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.