Good Things!

Last Sunday turned out to be a great a day! Roger shared a terrific message and I decided to participate in ways that I could see the good things God is doing at our church. I wasn't disappointed. I helped the set up crew at 7:15 AM and it was amazing to see the dedication of the team and trailer pullers. I can't say thank you enough to Jaime Derrick, Carl Dobbs, Matt Lavezzo, Joe Tilchen, Joanna Thomas, Brent Christierson, and everyone else who got there early to set up so that we could have church. I was also excited about the worship team and our time of singing. For the last three weeks we have had three different worship leaders and each has done a wonderful job. This Sunday, Andrea Hamburg did an incredible job guiding us into God's presence! Thank you!

Following first service I overcame a huge fear in my life. Each Sunday I stand up in front of adults and talk, which for me is not a big deal. But this Sunday, I decided to teach our first and second grade class. Wow! That was a big deal. I was so nervous. I kept wondering about how I was going to keep the attention of 20 first and second graders for 90 minutes? Luckily, Mischel Zamobory was there to help and she had taught in the past. We ended up having a lot of fun and my sons, Michael and Liam, insisted that I come back again the next time I am not speaking in the main service. In my opinion, our children's ministry is one of the strongest areas of our church. This weeks Kid's Camp showed that again. They had a huge turnout and a lot of fun. I also want to say thank you to all of the adults who pitched in to make Kid's Camp a success this week! Thank you! My kids look forward to our church kids camp every year and this year they were not disappointed.

After church Sunday, I drove home thinking about all of the good things that God is doing at New Song. I had lunch with Brad Franklin from Lakeside this week and he made an interesting observation. Brad described how he has seen some people throw away their marriage and get a divorce just because 10% of it is bad. They often ignore the 90% that is good and focus only on the 10% that is not. Then, many times they get remarried and their marriage is only 80% good and they realize they may have made a mistake. After Brad and I were talking I thought about how I often focus on the 10% that is not working in our church and ignore the 90% that is great! Last Sunday, I was able to focus on the 90% and see that God is doing some really good things in the lives of people at New Song. Here are few of the good things that I see happening at New Song...

• People are finding freedom from addictions.



• People who excluded are being included.



• Marriages are being saved.



• Kids are growing up with a mommy AND a daddy.



• People are finding financial freedom.



• People are living a new life in Christ.



• People are serving the poor, prisoners, children, and the homeless.



• People are serving and sharing the gospel in third world countries.



• People are changing their lives to match God's plan for them.



• People who are wrestling with guilt and shame are finding hope and forgiveness.



• People are having their eternal destiny changed - they are being saved!



• The gates of hell are getting pushed back a little more.



• And God is getting the glory for it all!

Next week, I am off to Tahoe for three days to pray and plan out the message calendar for the upcoming season. I have some great ideas that our Super Tuesday creative team helped put together. I'd also love to hear from you too. If you have concerns, theological questions, spiritual interests, and ideas for sermons that you believe your unsaved friends would be interested in please let me know. You can email me at dale@newsongchristian.org

I'll be heading to Tahoe Sunday night and I would appreciate your prayers while I am there!

Last Week in Cambodia: Siem Reap

Hi, this is John, writing for the Kraemers. We drove down to Siem Reap for Phnom Penh on Sunday. We met the two pastors of our assigned church at dinner that night. The senior pastor, who I still don’t know the name of [His name is Ban Yen – Rick], and the Junior pastor/translator, Kong. We discussed logistics for the next week.

On Monday, we met Kong and his friend at around 8:30 in the morning for a short 3-minute drive to the church. We were all happy with the hotel, which was much nicer than the one in Phnom Penh. The church building was very nice; it sat right next to a field that sent a cool breeze through the building. The kids at Siem Reap were much better behaved. They had more adult supervision than any other church we had visited, so they were all pressured to sit down quietly like it was school. We didn’t want them to feel bored with everything, so we quickly got out musical instruments bought at the dollar store and riled them with songs. We were surprised by the number of kids at the VBS. We were told to expect like a hundred, but we got 45 on the first day. At the end of the day, we watched as the church used our money for huge meals for the kids. 3-year-olds walked around with Styrofoam rice containers, spilling the rice around. Something had been translated wrong, because that was too much food for even us to have in one meal.

On Tuesday, the kids seemed more excited that we were there and looked less like they were in school. Kong said that all the kids at the church had been brought in by Tuk-Tuk, a carriage pulled by a motorcycle, and that none of the local kids were coming. Kong had thought that the VBS was for christian children, but had not known we were hoping for more of an outreach program. Therefore, we went out in the morning and got about 10 more kids to come in off the streets. We had the same problem with food on Tuesday, and my parents were frustrated with the misuse of their money, but couldn’t find a way to get across the language barrier. My mom was most affected.

On Wednesday, my dad was sick, and stayed home while we went to the VBS. More kids came than on Tuesday, and the VBS was a great success aside from the problem with the food. We played duck duck goose with the children after the VBs as we waited for our ride, and really connected with the kids. We met dad back at the hotel and rested for like an hour before heading out to Angkor Wat, a massive Buddhist temple and tourist attraction. My mom was angry that my dad couldn’t come, because we bought the tickets on Tuesday and couldn’t refund dad’s ticket. Angkor Wat was really hot, and had lots off century-old sandstone in it. The only fun part was the carvings of battles and kings and legends on the four walls of the temple. We also went to another temple and climbed around on the stairs their. It had like 2 dozen towers with huge faces on them. The climbing was fun, but also very hot. Lastly, we visited the temple where the movie Tomb Raider was filmed. That was the best one. It was not as hot as the other ones, and had jungle sounds all around. Their were 700 year-old-trees growing around the massive walls, and we took lots of pictures of us climbing in the trees.

On Thursday, dad was feeling better and went with us to the VBS. It was great, but at the end the Senior Pastor asked us for more money, when we had given him our budget for the entire week. We told him no, and were disappointed because we gave him more money than he should have needed to feed the kids. Were we tired on Thursday and rested for the rest of the day.

On Friday, I was feeling sick but went anyway to say goodbye to the kids. After the VBS, we stayed longer than any other day and took lots of pictures with the kids. They were very sad that we couldn’t stay another week.

On Saturday, we toured Angkor Wat in the morning, this time with my dad. We went to many of the same places, but hired a tour guide to tell us more about the places were had been through quickly. In the evening, we went to a dinner show with traditional Apsara dancing.

On Sunday, we visited the Vietnamese fishing village on the great lake in Cambodia. We sat in a motor boat and watched people who spent their entire lives on floating houses. At the end, we went to a fish farm and tourist shop. We watched the man feed some fish. The fish were fun to watch as the water thrashed while they fought for the food. Next, we purchased a large fish and watched as they fed it to some crocodiles. They tied it to a pole by the taile and dangled it down. When the crocodile got it, they pulled the fish back up. Once, when they were doing this, the half-eaten fish flew upward when the crocodile let go and I had fish entrails splattered all over me.

On Monday, we drove back to Phnom Pehn. We met some donors from IJM, and talked with them a little bit about our trip. We were tired from the drive and slept early. *Sigh* back to the bad hotel.

On Tuesday, we met our friend Kimsua at the National museum and toured that for the entire morning. I went with Kimsua on his motorcycle and bought some DVD’s at the mall while everyone else went back to the hotel. About an hour later Kimsua and I finished shopping and arrived at the hotel. We went to lunch with Kimsua and said goodbye to him. Then we visited Moses’s house and gave the VBS supplies to Moses. We said goodbye to the disciples and went back to the hotel.

John for the Kraemers

Vacation Update

This Sunday I am really looking forward to Roger Gibson joining us for what I am certain will be a terrific message. I am on vacation this week getting my batteries recharged. Susan and I are at home this week relaxing and doing house projects while the kids are with her parents in Cerritos. Since starting New Song my vacations have been mostly working vacations in that my load is just lighter. This week has been pretty much the same as I have only had about one work call, meeting, minor crisis, etc. each day. As a pastor I am in a sense always "on call," though I do try to set boundaries that allow me to get some rest.

Each day this week I have felt my energy level get higher and higher. In the past, because of my control issues and need to make everything work at church I haven't take enough time off. Times like this remind me though how God wants me to rest. When I do he restores my optimism, faith, and hope in the future.

Last week was a good start to our vacation. We had a great day at Legoland on Thursday and then at the Orange County Fair on Friday. I had never been to the Orange County Fair before and it was an interesting experience. We got to the fair at about 12:00 PM on Friday and drove into the parking lot under a big sign that said "Parking $10". The strange part was that there was no one there to take any money at the gate. So, we drove in along with everyone else, parked, and headed toward the main gate. There another sign said "Admission $9." This time there were attendants at the gate, but they weren't taking anyone's money. So, we walked right in there too. It turned out that we arrived just as the fair was starting for the year and for the first hour admission and parking were free. That day all the rides were also reduced to $1 each (some were normally $4-$5 each). This may sound like good timing for us, which it was, but it also meant that half of Orange Country decided to show up at the fair at the same time we did. It was waaaay crowded. I never thought I would wait in line for over an hour for a 90 second carnival ride. The kids loved it though, so the waiting was no big deal. The kids also got cotton candy and Icee's so that was fun too. Being three, Meg's never had a full size Icee all to herself before. Big mistake. She was so full of sugar that she was up until about 11 PM and my guess is that she's now fully on her way to having diabetes. The weather was nice in Newport Beach that day and so overall I'd give the day a big thumbs up.

This week I have been riding my bike, staining and stripping our stair railing, and just relaxing. Susan and I went to dinner and the movies on Monday night and saw Hancock. It was an interesting movie, though in my opinion it should have been rated R (lots of language and violence) and was an unusual super hero movie. The story was interesting, but I am not sure I'd recommend it.

This week I have also been meditating on a lot of key scriptures

including a passage from Isaiah that my friend Jim Cheatham shared with me: Isaiah 43:18-19 God has used this verse to encourage me that he is not done with our church and that he wants to use us to advance his kingdom and see people come to Christ! I realize that God has called me to be faithful to him and focus on this and not the past. Hebrews 13:17 also has reminded me that one day I will stand before God and be held accountable for how I led our church. With that in mind I need to keep digging underneath the surface and making sure my motives are right and my focus is on him!

When I was riding my bike yesterday I also got to listen to a great message from Adam Hamilton. He used the broadway story of Beauty and the Beast to talk about God's power to transform us and how sin destroys us and turns us into monsters. Travis Smith told me about Adam Hamilton and I am glad that he did. Adam Hamilton is a Untied Methodist pastor in Kansas and so his messages are very different than what I normally listen to, but I was encouraged and God used it build up my faith!

It's been good to know that God is in control and I can rest in him!

Road Trip

Today, Susan and I drove down to Cerritos to visit the grandparents. Susan and I are dropping the kids off with her parents for about a week. We left our house at 6:30 AM. It was an exciting drive as Meg threw up her chocolate milk about 30 minutes after we left Folsom. We pulled over, changed Meg's clothes, cleaned up the car and got back on the road. Only to have her throw up again before we made it to the next off ramp. The second time was way worse than the first. I guess I should have known better when she said her tummy still hurt.

Watching your kids puke is not fun, especially when you have another seven hours in the car smelling that wonderful scent. Luckily, I have a very poor sense of smell. (Susan usually makes me clean up the worst diapers because I can't smell very well). Unfortunately, Susan has a super strong sense of smell so we drove with the windows rolled down - a lot. Which was helpful considering that when we pulled over to clean up Meg we stopped by the side of the road near a field of cows. The flies from the cows decided that they liked Meg's vomit smell better than the cows and so our car was full of flies within minutes of stopping to clean up. We were shooing them out the car windows for hours. Maybe all this is too much information, but I thought those of you who are parents might be able to relate. The good news is that Meg's tummy stopped hurting after the second the round of throwing up.

Tomorrow, we are headed down to Legoland again for a fun day and then we are driving back up to Folsom on Saturday without the kids. I am going to be taking next week off and staying home to rest and work on projects. Susan and I are going to attempt to paint and stain our stair railing. Sounds simple enough, but house projects usually take me five times longer than I expect. I am really looking forward to being back in time to speak this Sunday because our series, After God's Own Heart, has been inspiring to me. This Sunday, we are talking about one of the most life changing things that I have ever experienced. We'll be looking at the story of Abraham and the time when God asked him to sacrifice his son Isaac.

A couple of weeks ago I talked about American Idols. I thought about that a lot on the drive down today. I kept thinking about how each of us is tempted to create our own personal hell that we want to avoid. It may be a fear of loneliness hell, or fear of boredom hell, or fear of insignificance hell. Advertisers usually help us create our own personal version of hell that we will do anything to avoid. They usually put in our mind an idea that unless we buy their product or experience or our life will be missing something important.

After creating our personal hell we often find our own personal savior to rescue us. The savior might be a relationship that rescues us from loneliness hell. Or the savior might be an experience like a trip or a sport to rescue us from boredom hell. Or the savior might be success at work or owning something important to rescue us from insignificance hell. These are just examples. Each of us is tempted to fear our own hell and seek out our own savior to rescue us.

The Bible says that this process of creating our own version of hell and seeking a savior to rescue us is called idolatry. Idolatry happens when we look to anyone or anything other than God to bring us ultimate security, significance, or joy. I have seen a lot of Christians get caught up in worshipping their job, a sport, a relationship, their house, their kids, etc. Whatever they think will help them escape their personal version of hell. We often don't think that we are committing a sin by doing this, but this process is actually idol worship and violating one of the ten commandments.

"You shall have no other gods before me. "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments." Exodus 20:3-6

So I guess the question is, "Do you have your own version of hell that you are trying to avoid? What are you afraid of?" And if so, "Who or what are you looking at to rescue you and be your savior?" Those are some of the questions I have been asking myself today.

The good news is that God loves to meet our needs and help us escape the idolatry of our own personal hell. The apostle Paul put it this way, "And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19 The bad news about idols is that they always disappoint us. The good news is that Jesus never does!

Cambodia Update July 8th

Hi, it’s Becky again. Here are some highlights from last week:

We had over 70 children and adults in a house the size of my bedroom, built on poles over a putrid pond. The people begged us not to leave and come back and teach them more about the bible. It was extremely humbling realizing how many opportunities and resources we have to study and learn about anything we want, whereas they have hardly any.

We spent several of our afternoons and evenings at Dr. Moses Seth’s house helping him with his new web site. Our original goal was to correct any grammar errors in the English translation, but we spent quite a bit of time re-working the navigation and re-naming the titles on the links. Rick was frustrated that we didn’t have time to do a complete re-design from scratch, but Moses was eager to launch the site before his web designer expired and moved to a different project. The original AIM site, www.aim4asia.org, is centered on their work with child sex trafficking, while Moses’ new site (www.aim4asia.net), which may not be posted yet, is more comprehensive, and includes their church planting and media publication efforts.

We also had the opportunity to be a part of two more rice distributions with the team from Bayside Church of Rockland, CA. One area was where we had our wild V.B.S at Sway Pak. The kids at Sway Pak and the girls and counselors who came from the ARC were so excited to see us. They keep hanging from us, shouting “Hello”, high five-ing us and singing the songs we had taught them. The Bayside team got excited and later asked us how to relate to the Cambodian people better, so we got to inflict on them all of our expertise from three weeks in the country..

The power of candy and a soccer ball! If you need to stop a toddler from screaming so you can tell a story, pop a candy in their mouth. If you want to acknowledge a grandparent or parent and their child, give everyone a piece of candy. If you want to show love to an entire village with no words—smile and pass out candy and coloring pages using a puppet or two. Start a game of soccer, and a fifty people will immediately get involved. Acknowledge each person in their own language: acceptance and love can be expressed without too many words. Of course, it is sweaty and dirty, and you will watch all your crayons walk away. You’ll want to say and give so much more, but it is impossible. And, you are extremely grateful to get back into your air conditioned truck and drive back to a clean hotel, shower and have a meal. While they are left with a bag of rice that will save them from starvation, a candy wrapper, and possibly some hope that they are loved and not forgotten by God.

On Saturday, we finally went to see the Killing Fields Museum, and visited our translator’s home to see his wife and new baby boy. The killing fields were actually very small, at probably less than 20 acres, but could contain all 22,000 victims of the Tuol Sleng (S-21) torture prison in its mass graves. Moses’ father-in-law was one of these victims, so we purchased a flower, and laid it in front of the memorial. The central memorial contains skulls from the excavated mass graves, and is stacked about 8 feet square and 4 stories high with skulls. It was a very sobering experience; when you walk through the paths between the grave sites, you have to be careful not to step on bones and clothing that have been pushed up by the rains.

On the other side of the emotional spectrum, we were able to visit our translator, Kimsua, and his wife and new baby boy in their home. We always find that you learn the most about a culture by visiting their home, so we purchased the traditional gift of fruit, as well as a baby gift, and visited them in their little concrete and brick house. They live simply, but happily, in a 2-story house of about 500 square feet tucked back in a maze of muddy trails through other homes. We got to tickle their new son Isaac, and they fed us a sort of jelly made from mangoes and sticky rice wrapped in leaves.

We are on our last week of V.B.S. The logistics and adjustment to Siem Reap, a city six hours of bumpy driving north, the new hotel, and the new interpreter have been exhausting. We have had over 60 kids and helpers in a much better organized and, by Cambodian standards, wealthier church. We have also had some conflicts to overcome.

The five churches involved this week have priorities and expectations much different from ours: we want to include as many kids as possible including the neighborhood children, they do not; we don’t care if all the children sit in chairs or care if they are extremely quiet and obedient; or if the sound system works and the lunch is huge and gourmet—we enjoy controlled chaos! We want them standing, singing, moving and laughing loudly. We want active listening, but crafts put together while they sprawl all over the floor. The Cambodians don’t quite know how to let us do the program. They want us to pay for everything and then keep it very controlled and tomb-like. Conflict resolution is hard enough when we all speak the same language. It is extremely difficult and even more frustrating when our interpreter is young and not precise.

Slowly, the leaders are relaxing a bit as they have watched us teach a whole day. Now, they lead songs in Khmer and then we teach them some in English. Sometimes it has gotten a bit out of hand with no clear leader when our interpreter decides to play the drums instead of help interpret the songs. However, I always like to include their leaders and let the older kids participate upfront as much as possible. It is confusing not speaking their language and trying to lead a large group, but it is worth the confusion so more can be involved.

We felt like we’d barely made an impact at Rahab’s house, yet when they opened the church the following Sunday, people from the neighborhood flooded in. Despite our frustrations with the leadership at this week’s church, we’re sure the children are absorbing a lot, and the leaders are learning how to host a Vacation Bible School. We’re looking forward to finding out what other ways God will use our efforts this week; just keep us in prayer as we struggle through our conflict resolution with the added language and cultural barriers..

Becky

Special Need - Walter & Nellie Bergmann

There is a sign on the freeway near the San Diego / Tijuana border that depicts a family running across the freeway. It’s a reminder to drivers to be careful, illegal aliens may run out in front of your speeding car. Instead of getting mad and frustrated about those who are ignoring the immigration laws, we’ve decided that to use our energy, enthusiasm and money to reward those who are doing it right. We want to encourage you to think, pray, and give to this cause. For the Bible says, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.” Proverbs 14:34

Here’s the story.

Over a decade ago, in 1994, a German couple who had grown up in communist controlled Kazakhstan visited the United States to study to English in Fresno, California. Walter and Nellie Bergmann dreamed that one day they might move to the United States from Germany and give their children the taste of freedom uniquely offered here. After considerable expense, prayer, and development of a business plan, they arrived in Folsom with legal business status in October 2006.

With the downturn of the economy, Walter’s travel business (www.skybridgetours.com) grew slowly. Yet, hundreds were able to take Roots of Faith tours in Germany, visit the 7 churches in Turkey, and walk in the footsteps of Jesus in Israel. Walter’s business is also a ministry to Christians who want to grow in their faith. Meanwhile, Nelli began sharing her cake recipes with friends and family. Her childhood dream of making cakes as a business became a reality this year as “Nelli’s Dream Cakes” officially launched (www.nellisdreamcakes.com). By the way, she attended all the county safety courses and received all the proper certifications. Once again Walter and Nellie are demonstrating a desire “to do it the right way.” Meanwhile, Walter began to think about supplementing their income with a second job. He has now become a wholesale auto dealer certified by the Department of Motor Vehicles exporting automobiles to the Ukraine, Germany and Russia.

Look again at the photo of the sign on the freeway. How many of us know that it’s incredibly expensive to play by the rules and abide by laws? I sure do. That has been the Bergmann’s commitment and that has made them people of integrity.

So let’s fast forward. The Bergmann’s have become an integral and special part of our church family and community. Simon and Stefanie are graduates of Folsom High. Laurin starts high school this year. The family serves in a variety of ministries within our church, they volunteer for every community service opportunity – feeding the homeless, campus clean up days, etc. They volunteer in leading our worship and singing ministry. They serve by leading music for those recovering from addiction issues at Celebrate Recovery.

Now a critical financial problem has arisen. The family is facing a need to raise about $7,300 for fees that would allow them to stay in the United States legally. These fees would allow them to extend their L1 visa and apply for a green card. This is an especially critical time for them as Stefanie is nearing the age when she would be forced to return to Germany unless she gets a green card. A green card would allow Stefanie to legally work and stay in the United States.

We believe God wants to bless them with the money as a sign that He cares that they have obeyed all the laws of the land. Would you please pray about helping Walter and Nellie?
We have decided our answer is ‘yes’!

Soliciting funds was not Walter and Nellie’s idea. As a church family, our heart goes out to the Bergmann’s and we want to do everything that we can to help meet their need. We are trying to raise funds for them without any obligation because there is a risk that their visa application may be denied. In addition, the Bergmann’s business initiatives may take them out of the Folsom area to other parts of the United States. We hope to give whatever we can to the Bergmann’s as a gift with no strings attached.

So here is what we are asking. Between now and July 31st, could you help Walter and Nellie “do it the right way” by giving money to a special fund for the Bergmann’s? You can make the check out to New Song Christian Church – in the memo line write: Do it Right: Bergmanns. You can mail your check to New Song Christian Church, 13389 Folsom Blvd. #300-302, Folsom, CA 95630.

You can also give online through paypal. Simply go to www.paypal.com and give to the account: bergmansfund@conceptportal.com. For more information about how to give online please e-mail Troy Fulton at troy@conceptportal.com.

Thank you for considering how you might help. Please spread the word to family and friends. Isn’t it wonderful to be part of a miracle? Remember when Jesus looked to his disciples and asked them to feed the 5,000? What do you have? A few loaves and some fish. Ask my kids and they will tell you. “Little is much, when God is in it!”

God Bless you,

The New Song Church Family

”Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.” 2 Corinthians 9:13

Back From Thailand

Hello, it’s Rick again from Cambodia! We had a great trip to Thailand last week, which was a great break, and got us energized for the final two weeks. It was a typical family beach vacation, with a few monkeys and elephants thrown in, so you’ll have to ask for a review of our pictures once we return.

This week we had planned to teach in Kompang Speu, which is a rural village, so we were looking forward to seeing how most of the country actually lives. However, a new opportunity came up in Loredt, so yesterday we began teaching there.

When we were teaching in the former brothel (Rahab’s House) at Svey Pak, we didn’t have any local adults helping out, and the kids had not been to any form of school, so attention spans and discipline were serious problems. That is to say, the kids were a little like wild animals. After that experience, we weren’t entirely excited about returning to Cambodia to teach again, because it had been so frustrating, and we weren’t sure whether the kids had actually absorbed anything. However, last Sunday was the first week to hold church in Rahab’s House, and they had 50 adults and 30 children attend the first day. Since everyone walks to church in these poorer areas, most churches have a regular attendance of 40-50 people. So we’d like to think that our week of teaching contributed to community good will, and encouraged this large crowd. Remember that the locals used to call this building the Death House, and wouldn’t allow their children near it.

So, after our very difficult time at Rahab’s House, we were encouraged by our experience yesterday at Loredt. If the rental agreement goes through this week, a new church will be planted in Loredt this Sunday, so we’re going in again to build good will in the community before the opening of the church. What’s different this time is that a couple volunteered the front room to their house, so there were 6 local adults available to supervise and direct the children. Except for the language barrier (and many of these kids have had an introduction to English), it was almost like teaching in America. The children were wonderfully behaved and attentive, and were quick to memorize verses and songs with us.

In Loredt, people grow plants in flooded fields, so the house we’re using is built on stilts over a pond. The room we’re in is about 20 feet long and 15 feet deep, and if you look through the cracks in the boards, you can see the water. We had 38 children by snack time, and we added a few more after playing games in a nearby water buffalo pasture (certified by locals as landmine free, and the water buffalo just ignored us). So just imagine what it would be like to have forty children packed into your living room for the morning, and you get a sense for how crowded it was. When we started singing and jumping around, the house started to sway quite a bit. The owners got nervous, and asked us not to jump around quite so much. We didn’t want to destroy our host’s home, so tomorrow we’ll sing songs with more sedate motions.

We’ve all passed around a brief but intense cold this trip (I had it for a couple of days in Thailand), and now its John’s turn, so I’m staying with him for a day while he recovers. Here’s our itinerary for the rest of the trip, which you can use to post on your refrigerator and track us:

June 29 – July 4 Teach at Loredt on the edge of Phnom Penh
July 5 Sight seeing at the Killing Fields
July 6 Travel to Siem Reap by bus
July 7 – 11 Teach in Siem Reap
July 12 – 13 Sight Seeing (Ankor Wat)
July 15 Return to Phnom Penh by bus
July 16 Fly to San Fransisco

Rick for the Kraemers