Today is Sunday, not that you’d know it, because we were up early as per usual! Due to a minor oversight we had run out of breakfast! So, once we were happy it wasn’t a plan to make us fast on Sunday, we were in the van winging our way to a little island to do some outreach at another children’s club, (and a lovely local fresh breakfast was picked up en route).
To get to the island we took a local ferry, it was lovely to be crossing the wide murky brown river, with the wind in our faces. Once across, we got back in the van and headed up the dust track to the where a bunch of about 70 kids from babies to young adults were sat on mats beneath the shelter of a nice concrete building waiting for us. Before long they were laughing at us, (and a few volunteer kids), in our sheep masks that we had made on a previous evening out of a couple of cornflakes boxes, PVA glue and some toilet paper. The consistently favourite bit of Anna (W)’s drama, seems to be when Luke (as the shepherd) slings Dave (as the stray sheep) over his shoulder and prances around with him! The other highlight of the morning was the joy of the children as they imitated the ape impressions from the song “Who’s the King of the Jungle?”, the “oooh oooh”-ing seemed to extend far into the next verse!! The smiles across their little faces as they jumped up and down with glee were just so exhilarating, that at their request we repeated and repeated and repeated the song. Next it was out the back into the field in the boiling heat, for a massive Hokey-Cokey, lead by Luke, who did a sterling job of broadcasting his voice over such a large crowd.
I retired to sit in the shade and smile at the kids, whilst an energetic football game started up. After a while the kids cottoned on to the phenomenon of the digital camera, and were grouping themselves happily for all sorts of photos, bright orange cones were placed on heads and poses were adopted, - great fun was had by all.
I enquired of the project leader whether any of the children were orphans, to which she answered by pointing to a girl, who looked no older than 14, who was carrying a baby in her arms, clothed in rags. I am not entirely certain, but I think that if I understood correctly, the parents had died, perhaps of HIV, leaving this girl to look after the family of 7 (?). She also said that two of the children had died a few months back of disease, (I am not sure whether there are now 5 or whether 7 is the current number). I wondered how they managed; I think the village lends a lot of support to the children in this sort of situation. It really brings home the importance of community.
After a bumpy ride home, we decided to spend the rest of the day in the market, internet café, swimming pool and round it off by a hearty supper in an English restaurant. My surprise treat for the day was having the hotel receptionist come and ask me how he could improve his “English pronounce”, after recommending the BBC radio, and other such ideas, he came and offered me a reading from the paper, so we sat for a good hour, whilst I scrutinised his pronunciation, and poured over every word, for those who know me, you know I wasn’t letting him away with any sloppy endings!!! The poor fellow was a bit embarrassed by the repeated “th’s” and “v’s” and the awkward shapes I was instructing him to make his mouth!! :o). (I must admit that I misread some of the words myself, but thankfully I wasn’t the one reading it aloud! and it was at an angle!!, so he took my email, but I doubt whether I will hear from him!!)
Oh, and there are certain team members that are adamant that I mention the outstandingly brilliant win at water volleyball, (by Sarah, Sarah, Geoff and myself), making the overall score 1 all now!
Well we have all got home now, full to bursting with good old fashioned English cooking. The rain is pelting down, which is a very refreshing change. Dave has just lead a little sing song around the dinner table, and now everyone is just waiting for me to round this off so that I can do the nightly broadcast of our Blog to the rest of the team. So I shall say goodnight to you all and wish you a happy Sunday. Tomorrow is bricklaying round the playground, (weather permitting), so pray for a good nights rest. God Bless you for your thoughts and prayers, and keep writing to us, blog mail is eagerly received.
Anna Sutton xxx
Sunday, 15 July 2007
Saturday, 14 July 2007
Saturday 14th July
Today started as usual with breakfast and devotions. Then we all put our shoes on ready to go out, which is normally quite uneventful. However, this morning as I put my right foot into my trainer it was obstructed by something – as I looked inside I discovered the frog that had inhabited it. I was just grateful that I hadn’t forced my foot inside and ended up with mushed up frog on my sock!
This was our second day building the playground, which included painting the playground apparatus in bright colours, putting it in the correct holes, and mixing concrete, concrete and more concrete! (for the trench surrounding the playground). After having prayed for the weather we had the perfect day – cloudy with a slight breeze – ideal for the heavy work which we were doing. It was a great day and the playground work felt like a real community effort as the village Pastor and others joined in eagerly with the work, as well as the little children who enjoy helping us. It was a real encouragement to see the playground apparatus firmly in place at the end of the day with children climbing all over it – and their smiles and waves as we left in the van topped it off.
Having been out away from the house for over 12 hours we were relieved to return and were starving! We were greeted with a delicious meal with a dessert of chocolate brownies and cookies!!!!!! Having claimed my brilliance at arm wrestling Geoff challenged me to an arm wrestle – which I am ashamed to admit I lost. At this moment we are all relaxing, chatting, and some of the team are practising music. Off to bed soon for a good sleep before our island outreach tomorrow morning! Thanks for reading the blog and for all your support – it is much appreciated by all the team.
Anna Warlow
This was our second day building the playground, which included painting the playground apparatus in bright colours, putting it in the correct holes, and mixing concrete, concrete and more concrete! (for the trench surrounding the playground). After having prayed for the weather we had the perfect day – cloudy with a slight breeze – ideal for the heavy work which we were doing. It was a great day and the playground work felt like a real community effort as the village Pastor and others joined in eagerly with the work, as well as the little children who enjoy helping us. It was a real encouragement to see the playground apparatus firmly in place at the end of the day with children climbing all over it – and their smiles and waves as we left in the van topped it off.
Having been out away from the house for over 12 hours we were relieved to return and were starving! We were greeted with a delicious meal with a dessert of chocolate brownies and cookies!!!!!! Having claimed my brilliance at arm wrestling Geoff challenged me to an arm wrestle – which I am ashamed to admit I lost. At this moment we are all relaxing, chatting, and some of the team are practising music. Off to bed soon for a good sleep before our island outreach tomorrow morning! Thanks for reading the blog and for all your support – it is much appreciated by all the team.
Anna Warlow
Friday, 13 July 2007
Friday 13th July
At 4.50am the alarm went off, even earlier than yesterday, the mornings are getting earlier and earlier. Today was spent building the playground we started yesterday. Group decision was to start early to avoid the heat. Our task for the day was to finish the trenches, dig some holes and level off the ground. We all got to work and soon the sweat started pouring. We had some kids joining us today, helping out and giving us high 5’s - they were great and very cute! One little boy was loads of help clearing what we were digging and moving our soil about. Its so great to see a little 12 year old boy so willing to help out.
So our holes were dug (one by me all alone!)
Our trenches were dug and evened out (straight lines are very hard to keep to) and the whole area was levelled out and grass removed.
While having our lunch of yummy rice we decided that our little helper should have some too. The little boy looked so pleased; he ate some and then put the rest away to take home for his family.
The playground was starting to look good and I think we all enjoyed digging and getting dirty. Luke claimed the best way do dig a hole was like killing a deer: you kill it and then you gut it (with your hands) best to say we got pretty dirty!
We then left the playground at about one. We decided to head off to the swimming pool to clean off and relax.
We had lots of fun playing with the beach ball and Anna W, Luke, Dave and I destroyed Geoff and the Sarahs at game of Volleyball.
As I write this Sarah J has just won the feather Olympics, by racing through an obstacle course with a feather on a plate in her mouth, with the fans on. A Very impressive technique.
We’re all pretty tired tonight but I think we all had a great day and are ready for tomorrows cement mixing and painting.
Thanks for your prayers, hope you are enjoying reading about our adventure as much as we are enjoying it.
Suzanne Cooke
So our holes were dug (one by me all alone!)
Our trenches were dug and evened out (straight lines are very hard to keep to) and the whole area was levelled out and grass removed.
While having our lunch of yummy rice we decided that our little helper should have some too. The little boy looked so pleased; he ate some and then put the rest away to take home for his family.
The playground was starting to look good and I think we all enjoyed digging and getting dirty. Luke claimed the best way do dig a hole was like killing a deer: you kill it and then you gut it (with your hands) best to say we got pretty dirty!
We then left the playground at about one. We decided to head off to the swimming pool to clean off and relax.
We had lots of fun playing with the beach ball and Anna W, Luke, Dave and I destroyed Geoff and the Sarahs at game of Volleyball.
As I write this Sarah J has just won the feather Olympics, by racing through an obstacle course with a feather on a plate in her mouth, with the fans on. A Very impressive technique.
We’re all pretty tired tonight but I think we all had a great day and are ready for tomorrows cement mixing and painting.
Thanks for your prayers, hope you are enjoying reading about our adventure as much as we are enjoying it.
Suzanne Cooke
Thursday, 12 July 2007
Thursday 12th July
Today was another early start for the youth team. Getting out of bed at around 5.30 in the morning, I had a chance to spend some time on my own in the comparative cool before the others were up and the inside temperature rose to a turgid 28 degrees.
There was a reason for being up so early. We were heading out to one of the outlying villages around Phnom Penh to run a programme for an unspecified number of kids of unspecified age. Our driver that morning was a friendly American guy called Paul who worked for a local Christian radio station. With his New Jersey drawl and cheerful attitude he soon had me forgetting about the dodgy stomach that was making the morning somewhat uncomfortable. Or maybe it was the packet of Mentos he insisted on filling me up with as being the best possible cure.
As we drove out of the city I had my first glimpse of rural Cambodia. Large fields of rice stretch out on either side of the road (still populated by the maniacal horn-wielding local drivers) occasionally broken by the ever present sugar palms. Sometimes our view is obscured by run-down shacks and stores where the Cambodians live their lives. This is a stunningly beautiful country, but I wonder if the people appreciate in the middle of trying to eek out a living. After about an hour of this, we arrived at the village.
After not really knowing what to expect, hearing the excited shouting of the 120 children waiting outside their concrete and corrugated iron meeting hall was reassuring. They were clearly happy to see us and eager to get on with some games. We dived right in, singing songs, doing a drama about the lost sheep and having a short talk by Anna. After that it was outside for some games in the now sweltering sunshine. I managed the Hokey-Cokey but was absolutely trounced by a small Cambodian girl at “cat and mouse”, where I had to chase her in and out of a circle and try to catch her. In my defence I have only these reasons– 1. The aforementioned heat,
2. It’s against SAO policy to damage any of the kids regardless of how much they show you up,
3. The sweat got in my eyes
4. The 119 other kids who were all ganging up against me, and
5. Yeah, the heat again.
You can imagine my embarrassment when half way through our epic battle I caught the wrong kid and bowed my respect at her valiant efforts, much to her bewilderment and the amusement of the rest of the village. Humble pie, served at 36 C! We then gave out some gifts we had brought with us – immensely touching as these kids, who have pretty much nothing, all lined up patiently and received their gift with either a “thank you” or the khmer “okun” – always accompanied by a bow of respect and gratitude.
After a quick lunch of curry and rice we headed for the main construction project for this trip – a playground is going to be built, again in an outlying village. It’s only for small kids, but levelling 48 square meters of bumpy overgrown ground is no small task using traditional hoes. We dug a trench today to mark out the foundations for a surrounding wall, again thoroughly watering the ground with sweat, which seems to come out as fast as you can pour water in! I’m sure there will be more updates on our progress in days to come.
We drove straight from here to a youth church called “Young Life” back in Phnom Penh. Friendly greetings all round as 6 smelly, dirty, bedraggled looking foreigners turned up to teach English and join with them in evening worship. Education, particularly in English, is greatly valued here and I wish my classes were as eager to learn! The English classes are run both to help the locals and as an outreach, with the hope that many would stay on to the following service. We stayed and I was delighted to join in worship with our Cambodian brothers and sisters. One of my questions I hoped would be answered in this trip has been dealt with - it doesn’t matter where you are in the world, God is present, powerful and loving. Truly he has got the whole world in his hands, from the windswept island of Shetland where my home is, to the tropical heat of Cambodia he is real. Thanks for your prayers, they mean a lot to us all!
David Thomson
There was a reason for being up so early. We were heading out to one of the outlying villages around Phnom Penh to run a programme for an unspecified number of kids of unspecified age. Our driver that morning was a friendly American guy called Paul who worked for a local Christian radio station. With his New Jersey drawl and cheerful attitude he soon had me forgetting about the dodgy stomach that was making the morning somewhat uncomfortable. Or maybe it was the packet of Mentos he insisted on filling me up with as being the best possible cure.
As we drove out of the city I had my first glimpse of rural Cambodia. Large fields of rice stretch out on either side of the road (still populated by the maniacal horn-wielding local drivers) occasionally broken by the ever present sugar palms. Sometimes our view is obscured by run-down shacks and stores where the Cambodians live their lives. This is a stunningly beautiful country, but I wonder if the people appreciate in the middle of trying to eek out a living. After about an hour of this, we arrived at the village.
After not really knowing what to expect, hearing the excited shouting of the 120 children waiting outside their concrete and corrugated iron meeting hall was reassuring. They were clearly happy to see us and eager to get on with some games. We dived right in, singing songs, doing a drama about the lost sheep and having a short talk by Anna. After that it was outside for some games in the now sweltering sunshine. I managed the Hokey-Cokey but was absolutely trounced by a small Cambodian girl at “cat and mouse”, where I had to chase her in and out of a circle and try to catch her. In my defence I have only these reasons– 1. The aforementioned heat,
2. It’s against SAO policy to damage any of the kids regardless of how much they show you up,
3. The sweat got in my eyes
4. The 119 other kids who were all ganging up against me, and
5. Yeah, the heat again.
You can imagine my embarrassment when half way through our epic battle I caught the wrong kid and bowed my respect at her valiant efforts, much to her bewilderment and the amusement of the rest of the village. Humble pie, served at 36 C! We then gave out some gifts we had brought with us – immensely touching as these kids, who have pretty much nothing, all lined up patiently and received their gift with either a “thank you” or the khmer “okun” – always accompanied by a bow of respect and gratitude.
After a quick lunch of curry and rice we headed for the main construction project for this trip – a playground is going to be built, again in an outlying village. It’s only for small kids, but levelling 48 square meters of bumpy overgrown ground is no small task using traditional hoes. We dug a trench today to mark out the foundations for a surrounding wall, again thoroughly watering the ground with sweat, which seems to come out as fast as you can pour water in! I’m sure there will be more updates on our progress in days to come.
We drove straight from here to a youth church called “Young Life” back in Phnom Penh. Friendly greetings all round as 6 smelly, dirty, bedraggled looking foreigners turned up to teach English and join with them in evening worship. Education, particularly in English, is greatly valued here and I wish my classes were as eager to learn! The English classes are run both to help the locals and as an outreach, with the hope that many would stay on to the following service. We stayed and I was delighted to join in worship with our Cambodian brothers and sisters. One of my questions I hoped would be answered in this trip has been dealt with - it doesn’t matter where you are in the world, God is present, powerful and loving. Truly he has got the whole world in his hands, from the windswept island of Shetland where my home is, to the tropical heat of Cambodia he is real. Thanks for your prayers, they mean a lot to us all!
David Thomson
Wednesday, 11 July 2007
Wednesday, 11th July
The 32 C heat that greeted us into Cambodia managed to put a grimace on everyone’s faces. Humidity plus sixteen hours on various planes will knock the steam out of even the most positive of groups. My frown deepened when I spotted our transportation; a pick-up truck with 2 benches in the boot. But sitting alongside your luggage will put things into perspective. For one, the roads are mad. If there is one thing more dangerous than sitting on luggage without a seatbelt it is a helmetless moped seating 3, one of which will be a child small enough to have sneaked through customs in any one of our bags. In addition to this dual carriage ways are marked with one single line down the middle. I am unable read any of the road signs but I am under the assumption that they all read ‘just go for it’!
Every Khmer man and woman we have met so far has treated us with utmost respect. It is easy to see why expats find it hard to leave. We went to visit Sarah, a worker for International Co-operation Cambodia has been resident in Phnom Penh for the last seven years. Her highly energetic half-Khmer daughter is a testament to the positive experience of she has had in this country. Through very tired eyes we gained an appreciation of the work the ICC has carried out and the potential positive influence this trip could have do in our lives.
While some group members thought the dog that awoke at 3am to bark was going to jump through their windows and eat them alive, I was more annoyed to be inconvenienced. It turns out it awoke to bark at the cat, who ate a rat! The backdrop combination of cockerels, frogs and crickets completed a symphony I would not wish on for at any hour. I started to miss Britain for all of about 30 seconds.
Our morning prayers were dominated by the news a village chief is holding a meeting to decide whether our playground build will go ahead. Apparently a playground is not enough; he also wanted a fence to surround his office! So while he decided whether our trip around the world was in vein we went onwards with the touristy stuff. So with large sunglasses and digital cameras as standard we headed to Toul Sleng prison, the former high school turned concentration camp for the Khmer Rouge years. All 6 group members were brought to silence by the evidence of the evil that had gone all those years before. Mug shots of children as young as 2 made a special impact on me as I struggled to come to grips with how someone could carry out such atrocious acts.
The peak of the day’s heat was taken up by a trip to another of the attractions Phnom Penh has to offer: The Killing Fields. As the sheer scale of massacre was highlighted with a tower of skulls the size of the average British church, the current economic crisis was highlighted by the child beggars following the large sweaty white man.
Following our trip to the market where I purchased 2 lightweight ‘designer’ t-shirts for $2 each to handle the heat, we passed a crash that was fitting of the days earlier theme. With one moped driver stuck under a lorry and another scalped it was easy to decide what the evening’s prayer request would be. In a country without ambulances their prospects are grim. I’m sure they would appreciate any prayers you can add to ours.
Despite this sadness the group is invigorated; they are making sheep masks for tomorrow morning’s outreach service as I type. I am happy to report that the morning’s prayers were answered and the playground will go ahead starting tomorrow! All we need now is a week long (very very) cool spell and we will have a beautiful playground and a very proud youth team.
Luke Stroman
Every Khmer man and woman we have met so far has treated us with utmost respect. It is easy to see why expats find it hard to leave. We went to visit Sarah, a worker for International Co-operation Cambodia has been resident in Phnom Penh for the last seven years. Her highly energetic half-Khmer daughter is a testament to the positive experience of she has had in this country. Through very tired eyes we gained an appreciation of the work the ICC has carried out and the potential positive influence this trip could have do in our lives.
While some group members thought the dog that awoke at 3am to bark was going to jump through their windows and eat them alive, I was more annoyed to be inconvenienced. It turns out it awoke to bark at the cat, who ate a rat! The backdrop combination of cockerels, frogs and crickets completed a symphony I would not wish on for at any hour. I started to miss Britain for all of about 30 seconds.
Our morning prayers were dominated by the news a village chief is holding a meeting to decide whether our playground build will go ahead. Apparently a playground is not enough; he also wanted a fence to surround his office! So while he decided whether our trip around the world was in vein we went onwards with the touristy stuff. So with large sunglasses and digital cameras as standard we headed to Toul Sleng prison, the former high school turned concentration camp for the Khmer Rouge years. All 6 group members were brought to silence by the evidence of the evil that had gone all those years before. Mug shots of children as young as 2 made a special impact on me as I struggled to come to grips with how someone could carry out such atrocious acts.
The peak of the day’s heat was taken up by a trip to another of the attractions Phnom Penh has to offer: The Killing Fields. As the sheer scale of massacre was highlighted with a tower of skulls the size of the average British church, the current economic crisis was highlighted by the child beggars following the large sweaty white man.
Following our trip to the market where I purchased 2 lightweight ‘designer’ t-shirts for $2 each to handle the heat, we passed a crash that was fitting of the days earlier theme. With one moped driver stuck under a lorry and another scalped it was easy to decide what the evening’s prayer request would be. In a country without ambulances their prospects are grim. I’m sure they would appreciate any prayers you can add to ours.
Despite this sadness the group is invigorated; they are making sheep masks for tomorrow morning’s outreach service as I type. I am happy to report that the morning’s prayers were answered and the playground will go ahead starting tomorrow! All we need now is a week long (very very) cool spell and we will have a beautiful playground and a very proud youth team.
Luke Stroman
Monday, 25 June 2007
We're Leaving on a jet plane..
So not long to go now before the youth team sets off on their grand adventure... Watch this space!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
