Last day in Cambodia

Today was my last day in Cambodia. The day started with packing up, grabbing breakfast and heading to the safe house for our last staff devotion. It was an encouragement to be there and know the staff and know how great the girls have it with an amazing staff! After saying goodbye we headed for a 5 hour and 45 minutes bumpy bus ride. We made a stop where kids had these large spiders and sold pineapple. It was interesting. The bathrooms were literally a squat-potty. Katie feel in the yucky water... got cut up a little bit so we had to clean her up on the bus.

Once we got to our last hotel, so hit the russian market one more time. There we were able to find good buys! We went to dinner at the place we 1st ate at when we got to Cambodia. It was a fun cultural experience. After that we went to the mall and my eyes were opened to the wealthy people in Cambodia there. It was a 5 story mall full of things. Then I was shown a Casino and took a tooktook (taxi) around the city. We were able to see some of the major streets were girls are trafficked. Most of the brothels were in obvious locations and it was hard to see.

When we came in for the night I talked with our translator. She used to go talk with the girls who were trafficked. She said sometimes husband sell their wives just to get more money. I cannot imagine being married and my husband letting me sleep with another man just for money. The culture is so different here, people live around money.

Tomorrow am we fly to Bangkok and have a 9 hour layover. Pray for safety in our travels.

Temple Ruins

We woke up at 4:30am to see the sunrise. We made it there just in time to see some of the sunrise. It was absolutely gorgeous! I have never seen anything like it. The detail in the temple designs of the stones was breathe taking. I found myself taking photo after photo. There were also so many large trees with their roots in the temples.

After two hours there we went back to the hotel for breakfast. Breakfast was the fuel for the day! It was amazing when we went back to the temples, the food helped me in the heat. I also drank 2 bottles of water! It was so toasty outside! The markets by the temples were an experience. The children were funny and men had a little stand attached to their bikes.

After the temples we had a fun lunch and then got a massage... 1/2 hour feet and 1 hour back for $10 with tip... crazy cheap! Then we hit the day market. It wasn't too busy, but a fun time with Kelly, Seth and Katie!

After the fun, eventful day we went to the safe house for our last night devotions with the girls. It was a sad time. It rained right when we got there, so we did devos inside. We were able to do the games outside though because it cleared up! During the games I sat out with one of the girls. She and I talked about prayers. I was able to pray over her and her prayer requests. It was so amazing!

We went to dinner at a missionary's house and had a fun time eating pizza. It was cool to know about her ministry and pray over her! Then we went to the night market. I absolutely LOVE the environment of the night market! Everyone is so chill and the weather is cooler so it is a blessing to be outside. I love it!

Now it is bed time for me! Only 1 full day left in Cambodia!

Adventure Filled Day

At 11:30pm last night I woke up and threw up. My stomach had been hurting all day. I woke up at 6:15am and talked with my boyfriend, then felt super weak again. I laid down to rest. When the team came back to the hotel we went to a silk farm. It was very interesting to be there and see how many women were given jobs because of the silk farm... the younger girls were saved from trafficking. After that we went to lunch at a Christian restaurant called Common Grounds. It was so neat to be there and know that is was Christian based in the middle of Cambodia and we were supporting it! After this we went on a boat tour. There we saw the way that many people live. They have built homes on the river. Many of them send their children out in the day to sell drinks to the people on the tourism boats. At one of the "boat markets" I fed a croc a fish. It was an interesting experience... I got it on video! We had multiple of these children come on our boat. We also had a young boy with a snake come on our boat. They all say "One Dollar". Our tourism spending is their income. It was a shock to take a step back and evaluate this. These people live on about a dollar a day, sometimes more.

After the boat ride we went to the safe house and enjoyed time with the girls. Singing, dancing, doing a devotions on a beauty. It was incredible. Playing the games with the girls was so much fun. I pray that through the time we have spent with multiple girls, we learn from them, pray for them and grow... as well as be salt and light to them and the staff that works with them.

We ate dinner at a mexican restaurant tonight. It was a fun time with the team and interesting to be out on the town after dark. We came back to the hotel for a meeting. Now it is time to rest and get up at 4:30am to see the sunrise and look at the temples.

Prayer Request:

1. the team's health... 2 are sick and I am still not 100%.

2. tomorrow is our last day for devotions at the safe house. pray that we can impact, encourage and share God's love.

3. For our team to be well rested.

4. For our team to be unified and pull together.

July 6th

Today started well with a final devotion with the staff at the safe house. Saying goodbyes to a few of the girls that we out of their rooms was rough. Some of them were crying and it made me cry as well and be sad to leave. One of the girls I was able to talk with when she started crying. I think there was a deeper reason for her tears, but she would not share. Once we left we went to breakfast at Sunrise Cafe. There I enjoyed my food way too much! I ate so much. Then we went on the bus a Siem Reap. The bus ride was not to bad, I fell asleep for a 3rd of it. When we got to our hotel it was interesting because we had to take our shoes off at the lobby and walk to our rooms barefoot. They put our shoes on a rack for us when we left. We got settled in and had an hour of free time. I hit the bed and passed out. After we woke up we went to grab some food. I was not hungry and my stomach began to be sick. I ate a piece of garlic bread. When we were eating we were warned that the tourism trafficking is very in your face here. It was hard to see it happening and not be able to do anything about it.

After eating, we went to the safe house. There we met the girls, they sang praise and worship songs and we lead a devotional on Daniel in the Lions Den. After that we taught them the chicken dance, played the human knot game, played musical chairs and had a dance party. Musical chairs was the best part! The girls were so into it and it was cool to hear some of their favorite music as we played.

Prayers Request:

1. The team's health... a few of us are not feeling 100%.

2. Safety for our team.

3. The strength to not speak out when we see trafficking happen.

4. The girls at the safe house and our devotions that we do with them.

5. For God to start telling the team how to bring what we learned from our trip home.

Thank you for the thoughts and prayers. I hope all is well!

Peace filled Day

The morning started with a chipper rise! I woke up perky and so joyful! We had devotions with the staff at the safe house and it was a Q/A of the Bible... amazing questions the staff asked!

After that I was able to see the girl's rooms and see what there living space was like. It was so cool. During this time one of the girls got hit and started crying. She ran to my arms and I picked her up and bounced her until she was better. Such a touching moment! After that I played cards with some of the girls and bought 8 beautiful purses! I also got to ride my 1st moto in Cambodia with Sarah! It was so fun!!!

Sarah and I met the team at La Villa for lunch. It was a really nice restaurant with wonderful Caesar salad and I got a banana/chocolate smoothie... AMAZING! The outdoors of the restaurant was beautiful! We took pictures!

After that some of us made our way to the foundation/salon. It was cool because I was the only one to get a pedicure and I was able to talk with the girl I have blogged a lot about. She really opened up and before she came in... I was able to hear her story from a missionary there. It was so eye opening. I got the girl's picture and had a blast talking with her and showing her pictures on my ipod touch!

Tonight we had to say goodbye to the girls at the safe house. It was rough... but not as bad as I thought. We had a wonderful devotions, fun game and even sparklers to play with the girls! It was a glorious day!! Praise God for these girls and their rescued lives! Tomorrow we leave Battambong and head to another city to a safe house! Thank you for the prayers! Keep them coming!

Independence Day in Cambodia

Today was an awesome day! Despite my restless sleep... waking up was good. I was able to have some alone time with God and even pray with Nick on skype! Things are looking up for sure!

We had church with the girls at the safe house and the local community that goes to that small church. The service started 20 minutes late (typical for them) and it was full of amazing times. It was so cool to see some of the girls around me worship as they sang. Eyes closed, swaying and singing their heart out. It took my breath away and I was caught in awe of God and His awesome light. It was cool that a few of the songs they sang I actually recognized! When I didn't I watched the people or prayed. Church was great!

After church our team stayed and Seth and Theara (our translator) rapped with some of the girls! It was so funny and some of the girls with special needs was really into it and good too! She had great rhythm. We ate lunch at a place we had already eaten and the food was great... i think i even had 3rds!

Then we went to the Market in Battambong. It was fun... they had lots of very detailed dresses. I wish I had a reason to buy one and wear it. It was fun... no cats at this market either! A lot of motos though...

Then we had break time at the hotel. I was able to listen to 2 of Pastor Gary's sermons. It was so good to have that time to listen to praise and worship music and the sermons.. just what I needed! Then we went back to the house to hang out with the girls and have devotions. We did a skit on different ways that 2 are better than 1 and how to help each other. It was a simple concept but so fun for the girls! After that they did a craft with pony tail holders. I watched and took pictures. After the craft one of the girls I have talked about (the one who doesn't like to talk much) came up to me and gave me a pony tail holder that she had made. It made my day! Some of the girls came up to me with the leftovers and made some more holders. It was so much fun! We shared a lot of laughter.

After that we went to a missionary's house and had an American dinner... with red velvet cake for dessert and we had white cheddar popcorn!!! We finished celebrating the 4th of July with sparklers! My FAVORITE THING about July 4th!! What a joyful day it has been!

Thank you for the prayers and support... I feel it and can almost touch it. God has blessed me with the miracle of raising money to be here and I am trying to make the most of it!

A Day with some rough spots

Today was a rough day for me. I talked with my parents and they shared some stress and kind of downer news of things that are going on back at home. It is hard hearing things when I am not home to support physically.... and only support in prayer and thoughts for now.

The team had a great breakfast at Sunrise Coffee Shop. It was full of fun times. We decided we'd raise money for things we feel God calling us as a group to support financially by having crazy tasks. Tasks like, a shot of ketchup, one of hot sauce, one of coffee and brown sugar etc. It was an experience at breakfast! We raised $50+ though...

We went to the safe house and played with the girls. Spinning the young ones around and chasing them in the house was fun. Then later we played euchre and taught some of the girls how to play slap jack.... good times! Then we had a brief snack time for lunch. After that, we had a pool party with the girls. I did not get into the water... I was nervous I'd swallow some of the water. But I had a good times visiting with some of the girls what didn't swim or the ones that I talked with while my feet were in the pool. I also talked to a man on staff about the house and his background. It was so cool how God opens people up right away. However, sometimes he doesn't. One girl in particular, the 1st one i met there has not opened up. Most of the girls will tell you about their family and some information... this girl will not. It frustrated me because I have asked her for 3 days now and she just looks at me the same way each time. It bothered me and makes me feel bad. Then we ate a snack there and the kids wanted us to push them on this train thing... well once 7+ Americans pushed the 4 or 5 cart train the caboose got off the track! It was so funny how quickly the kids jumped out so it could get fixed. But while it was going before that... we had them going pretty quickly. Unfortunately, we didn't find a permeant fix to the train... so we all went to the house. One of the ladies on our team shared a devotion on spiritual gifts and our talents. It was a good message! During the message though, some of the girls I was sitting with were making fun of the girl in front of them. This girls sitting in front of them has special needs and her underwear was hanging out a little bit... she pulled her shirt down quickly when she figured out the girls were laughing at her. My heart broke and I told the girls to stop and be nice.... it bothered me.

After the house we had dinner at White Rose, we ate family style. I got a wonderful strawberry ice cream shake there! It was VERY tasty! Then we headed back to the hotel.

Thoughts of the Day

1. Depression is in some of the girls at the house, i also see them missing their families which breaks my heart because I think of how I used to be so homesick at their age.

2. I know that Satan is trying to pull me down. I need strength right now.

3. I love hearing from people at home, it brightens my day.

4. I have the best boyfriend in the entire world.

5. Pray for me to have more time with God through this rough patch.

Thank you again for your support, thoughts and prayers. I love you all and will be home in 8 days!

July 2nd in Cambodia

Today was an experience. We had breakfast at a restaurant next door to our hotel. Debbie (the lady next to me at breakfast.. on our team) had a hair in her jelly and her toast.... then there was a baby cockroach in my toast... I had a sick belly thinking about it. So the sick stomach continued for the 2nd day in a row.

We went to the safe house and got a tour. It is really cool how the safe house helps the families of the girls there to make a living. We were able to share devotions with the staff at the house. Then we had a tour of a salon and went to a small market and back to the hotel before lunch. After lunch we went to the hotel for a brief meeting, then back to the salon to get measured for skirts. I also got my hair washed, dried and straightened there. It was awesome there! They wash hair so differently than us.... they put shampoo in your hair and put a little bit of water on it with a bottle... interesting i thought.

Than we went to the safe house for play time with the girls. We had devotions on David and Goliath with was a hit! We played a little more with the girls. I had a girl come up to me and put her arm next to mine and say "which do you like better?" (meaning white or brown skin). I pointed to hers. She pointed to mine and said " you are beautiful". I replied... "you are beautiful... and God made you beautiful like you are for a reason and me for a reason too". Amazing... we are not even taught as children that there are different skin colors. For some reason American white people are always trying to get tan... when brown skinned people try to be white. We are never happy with what we have.

We went to dinner tonight at a place called Gecco. I was able to order an Italian panini. I was so happy! It was tasty too!

So... update... Amazing things have happened with Nick while I am gone!

1. He is going to get baptized when I get back!!!

2. He had a job interview and they offered him a co-op... PRAY!

3. He has grown so much while I am gone and I am so proud of him!

4. I am jealous because he had a steak dinner with my mom and dad yesterday....

Safe House

Today we travels 5 hours on a bumpy bus ride to a new hotel. The 5 hour ride went quickly since we played euchre and talked it up. I love our team!! God has blessed us all here with an amazing opportunity!

When we were done checking into our hotel, we went to lunch and had amazing beef and cashews! Then we saw a property where they are building a cooking school for girls rescued from trafficking. They will open a bakery after the cooking school is up and running well. We were able to pray with the team there. It was awesome!

We made our way to a team meeting where everyone shared what they had learned/discovered after yesterday. Most of us were in tears from each other stories. A story of David... a local to Woman's Island who lives in a homeless shack there and his big dream is to go to Korea and work in a factory. We often doesn't get food... and is hungry all of the team. Other stories that connected personally with the teams.

Then we made our way to the safe home. We had a warm welcome as we got off the bus. Girls gave us flowers in the shape of a necklace (only shorter and they smelling wonderfully!) and they clapped for us and made a tunnel for us to walk into our welcome party! There several of the girls danced and shared their talents! It was so cool and fun! Then we ate dinner and had a dance party. It was so fun to dance with the girls to music that I had no idea what they were saying. I met girls from ages 5-20. They are all so happy there and just glow!

Tomorrow we have a full day back at the safe house. I am so excited!! Thank you for all of the prayers and blessings.

Kids Club

Today we went to our translator's home. Her dad is a pastor and her mother is a very giving woman. We played with about 80-100 kids from her neighborhood. By neighborhood I am... shacks and people who are sick from lack of food and water. There is not running water for several of her neighbors. Her family has a good home though with a good size area for the kids club. We played 1-2-3-4- I declare thumb war, basketball and twirled the girls and boy around. It was a fun time. Seth shared the story of the wee little man in the Bible. We sang Praise Ye the Lord with them as well. Then we played Simon Says and the kids left taking a little goodie bag we had made up for them. My heart loved those kids. They would come up and hold your hand and look into your eyes with big beautiful brown eyes. It made my heart sink.

After kids club, we were given a tour of the neighborhood. It was one dirt road and alleys with brick in the dirt and sewage in certain areas. We met a family that has 10 people that live in one very small shack. The mother is sick and one of their daughters is sick with worms we thought. It killed me to know that this family has no running water and very little food... yet the father could smoke cigarettes. It started to make me angry at 1st. We also met a mother and her 10 month old baby. The mother is an alcoholic and her baby is very very sick from it. The mother burnt her back badly from carry hot water while she was drunk and falling when the water came upon her back. Again, I was angry. These people have no water, no/little food and they can still find cigarettes and alcohol. My heart broke. I wish I could help. I wish I could take that 10 month old baby to the hospital and get it help. The baby is not going to last much longer and it is hard to be okay with that.

When we got back from our tour our translator's family had made us fried chicken, rice, spring rolls and such. It was great, minus the fact that I did not eat much of it since my stomach was sick from the sites that I had seen. It was a blessing to know that there is a family helping their neighbors in so many ways. But seeing the things on the street and the families made me sick to my stomach. I cannot imagine living in those conditions and I felt guilty coming back to a hotel after that. A hotel with a warm shower, nice beds, electricity and caring people ready to serve us. Part of me wants to live like those neighbors, just for a day or two to understand what they truly go through.

On the way to the hotel I overwhelming wept. We have seen a lot today that I have only seen on tv commercials or in a movie. I have never seen it, felt it and smelt it like I did today. I am so glad to be humbled by this and I hope and pray that God continues to break my heart and show and teach me things. I also hope that I am changed forever because of the things that happen in Cambodia. I hear Sarah (a girl on our team who is here all summer teaching English) say that 1/2 of her heart is in Indy and the other in Cambodia. I am starting to get a glimpse of that. I break those these people and the poverty.

Things to pray for:

1. My stomach as I am not feeling well due to all of the things I am seeing and experiencing.

2. The baby and mother who are infected with alcohol.

3. The family with a sick mother and daughter with worms.

4. Our translator's family and their ministry.

5. Safety as our team travels to a different city tomorrow.

6. My emotions to settle

7. Our team daily... it is hot, we sweat a lot

Thank you so much for the prayers... I can feel them even though some are 8859.2 miles away.

Praises:

1. Nick and I have been able to talk and he is going to be baptized! I am so happy for him and proud of him... :)

2. I am in Cambodia!!

3. It was such a blessing being at Woman's Island and in the city today.

Woman's Island

I woke up today well rested and ready for whatever the way would bring. I was humbled by what God supplied for me to read this morning. Before I ate breakfast I looked for my batteries that I brought and the charger... but could not find them anywhere. I knew that I had packed them. I was update and sick to my stomach because I didn't know if I would be able to get more batteries and I wanted to capture the moments in Cambodia in a photo. I went to breakfast with my roommate Katrina, and randomly I asked our translator if she had batteries. She pulled out several AA batteries... she gave me what I needed and wouldn't allow me to pay her. She also said if I needed more to let her know. I was humbled. God has supplied me with just want I wanted even though I didn't need them.

After breakfast we went to Woman's Island where our translator's father is a pastor at a church. We took the bus then a boat across the river to get here. The bus ride was full of wonderful conversations with the team! I love our team!!! When we got off the bus there were people there to greet us. They all smiled and waved. It was a blessing! Our 1st interaction with the locals where we were able to actually talk and play with the children. We went in the church to share our names and a brief statement about us. After that Seth shared a few verses with the people there. It was so powerful. They also sang a song, so cool since I have never heard a worship song in another language! It gave me goosebumps and brought tears to my eyes. We got to play with the children and push them on tire swings. So fun! I even got to stand on a tire with 2 of the kids and swing. I quickly became covered with a popsickle one of the kids had and dirt. But it was a blast! After that our translator's father gave us a tour of the island. It was so humbling to walk through and see shacks where about 12 people (3 families) lived. They also had a shack for the homeless and a man named David (a local) walked with us and when we passed the homeless shack he said "that's my home". My heart is burdened for these people, but really it shouldn't be because they are happy for what they have. So humbling.

When we got back from the tour, my feet were filthy... and we were going back into the church where we take off our shoes. I asked our translator if I should come in or not because my feet were so dirty and I didn't want to get the white tile dirty. She then had a local take me to wash my feet. This local did not speak English and she washed my feet. The most humbling thing. My heart sunk with thankfulness. I didn't understand... this local wanted to wash my feet. She volunteered and did it with a smile on her face. It was a total God moment... many of you know that I absolutely hate feet and wouldn't touch other people's feet if my life depended upon it. And here was this perfect stranger to me washing my feet with her clean water. Praise God for this moment. I am overwhelmed, yet excited for what other awesome things are in store for me while in this country.

The bus ride to and from the Woman's Island was horribly bumpy. It was so fun as everyone on the team laughed, talked and smiled. Good stuff!! We went to a restaurant called "Friends". Here the servers are a student and a teacher. It is an orphanage and a school. The goal for the "Friends" establishment is to raise the children and educate them as well as teach them how to serve, cook, and other things. It was such a blessing to eat there and know my money was going to something far better than my imagination. I love this trip so much!!

Tonight we are going to kid's club at our translator's house... i'll write after that!

Educating Myself on Cambodia

Today was a day full of education. The history of Cambodia can be depressing at times. We woke up today, got ready, ate breakfast and then went to the bus. Next thing I knew we were at Tuol Sleng (S21). Tuol Sleng used to be a high school before 1975. From 1975-1979 is was used as a concentration camp. Pol Pot was the leader of the camp. He took the people of the country and used them to help him. These "soldiers" would go into the city and take people away from their families to these camps. Here they would be beaten in the classrooms... at times they would hang them by a rope and beat them until they became unconscious. When they became unconscious, they would dip them in dirty water to wake them out of it. They would sometimes leave the people in a single room by themselves. Other times they would have multiple people in a small room together. The times that the people stayed here varied. Some would be taken from the camp on a 30 minutes bus trip to the Killing Fields. We also visited the Killing Fields today. It was a huge eye opener on the way there because our translator said that the people would have been blindfolded and silent the whole trip there. These people were unable to smile, laugh, joke, etc. In the Killing Fields the soldiers would beat the children and women on the trees because they did not want to waste bullets on them. They used bullets on the men only. I cannot imagine this happening in our country fields...

At Tuol Sleng (a Museum now) there are rooms and rooms of photos of the persons who were killed. There are photos and paintings of how people were killed. There are beds, waste buckets, and the lashing weapons there as well. Some people would be put into large boxes of water to drowned. There were also several poems, documents, etc. One poem stuck out to me. I call it the "No Poem". It lists all of the "no things" at the Tuol Sleng. The poem is at the beginning.

After the rough morning, we ate lunch at "Jars of Clay". It was a good lunch complete with a chocolate milkshake! Then we went to the Russian Market. Wonderful market... it was not very crowded today for some reason. It was a good experience minus the sweat and stray cats that creeped me out. It was fun to see the culture. There was a lady trying to sell me place mats and i told her i'd come back next week and she said "I don't believe you!" When we really will be back there in a week. The market was an experience... good one. I bought 7 movies for $10.50.. 3 of which did not work when I took them back to the hotel... but our translator said we'd take them back and trade or figure something out!

Once we were complete at the market, we headed back to the hotel to freshen up and have a meeting. After our meeting we went to get massages... feet, head, legs and shoulders. WONDERFUL! We only paid $6.50 plus tip for them too! In many places in Cambodia, human trafficking happens upstairs, this was one of the few massage places where that cannot happen. It was good to know that our money went to a good place.

Once we were relaxed and ready for bed, we went to a restaurant called Kiwi for dinner. There Jen and I split pizza. We saw many lizards on the walls and even saw a large rat run across the floor... good times! Once we got back onto the bus (at 8:15pm... so it was dark and people were out in the city) we watched for trafficking. It is so sad that white men come here to traffic such young girls. We saw quite a few men in the process of buying the girls. I cannot even imagine this happening to me or any of my friends, especially at such a young age.

Random things from the day:

1. In Cambodia when people honk their cars it is a polite warning that they are coming your way and not to move.

2. Stray cats are scary.

3. Chocolate milkshakes can make a foreigner's day.

4. Showers are the best thing after a long day in the Cambodia sun and heat.

The beginning of Cambodia

Flighting was quiet an experience. On the 1st flight I had to sit by a man with a cat in a cage at his feet... which those of you who know me know that I do not like cats! Luckily 2 fabulous ladies on our team had an extra seat in their row so I was able to move before take-off. Flight number 2 was 17 hours... the 1st hour there was a screaming baby a few rows ahead of me. The rest of the flight I listened to the 4 year old boy scream and felt him kicking me seat. It was interesting and a test. I did not get very much sleep due to these adventures. However, I did watch "Brooklyn's Finest" and "The Edge of Darkness". We had 3 meals... which were all different and unique (I basically picked at it and did not eat much). But when we arrived in Cambodia I was pretty exhausted.

When we got here our team freshened up and went to lunch. We ate at a restaurant where we sat on the floor with pillows and the table was maybe a foot high. It was quiet the cultural experience. I ordered sweet and sour chicken which is by far my favorite! Loved it! After that we went to the river and walked around for a bit. We were able to visit a bakery and get wonderful cupcakes! I chose red velvet and chocolate oreo cookie. Both were wonderful and so filling!! When we got back to the hotel we had a team meeting. During the ride back and the meeting I was struggling to keep my eyes open, along with some of the others. I also have a swollen ankle from the 17 hour flight which makes things even more interesting. After the meeting I watched our translator play euchre with some of the people on the team. It was so fun! Our translator is wonderful yet hilarious and sweet! After the game, I came back to my room with my wonderful roomie and showered and am getting ready for bed now. it's only 5:40pm here... but I am that tired I need to sleep now!

Thing I took away from today:

1. Don't take pictures of monks.

2. Don't worry about our bus driver, he honks to warn people he is coming and they shouldn't move.

3. Cambodian food is wonderful!

4. Feet swell from a 17 hour flight.

5. Acun means thank you in Khemer and a way to remember it is from the good old Lion King movie "Acunamatada.

6. Jet lag is not fun.

Things to pray for:

1. Jet lag- the time change and rest

2. Safety for the team

3. A strong ministry

4. A soft heart

12 hours

12 hours and I will be boarding a plane to start my journey to Cambodia! We will arrive in Cambodia on Monday at 9am there time which is Sunday at 10pm. My heart is giddy yet heavy. I am excited to meet the girls at the safe homes and start this adventure. I am so unaware of what all is going to happen, and this part makes me excited because God is in control... so it's going to be so amazing that I cannot even imagine it.

Packing last night was interesting. We are not checking personal bags. So I have a laptop bag and a duffle bag as my carryon. I was going to use a roll-away-bag but it kept weighing 18.3 lbs... and it has to be 15lbs. So I switched bags and it weighed 14.8lbs, which is wonderful except that it is going to be a lot to carry... but it's all good!

My clothes are sprayed, my travel bags are full. My mind is wondering what I will experience, and my heart is at peace.

Here are some things to keep in your thoughts and prayers:

1. Safety in traveling there and back (there are 12 of us on the team)

2. A good transition in the time change as Cambodia is 11 hours ahead of Indy.

3. A soft heart for me to be open to all that is in store.

4. Safety while on the streets and in the city.

5. The girls at the safe house, that we might bond with them and show them God's love.

6. My emotions while I am there and seeing things that might break my heart.

Those are all of the ones that I can think of for now. You can email me or facebook me while I am gone, I just will not have my phone on.

12 hours and I will be on my way to my 1st stamp in my passport! I am so excited for all that is going to happy in this journey! More stories to come I am sure of it!

24 Days

In 24 days I will begin my flights to Cambodia. In roughly 25 days I will be experiencing something that I cannot dream of or imagine. I have been thinking and praying that I can spread the love of Christ while I am in Cambodia, but part of me seems weary. Weary because I have never been out of the country. I have never seen poverty or a city with crowded markets.

As I heard about the trip, I had a strong passion to go. I prayed. I prayed some more. I felt a strong desire to go and it would not fade or go away. So, I agreed to go on the trip, knowing that funding $3,000 was going to be rough. The funding started out and it was not going very well. I prayed. I prayed for a miracle, for the money to come into my lap, for more hours at work to supply some funding. Unfortunately, the hours at work were not increasing. I was still not getting support. I thought that I was not going to be able to go. Then it happened. I remember it all so clearly. I came home from work and my mom said," Ally sit down". She began to share with my that my dad's former employer had sent them a letter in the mail that Monday afternoon. We read the letter to me. To our surprise, the miracle had come. God was looking out for me. Inclosed with the letter was a check for over the amount I needed to go to Cambodia and be funded. I remember hugging my mom tightly as she said," THIS is the MIRACLE we have been praying for Ally." The check was for 6 years of my dad's company over charging us for dental care insurance. How often does that happen? It was truly a miracle and by the grace of God.

Through my miracle, God has confirmed that the passion and strong desire to go to Cambodia is something that HE wants for me too! So... in 24 days I fly away. I fly to a new land. I new home for 2 weeks. A place where I can learn, embrace others, crying, be blessed, become attached to girls at the Rapha House and so much more. My joy is overwhelming and I am ready to put my 1st stamp in my passport and serve in a culture far different from my own.