. Below, the kids are playing with Glenn who is here from Canada. Since this orphanage is new, they don't have a lot. But they had about 30 minutes of hilarious fun throwing an empty water bottle around. They would play keep away or throw it into the air as high as they could...and laugh hysterically. They were so happy and having so much fun. While that was going on, another group was playing tic-tac-toe with a stick in the dirt. These kids continue to humble me with how happy and content they are with little to nothing.


Below, we were getting ready to leave Prek Eng 2. Leaving is just like arriving...the kids will surround us, offering hugs and choruses of "I love you" and "God bless you" and "Goodbye mommy and daddy." It just melts my heart every time.

Then, they came chasing after the truck. Childlike playfulness and joy...so good to see!

Below is a shot of the Vista orphanage kids...again dress in Vista t-shirts. This night, they sang and danced for the camera. I got lots on video. Though as I wrote about before, I don't have an updated version of the program I need to interface with the camera, so you will have to settle for the picture right now. I am sending the SD card back to Columbus for the tech gurus to make a video. Can't wait till you can see them sing.