We just finished our last night in Battambang. It was a long day of immunizations with the kids. Wow...the nurses gave about 180 shots today. A few tears, but for the most part the kids did really well.
Tonight, we got to see each of the orphanages here, and then spent a little time with all of the kids together. The third orphanage...Battambang 3...was just opened three weeks ago. When we got here yesterday, they weren't quite sure what to make of us. And then we gave them shots today!! Some of the littler ones went running when they saw us coming tonight:)
But it was neat to see the reticence wear off. By the end of the time, they were laughing with us and wanting to be held just as much as the other kids. You could tell that they were longing for that contact last night but didn't quite know what to do. What a joy to be able to offer that love to them.
I got to know more of the stories of these kids. Many have parents who have died of diseases, including HIV, which is prevalent here. Before coming to the orphanages, they did not go to school but often had to look for food or work. So hard to believe with kids so young. One set of three sisters are Vietnamese and were living with their father on a houseboat on the Tonle Sap river. Their mother had died and their father had a bad heart, so they had to fish to find food. The oldest was 12 years old.
We leave for Phnom Penh tomorrow morning and have a busy couple of days ahead of us. Your prayers for travel are greatly appreciated!!
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