Hello from Cambodia!

Hey everyone! Much to my surprise, there is an internet cafe here. Right now we are in Poipet, Cambodia and we will be here for about 2 weeks. We arrived yesterday afternoon, and it was definitely an adventure crossing the border. I'll freely admit that the whole thing was a little scary to be honest, but it was never dangerous... we were completely protected and things went very smoothly.

Cambodia is so different from Thailand. We are only about 5 miles from the border, but as soon as we stepped out of Thailand, we could immediately see the difference. It is definitely a 3rd world country here. There is garbage and junk everywhere. We observed some children picking through garbage on the street and then eating it. I saw some pretty awful things just at the border crossing, things I don't think I'll ever forget. My heart is absolutely breaking that people live like this. Of course, I've always known that people have, but seeing it with my own 2 eyes is so different. And right now I'm typing this on a PC in front of a fan while there are hungry children roaming the streets... some things I just don't understand, such as this.

We are staying at a hotel which absolutely blows my mind. I feel like a princess in complete and total luxury! We have AIR CONDITIONING, beds, hot water, cable tv?!, a bathroom I only have to share with ONE person... but the big deal is definitely air conditioning! It is getting much more muggy here, so the a/c is a tremendous blessing. I really feel almost guilty staying in such a luxurious place. Most of us were looking forward to bamboo huts and dirt floors, but I am so thankful and blessed to have the room that I have.

This morning we went to church down the street and it was all in Khmer. I think it may be easier to speak Khmer rather than Thai, because it's not a tonal language. Although it seems like most people here speak Thai, since we're still so close to Thailand. Anyway, it was really awesome to experience a Cambodian church service and hear their songs, etc. Since we didn't understand what was happening, we just did our own Bible reading. They did have us go up front at the beginning of the service and introduce ourselves, and they seemed quite shocked by Ian. He is 6'8" and you have to understand that I at 5'8" was taller than 98% of the people in attendance. So Ian is basically a giant. :)

Thanks for your continued prayers! We don't really know what to expect yet these next 2 weeks. We have orientation today, and then I think we start working tomorrow. It sounds like we may be doing sports ministry, which the guys are thrilled about. We're also working with the children's home/preschool/orphanage, but doing what exactly, I'm not sure. I'm excited to find out! I heard there's another YWAM team here, so maybe we'll get to meet them. We'll see!

Keep praying for us, especially for safety. Cambodia is really dangerous, and we're not allowed outside at night, even in groups of 3. It's just not safe all around. Please be praying that I'll have ways to minister to everyone that I see, especially people on the street. There is so much that is needed here. Where do we even begin?