Saturday, July 23

Who is that on the menu from Apple Creek?

Well it is Sunday night here and a lot has happened this weekend.  We had such a wonderful time with the children at Grace Place: Battambang. They are all doing so well. I had to take a picture at the restaurant where we had breakfast because the Richardsons are on the front cover of the menu at a place coalled "Cold Night" 

After breakfast Saturday morning we headed out with Pkeakdey and her father again to visit three more possible children for the up and coming GROW Cambodia home. 

Two of the girls are 5 year old twins and the other is three. The girls looked like they were 3 years old because they don't get enough food to eat. Their father died in an accident and their mother has some mental illness that comes and goes.  The family eats when neighbors in their village give them some food like a tomato or something.  

GROW Cambodia orphan rescue candidates

We spent quite awhile talking with the mother and her friend whom she was staying with in Battambang while she brought her daughter to the hospital.  We gave the girls some beanie babies the Roselers gave us and the mother some money to buy some food for her daughters and self. She began to cry as I, Pheakdey and her father all handed her some cash. She was overwhelmed by the love we were sharing with her.

We then headed to Grace Place to pile all 40 kids, the staff and us into 2 vans.  Yep, that's a lot of people in a small space, but we did it! The kids had so much fun at the waterpark.  We pretty much had the entire place to ourselves.  For hours we went up stairs and down slides, played Keep a Way and splashed (see more photos below). 

After dropping the kids off, and changing, we met the staff of our home at a BBQ and buffet restaurant as way of thanking them for what they do for these children and to give them a night off..  At first we weren't sure we were going to eat at all because everything was raw (meat and fish).  Then we learned that we cook it at our table on these little grills in the middle of our tables. It was quite an experience. Vannak and another staff member kept bringing us new foods to try. You may not wish to know what all we ate, but it was pretty good, never mind we all felt a little queezy in the stomach and bowels later. Yikes. But better now!

We returned to play with the kids some more of course.  By this time my kids are wanting to stay here and never leave. It is that or hide 40 kids in our suitcases! We Skpyed with Pastor Ivanildo and the older kids who are doing very well in English, spoke with him.  I will say I do not think I will do that again because Nga began crying after speaking with him.  She held onto me for 15 minutes or so crying about how much she missed him and wanted him to come back.  This began a domino effect as about 5 other girls joined in holdiong on to me.  I was able to convince all but Nga to join the others dancing and having fun.  I passed Nga off to Tim and she help on to him most of the rest of the evening crying.

Sokha

Sokret