Update From Becky

Hello everyone, it's Becky! It is Saturday and we don't have to be anywhere until 10:45 so we are letting the kids sleep in. I slept in until 7: 00 and just had to get up. I love to go up to the 4th floor where they serve a complimentary breakfast. The walls are all open to the outside. You can hear and see motos and cars and "Tuk-tuks" go by. You can see the Mekong River and Tonel River merge into one churning muddy river. You see people out walking for exercise and monks in their saffron robes and shorn heads going to work. I watched a woman go onto the grass where a water line was leaking and discreetly take off her outer kroma, wash her clothes and hair, return to the street, squat down to dry out as we both watch Sambo the zoo elephant be led past by his handler. I sit and drink coffee and jasmine tea and read over the bible story that I am going to teach that day or read and work on our family bible study in Acts. The book of Acts is the continuation of the gospel story: the fulfilling of the law and beginning of a new era; the Holy Spirit working in each believer with the beginning of the church, persecution, miracles, excitement and God's love and power revealed in new ways in His now confident followers.

I feel like Cambodia is at the place of new beginnings. They are very open to the gospel and many NGO (non-government organizations) and church affiliations are united to work together (unfortunately an unusual concept) to help mentor, train and come alongside the Cambodians to help them reestablish all the systems that are broken. These broken systems exacerbate corruption causing the weakest--the poor, the children, the disabled to suffer the most. The salaries for civil servants-teachers, government officials, policemen-is so little that bribes are a big factor in the entire system. Plus there is really only one party with power in their democratic system, so they want to follow the party line to stay in their position. There is openness to dissent and differing points of view in the papers, but of course not to the level we enjoy in the U.S.

On the way to KM6 (Kilometer 6 road), where we just finished the first week of Bible class, Moses and Samantha Seth's driver ran a red light (one of two I have seen in the entire city so far). Two police men ran along side us banging on our windows. They kept running along side the left window where Rick was seated but the Thai made Toyoto truck has driver on the right side like in England. The driver pulled over and Samantha quickly handed the policeman a bribe, before he could ask a price. If you ask for a price, and start negotiating, the cost of a ticket could end up as high as $100.00 if the policeman felt like it, or we argued and he would feel he needed to save face. She gave him about $1.25, and we were on our way.

Cambodian people are small of stature and quick to smile. Samantha Seth, the church planting part of AIM, was amazed to see even monks grinning at our kids and the interpreters. You would grin too if you drove by 7-8 people in the back of a pick-up truck singing, shouting greetings in Khmer and English, practically causing moto accidents everywhere we go.
All our kids including our adopted daughter for the summer are having a grand time. I am proud of their flexibility, creativity, humbleness, and joy and love they express to everyone they encounter.

They let all the kids hang off them, not caring about the toilet that you flush with a scoop of water from a bucket, the wood plank church floor, and the smell that wafts in through the open side of the church building from the burning and cow pasture near the building. We have a fan and it has rained every afternoon lately so the humidity is not so oppressive.
Thank you God! I still come back to the hotel and shower and change my clothes after teaching all morning. Except for when they decided to take us to lunch at the best buffet in town and then back to the Seth home to help rewrite his testimony. Or when we picked up the Seth's son and nephew who had just arrived from Texas and then on to shop at the Central Market toting eleven people around to shop-driver, house girl, friend of driver, us, the new arrivals and Samantha. It was crazy but it worked well. I bought everyone ice cream-they order coconut flavored because it is not too sweet. Most foods here are not as sugary as in the U.S.

We are content and safe, but we feel a little off balance all the time because we never quite know what to expect with the timing of things or what is required. So, we always carry water, camera, money, map, hand sanitizer, instructions to our hotel in Khmer and tissue everywhere. Plus I carry a bag of English and bible supplies so we can take any and every opportunity to share.

Karli is beautiful, but in this culture with her Caucasian and Japanese features, height, and paler skin tone, plus her ready smile: she is the epitome of beauty. I feel she is safe with us, but I never let her out of my sight nor do we go out at night. She is very sweet, compassionate, and quick to respond to anything I ask her to do. She does not like to wash her clothing in the sink every night, and she has a gift of scattering her things everywhere which cracks me up. Unlike Elizabeth, whom we call Lucy here, (because her name is difficult in Khmer), who takes an hour to get ready, Karli is ready in minutes. We girls like sharing a room, though the beds are as hard as rocks. It reminds me of growing up sharing a room and bathroom with my two sisters.

The boys have a room next to us which Rick keeps at arctic temperatures. He also needs to drink Aquafina bottled water made by the French company in Thailand instead of the Cambodian purified water which is not as well filtered. The kids and I seem fine with the less expensive kind, but Rick is not. Pray he feels more normal. He is incredible with all the kids, and keeping us happy buying French baguettes for our dinner. We ended up eating a candy bar for our dinner one night and the kids giggled and laughed that we had allowed such a thing. It reminds me how young they are and I smile amazed at how God is working in all of our lives here.

I personally love the break from constantly cooking, washing, cleaning, driving, maintaining our stuff. I like just being and having a chance to remember who I was before being so inundated with children and responsibilities. I hope to return to the States more peaceful and confident in what God is doing in my life. Thank you for all your prayers.

I am juggling a lot of things packing up our supplies each day and directing everything trying not to do it myself but train the kids to do the teaching. We all our adapting to the age range of kids, the culture, and using our interpreters effectively-and anyone else there is to help. I try to incorporate everyone's skills, the Cambodian high schoolers, the church's Sunday school teacher and Charlie and Randy the visiting Texas relatives. Charlie is a believer, but Randy is not. They both speak Khmer and are great with kids. They are big and I need them on Monday with the rowdy hundred plus kids expected on Monday at Svay Pak. Pray they can and will come next week. I am not quite sure how it is all going to work. I have enough materials and we have done it once now, but I am overwhelmed and excited with the challenge of so many unschooled children. Rahab's House has fans and a toilet in the building, so I am sure God can do anything through us!

We spent a fascinating two hours at the International Justice Ministry (IJM) Headquarters for Cambodia. This is the organization that Karli's uncle founded and runs. IJM mentor and train the Cambodian police force to gather credible evidence from a sting operation to rescue underage girls from brothels to establish a case in an international court, like the ground breaking trial in L.A. last month where an American pedophile was successful convicted of his atrocities committed in Cambodia. What an amazing work!

We are joyful. We leave for the ARC-the rescued girls home. We are bringing 80 rings to give to the 80 girls and women that will be present today at "Birthday Celebration Saturday". These rings we give from the money donated to us to buy gifts for these girls-they represent the hope and healing that is available only in the love found in Jesus. We are excited to present them as gifts from YOU-real people praying for them in America. We are honored to be allowed to participate in what God is doing here. Thank you for partnering with us so together we are showing love to these lovely girls.