New Kids

Yesterday was another fabulous day here in Battambang. Megan and I spent the morning out and about in the town. This is a quiet, sleepy little place compared to Phnom Penh. It's easier to walk down the street and cross the road...bonus for us! It's also been cooler here with nice breezes. A welcome respite from the heat we have been experiencing. We have not yet used the air conditioning at night, which is amazing to us!

After lunch, we went to Battambang 3. We have wanted to go for the last couple of days, but the road was covered with water and impassable. Have I ever mentioned how sweet these kids are? The older kids did some dancing for us, and then they showed us some tricks that they know. Then we watched a DVD of pictures of them. I love to here them squeal with laughter.

My favorite part of the day, though, was when the older kids piled into the van with us, and we went to Battambang 5 - the newest orphanage. Megan and I had brought a volleyball, a soccer ball, and some nail polish. It was fun to see all of the kids interacting, and I just enjoyed being able to play with them...no agenda, just fun. I had planned on painting nails, but they swept up the polish quickly and the older ones painted the younger ones. (As does often happen, the boys wanted their nails painted as well. I can feel some of the men cringing as they read this. They had fun though!)

So, I ended up playing volleyball and soccer. The newer kids hung in the back watching at first, but slowly joined us in the circle. They started to come out of their shells and run around with the soccer ball, laughing and having fun. Then, they started to come up and wrap their arms around Megan and I. That's the part that means the most to me. There were still some children who were shy and reserved, but I can't wait to come back again and see how much they have changed.

We are going to go back to a couple of orphanages this afternoon and then head home early tomorrow morning (Friday). You can pray for safe travels for us!

------------------------------

Just got back a little bit ago from our last afternoon with the kids. How special it was. Megan's church sponsors one of the orphanages, so we spent most of our time there. They played games and sang songs. They most enjoyed playing musical chairs. It cracks me up how much joy they can get from that game...even the older kids absolutely love it!

We then went to a second orphanage to say goodbye to those kids. They had prepared another dance for us...to a montage of Christmas songs:) At the end they showered us with confetti that they had made...with "I love Megan" and "I love Jen" written on the pieces of paper. I really think everyone should be showered daily with how much people love them.

It was so hard to say goodbye at both places...the kids clung to us telling us that they loved us and would be praying for us. The good thing for me is that I know I will be back sometime soon to see them again. We are both a little exhausted this evening after a busy week with the kids...but it was definitely well worth it.

Just a humorous story before I go for the evening. We have been staying at a hotel here in Battambang...nice, but cheap. Only $12 a night for a room. There is a restaurant attached to the hotel where we have eaten most of our meals. They know us by now:) The staff knows a little bit of English, and luckily there is a menu written in English. But every time I have ordered, I haven't gotten what I thought I was getting. Yesterday, we each tried to order 2 pancakes...and they brought us 2 pancakes to split between us. Tonight I tried to order sweet and sour chicken, thinking it would be something over rice like you would get at an Asian restaurant in the states. It ended up being half a chicken with sweet and sour sauce over top. I laughed.

I think it demonstrates one of the issues here that at times is exhausting. Many times, I try to explain in English, and Cambodians will say that they get it. "Yes, yes, I know." When in reality, they don't. Communication is challenging to say the least. I look forward to being able to speak Khmer. You can be praying for that!