Finished for the week.
It’s Friday afternoon and the work week is finished. Tomorrow will be a shopping day and a day of rest. Today was regular class time and then lunch at the PIP house with Shirley and her co-workers. After we arrived home I went to the travel agent and made our reservations for next weekend’s trip to Angkor Wat. Tonight we will have a lazy dinner and swap mission stories with our friends. We have seemed to balance our sleep and heat problems by now. No long naps in the middle of the day and good sleep at night. We had another downpour this morning and it made the morning hours very pleasant. It was probably 80 plus degrees all morning and one of Shirley’s students called in and said he could not make it as it was too “cold”…go figure. The humidity has returned this afternoon. But, we are finding it easier to deal with.
Have I told you about the peanut brittle? Yummmmmm. Saturday morning and we have made our trip to the market. The Russian Market which is about half a mile from the house is one of the larger markets in PP. It is filled with every type of craft and merchandize that is made in Cambodia. They also sell boot leg video, cds, and knock off clothes and watches, etc. It is in a building that is a block square and has hundreds of stall set up in cramped and very hot quarters. It also contains a food area that both sells anything you want and also prepares it. The sights and especially the smells are very interesting. We bought most of our gifts to take home there this morning. Around 12 we went down to the River area where the seat of government and the palace of the King is and had lunch at a European café called Java. My first hamburger in almost five weeks…first beef for that matter! It was a leisurely meal as they will not come to give you your check until you ask for it. Two hour meals are common. We talked and talked loving the views and the sights and sounds of the government district. Late this afternoon Shirley and I walked up to a convenience store (kind of like a 7-11) to buy some cokes for dinner and some dried cuttlefish for Ronda. We were able to do all of our banking online today and catch up on email as well. A quick sandwich for dinner and we are getting the last things done for the day. It will be an early start in the morning as we are doing in the country to visit several village churches. We are anxious to see them and worship with our Cambodian brethren outside of the city.
Sunday What a wonderful day it has been. Arise at 6 and on the road before 7. We picked up an entourage of about 30 members from the church that meets at the PIP house and traveled about 80 kms to the village of Krang Dong. We arrived at almost 10 after traveling roads filled with traffic and dirt roads that led far out into the country. Our car was filled with lovely Khmer young people who had done the planning for the day. We carried food for 100 and songs on our hearts. When finally arriving we helped set up for the food processing. There were “tons” of vegetables to be cut to add to the giant pot of curry that had been prepared on Saturday. They were added together and a wonderful aroma filled the village. We played with the children, visited with the older people, and had conversations with many. When noon arrived we worshiped with about 80 people spread out under the trees on two tarps and one woven mat. Sothea, the young preacher there and a graduate of CBI shared the Word of God and we all joined in song and the Lord’s Supper. I understood none of the words but all of the heart. After worship we gathered for lunch. There was plenty of food and the villages shared that which was left over. Again we played with the children and men from the church, who help support Sothea, met with him to encourage and pray. By 2:30 we were on the road and arrived back to the PIP house by four.
We left for a quick nap and then ate dinner at Yejj. I had my favorite Khmer food mi char. Yummy! I have finished my preparation for tomorrow and it’s about time for sleep. I miss my bed, I miss my children, and I miss the cool. But, God has brought us here and I wouldn’t miss this for the world. God bless… Monday Last full week of school. I can tell the students are getting the message as I see their quiz scores getting better and the questions they ask more to the point. I think they will have a good understanding of the history of the church in Acts. I hope they will be able to duplicate the excitement and result of those early days. They have a “white field” into which they will preach the gospel. This afternoon Shirley and I returned to the market. It is closed in and hot, but so full of life and laughter. It’s a real slice of Cambodian life. This evening Som Nang came over and fixed the system here that now allows us to have access to the internet on my computer. THAT MEANS WE CAN SKYPE…but, so far no one has been on. Oh well, maybe this afternoon.
