Journey to Cambodia

One Last Update

2011-01-29T05:25:00.000-08:00

One last hello from Cambodia! It has been a wonderful trip!

While we are here, it is pretty busy. I feel like I barely have time to think and process. Today I actually had some time alone. I was outside walking around, it was actually cool and the wind was blowing--- it was beautiful outside. I was just thinking how privileged we are that at this point in our lives, we get to come here and be the ones to serve. I know that sounds strange coming from me.... most of you know that these trips are hard for me--- they scare me, I am worried the whole time I am here, and it is out of my comfort zone. This year was different though. I really prayed for months before that I would not be afraid, that I would feel a sense of calmness and not fear. Amazingly enough, I did. I had very few moments where I felt nervous or afraid. The funny thing is, this trip is not about me. I often make it about me with all my crazy fear, but it isn't. It is about loving a wonderful God and loving others. It is about letting God be in control of my life. It is so hard to do, and I am usually pretty bad at it! Anyway, I honestly felt privileged to be here and I wanted to share that with you. We really want to thank you for your prayers and your support. It has meant more that you know!

Playing "Rock, Paper, Scissors" with Lee

Didi with Matt Kuffel

This girl sews pillows for a place called, "Tiny Kompot Pillows" She is so sweet!

Fun at the orphanage. Lani brought big jump ropes for the kids!

This was the neatest park I have ever been to! This is just 1/10 of the park. It was amazing! You can see the Palace behind the slide.

Dinner with Tan, our tuk tuk driver and his family. His daughter ate the entire 3 scoops for dessert!

I actually teared up when saying good-bye to our dear friends. Tan was such a wonderful part of our time here. We will really miss him!

2011-01-27T19:21:00.000-08:00

Here area few pictures of our vacation at the beach. We had a great time! We swam at the pool and hung out at the beach. We of course had foot massages and good food. After, we went to Kompot for a night and saw the Kuffels (missionaries here). We hung out at the orphanage, did crafts and medical exams. I didn't have a change to upload those photos. We are now back in Phnom Penh for a few nights. We have had a great trip and would love for you to pray for us for a few more days. We don't have an update on the little girl who needs surgery. We will let you know when we do.

After a long morning at the Russian market!

Tan is so helpful with the kids!

The night market.... People eating on the mats. There are lots of little vendors you can buy food from.

There is a "talent show" type of thing at the night market. It is fun to watch the Cambodians perform. Justin Davis, this one is for you! I tried to get some thumb action, but was unable to!

Reststop on the way to the beach. It cost 12.5 cents to use the squatty potty!

A wat/statue/god to pray to for safe travels.

Didi on the squatty potty! It is harder than it looks!

BBQ at the beach.

The kids love watching movies in the room when we have down time.

Pool at our hotel. It was an interesting hotel. There were a group of young men staying that had prostitutes coming in and out. It was sad to see.

Trent loves sitting by Scott!

At the beach, ladies come around with fruit, shrimp or massage/pedicure supplies to offer you.

Walking on the beach... the kids were of course soak after!

The BBQ is really good by the beach. Didi ate an entire plate of ribs on her own!

Local barber shop

Andrea and I took a tuk tuk tour of the beach area. It was beautiful. There were monkeys, pretty beaches, lakes and so much green. We loved it!

You can barely see it, the there are three people on the moto with the girl in the purple. One of them is holding an IV bag in the air. They must have just left clinic or the hospital.

The Past Few Days...

2011-01-20T03:51:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone!

Thank you so much for the encouraging emails and prayers. We are doing great! The kids and I just enjoyed a spaghetti dinner cooked in our hotel room. Fortunately, the outlet works by the sink in the little "kitchen" area and I don't have to cook in the bathroom this year :)

On Saturday we leave with the Swards to go on a little VACAY! We are going down to a beach somewhere in Cambodia for about 5 nights. We haven't vacationed here so we are excited! Then we will go to Kompot to work at an orphanage and hang out with the Kuffels. We will spend our last two nights in Phnom Penh and come home on Monday, the 31st.

Here are some pictures from the past few days! Please excuse any spelling errors or mistakes!

AHHHHH! It is Rattanak!!! For those of you who don't "know" him, he is a baby that we brought over to have heart surgery a few years ago. His story is amazing and we really believe the Lord connected us with him! He is doing so well! He is even walking! I about died when I saw him walk. It is the cutest thing ever. He is so happy and healthy! It was a blessing to see him and his family!

A day at my favorite village! We have been there about 5 or 6 times the past few years. We love it. The people and the scenery are both beautiful!

"Battle wounds!"---- Trent gets the worst bug bites! His arm and leg are so swollen with a bug bite of some sort. This was from yesterday, today they look a lot better! We will be thrilled if this is the worst of our ailments while we are here!!! Please pray it is :)

My disgusting swollen feet! I have had cankles the entire time I have been here! They don't hurt. It is just ugly! I think it is from the long flight. The scratch is from when I fell into a thorny plant when I was helping Didi pee. I am very graceful as most of you know. I got 5 large thorns stuck in the back of my leg as well. It wasn't too bad and thankfully it wasn't poisonous or anything!

Beautiful!

This is one of my favorite stories of this year! This is a picture of a church that was recently built. In the photo below, you will see a woman name Sinath. She is one of the main health promoters and she is doing amazing work. We have been able to provide employment to her (with the help of some generous friends/family). Well, this year, instead of keeping the money she made for herself, she gave 3/4s of it to build this church. Another person from Long Beach Friends donated some money and they were able to have it built. She chooses to live in a home that is over that Black River... a home that floods with Black River sewage during the rainy season. Instead of buying herself a new home, which quite honestly, I would have done, she gave the money to this village to build a church. Can you even believe it??? I love her generosity!!!!

Tan and Taliah LOVE each other! He always pretends like he is going to take her at the end of the day! It is super cute. She asks for him when he is not around. At the village, they spent most of the day together!

I love getting to wash the kids hair!

So does Didi! She is such a good helper!

We washed the kids' feet and clipped their nails.

One of the crafts we did.

Didi and Tan, our tuk tuk driver coloring! Adults often like to do the crafts.

This little girl needs heart surgery. Pat and a few others are taking her to the hospital Friday morning. Please pray we can get surgery scheduled for her if it is indeed needed. There is a chance it will be free, and there is a chance it will cost close to $10,000. We will keep you all posted!

From what I was told, you can tell that she has the heart issue she has by her nails..... Pat really needs to do some updating. I am so not medical!!!

Random

2011-01-18T04:29:00.000-08:00

After this random post there are tons of photos.

Yesterday, we were talking to Scott Sward about various things and Francis Chan came up and I was reminded of this video on youtube. It is about 3 minutes and worth the watch if you haven't seen it. It reminds me of how "safe" my own family lives. We try to take risks for the Lord but we have a long ways to go! Hope you enjoy it!

You have to cut and paste this in your browser. I don't know how to give a link on the blog. Sorry!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LA_uwWPE6lQ

Wish You Could See What We See!

2011-01-18T03:37:00.000-08:00

Here are some more photos. It is hard to put them in the order I want them so they are sort of random. Sorry!

We are doing well and having a great time! It has been a blessing to serve here in Cambodia. We wish there was more we could do and hope to do more in the future. Pat will have some great stories to share, but he has been super busy so he hasn't been able to update.

The kids and I are enjoying doing Children's Programs in villages and at the church. The Cambodian children have been so sweet and seem to love the activities.

We really feel your prayers. We truly thank you. If you could also pray for Brielle Murray, a little girl with cancer. It has been a long road for her and as of now there isn't much more medicine can do, so we would love to see a miracle. Check out her blog.... it will break your heart and bless you at the same time. www.briellemurray.com

I love watching Pat do what he was meant to do!

Justin and Pat lancing a boil on a certain missionary's arm in our hotel room, on my bed I think... :)

Boys playing in the Black River.... a river filled with sewage.

Pork anyone?

The busy city. It is super crowded and busy in certain areas of the city! It is crazy! I wish the pictures could truly portray what we see!

Beautiful countryside...

Our bus driver of course LOVED Taliah! Who doesn't? She is everyone's BFF

Blake.... these 2 are for you... Cow dung and a cow's anus!

Justin is just chillin'. Such a great guy! He is planning to go to medical school in the fall. He and Pat have enjoyed working together!

Picnic lunch... rice and pork.

Teaching at the health promoters at the health and hygiene seminar

We were out from 8AM-4:30 PM which meant 1 thing... we had to pee in the dirt! Here are a few of us squatting by our the areas we marked! That is Stephanie with the girls. She has been a HUGE help and blessing!

All the participants at the health and hygiene seminar

Two of my favorite fruits here!

Crafts at Sunday School.

Eating peeps!

Health Promoters teaching the kids about washing their hands and clipping their nails.

We did a lesson on being sons and daughters of the King. We made crowns with jewels on them as the craft! The kids looked so cute in their crowns.

Matt Kuffel preaching! He is a missionary here... such a wonderful man and we love his wife Lois too!

Lani Sward teaching a Bible story. She did a great job and is so good with the kids. Lee and Lani are Scott Sward's parents. Scott and his wife Andrea are missionary's here. It has been wonderful to work alongside the Swards!

Even Trent painted nails! I have to say that the kids have been amazing and incredibly helpful! I am soooo proud! We had to do the Children's Program on an ant hill yesterday. There were ants EVERYWHERE! My kids were great about it! We were out for 8 hours working and they did not complain one time!

Doing some medical exams at home visits

Pictures

2011-01-15T04:09:00.001-08:00

Taking Malaria Medicine- Trent LOVES swallowing his pills!

Didi refuses to swallow her pills so she CHEWS them! YUCK!

It is awful.

We packed a lunch and ate on the Riverfront

View from the Riverfront

Carnival we went to on Friday night

Cambodian Mc Donald's.... aka Lucky Burger

(Lisa J.- I'm sure you'd eat here!)

These kids heard we were in the village and

they all ran to see what was happening!

Medical assessments

Trent putting tattoos on the kids

Didi painting nails

Roadside "gas station"

Rush hour traffic

Building a new roadside store

Fun Day

2011-01-13T15:26:00.000-08:00

The kids had a fun day while Pat worked at the health and hygiene seminar. He said it went really well. The Cambodians have really taken ownership of the program and have already planted 6 home churches and are really helping people live healthier lives! Pat came home last night really excited. He of course did not take any pictures but he will today. Please continue to pray for his back. It is bothering him still.

The kids and I had a full day. We woke up around 4AM, did some home school, ate breakfast, did more school, met Pat for lunch, walked around a park, stopped by the health and hygiene seminar to say hi, shopped at the Russian Market, had a soda, got foot massages, ate dinner and watched a movie! They have been amazing!

Tomorrow (Saturday) after the health and hygiene seminar we will be going to a village to do health assessments and a kids' program! We are looking forward to it!

Lee and Lani Sward leave tonight to join the team. Please pray for safe travels for them!

Thanks!!!!

Tuk Tuk ride

A lot of people can fit on a "moto!"

TAN!!!! Our tuk tuk driver from last year!! He is our driver again!

Balcony at Scott and Andrea's place

Scott and Andrea's home! They cooked us a traditional

Cambodian meal! Super good! They place is super cute.

Uh-oh, time out in the hotel room!

Homeschool

Foot massages! 1 hour- $3 for the kids and $5 for me!

The kids LOVED it!

The owner is Korean and of course loves Trent!

We Are Here!

2011-01-11T05:02:00.000-08:00

We arrived safely in Cambodia! We were greeted by Scott and Andrea Sward and Carolyn and Steve Harvey. We had a great travel day, probably one of our best. No meltdowns, most of us got some sleep on the plane, and managed to have some enjoyable moments! While Kacie was in an Ambien-sleep-induced coma on the airplane there was some "excitement!" Someone had a seizure and Pat heard, "Is there a doctor on the plane?" So he, Stephanie (nurse/teammate) and Justin (pre-med student/teammate) went back and helped out! The women ended up being okay, thankfully!

Tomorrow we will do some sightseeing and prep for the health and hygiene seminars. We will update as often as possible. Our internet connection does not seem to be great though. If this post does not make sense it is because I can barely think as I type.... soooo tired, but trying to stay awake!

Thank you again for your prayers. We feel it! Miss you all!

Cambodia here we come!

Fun on the last flight!
Room 605 at the Golden Gate
As promised for a no "melt-down day" shakes

at Lucky Burger!
Riverfront walk

2010-01-21T01:02:00.000-08:00

We had a great few days. We went to the city of Kampot, about 4 hours away (possibly 3, depending on your driver :-) We had a lot of fun and got some good work done. Kampot is much more rural and prettier than Phnom Penh. It was nice to be out of they city for a few days. While we were there Pat and Matt were able to meet with some different groups to discuss the possibility of doing some HIV work there. We hope to work alongside a clinic and provide them with a case worker for HIV patients. The case worker would make home visits, take people to their Dr. appointments, make sure they are properly medicated, and support each patient spiritually. The husband of the Cambodian family who is interested in HIV adoption (that we told you about in an earlier post) is interested in doing this. We are really thankful to the ministry donors that are helping to make all this happen! THANK YOU!

Below are some photos from an orphanage we visited. The kids were so sweet. 16 of the 22 orphans there had parents who died of AIDS. Fortunately, they are not positive themselves. The orphanage started because the missionary there got a call from a friend about 8 years ago. His friend told him there was a little girl that was about to be sold by her grandmother to a man. He told his friend to stall them and he would be there shortly. I don't know exactly how the rest of the story goes, but this missionary ended up adopting this girl and started an orphanage. We met the girl and she is an absolute JOY!!! She is 20 years old now, loves the Lord and is serving in the orphanage. Such an amazing story of God's grace.

Tomorrow is our last full day here. Pat is going to the Embassy to see what is going on with adoptions from Cambodia. Then we have the day off! We are going shopping at the Russian Market, Trent, Didi and I are getting foot massages, we might go on a short river cruise, and then we have a double date with Scott and Andrea! Matt and Lois will watch the kids for us.

We have had a blessed trip. We truly appreciate your love, support and prayers. Love you all!

While we played at the orphanage, pat did about 25 physicals.

Visiting an HIV Group Home... This place was amazing. We only got to spend a few minutes there, but from what we saw, it was so clean and the girls all looked great! We had enough time to color and paint nails.

Sights from Kep (ocean town) and Kampot

Our friends, the missionaries we work with here, Matt and Lois Kuffel. What a blessing to serve alongside them.

Carnival Tonight

2010-01-17T06:31:00.001-08:00

Tonight we went to a carnival with 2 sisters from church.... Pov and Tearoth. They are wonderful! Both work for World Vision. Pov is a secretary and Tearoth translates letters for and from sponsors. Getting a job with World Vision is very hard here.

We had a lot of fun tonight. Tomorrow we leave for Kompot to look into some orphan/HIV work. Tomorrow, before we leave, we will be visiting and HIV orphanage. Can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pictures from tonight!!!

2010-01-17T02:00:00.000-08:00

Today we had lunch with our Tuk Tuk driver and his kids, Rattanak's family and Matt/Lois. It was a lot of fun!!!Rattanak and his family.
Tan's Family. His wife owns a shop.

Today, we walked out of our hotel to a fun surprise! We had invited Tan and his family to church a few days ago. We didn't think he would come, but this morning, he showed up at our hotel with his kids all dressed and ready for church! Pat was able to share our testimony with him at lunch today. We have been so blessed by him this week. We are thankful we were able to share a piece of our lives with him. Please pray for this family. They are truly wonderful people and we adore them!

The kids at church.

Tan and his daughter during singing.

On Saturday, Trent, Didi and I went to the village again. Honestly, we were all tired and didn't really feel like going. It is about 45 minutes each way in a Tuk Tuk and it was hot. But we went, and I am SO glad we did! We got to be a part of Samaritan's Purse and pass out Christmas gifts to the village! It was sooooo fun to watch the kids open their boxes. It was the first time they have received gifts from Samaritan's Purse, so it might be one of the first gifts many children have received. I am thinking that on my kids' birthdays and at Christmas, I will give them their gifts, plus $20 so that they can go out and fill a box for a child. You can do this through organizations like World Vision and Samaritan's Purse. If you want more info, let me know!!! It was really neat for Trent and Diana to experience as well.

While we were there, we also told the story of The Prodigal Son and that God loves us no matter how far we stray. We painted nails... even the men wanted their nails painted! Too funny!!!

Painting nails...

Bible Story and coloring.

Didi coloring on Tan's lap!

Each child received a yellow ticket: Good for one shoe box of gifts!

Thanking God for the gifts they received!

Some of the villages chew on this root/bean thing. I can't remember the name. It gives them some sort of high and turns their teeth red and rots them.

Date Night and Village....

2010-01-14T18:23:00.000-08:00

Craig and Jenny (father/daughter) offered to watch the kids so Pat and I could have a DATE NIGHT! Can you a believe it? A date night on a mission's trip! We went to get foot massages and had a great time!

Off the a village to do medical work and VBS

The kids at the Village VBS. They were so sweet and well behaved!

Telling the story of the Good Samaritan and how to be a good neighbor.

There are not tables to color on so the kids colored and these wooden platforms and on the jug of water (their water source).

Taliah actually helped pass out balloons! Sharing is hard for a two year old. She did great!!!

Trent wanted me to take a photo of the cow's anus.

The team walking to the village to do medical work.

There is such an abundance of fruit here... all kinds!

You can see the the sewage from the pipe running into the black river...

Homes on the Black River

Here is a wonderful family that Pat met. The dad has heart issues and will most likely die in the next year. He is too far progressed to have it be corrected. This just breaks our hearts. This is simply because he is poor and because he does not have proper medical care. Pat and I can't help but think this really could be any one of us. We could have been born where they were born. We could have lived like they lived. We could have been exposed to disease without medical care like they have. Please pray for this family. The mom has a few small children at home and soon will be left to raise them alone. They are Believers. Today, the team went to take them a Bible and song book. They are going to read and sing together. I love that in the midst of their pain and sorrow, this family asked for a Bible and a Hymn book.

Tan, VBS and Walking Around

2010-01-12T23:08:00.000-08:00

Tan, our Tuk Tuk driver is so great with the kids. Here, he is helping Taliah put her shoes on!

The kids LOVE him!!

VBS today.... We put hair clips in the girls' hair, made hats, played with balloons, had lollipops, colored and read the story of The Sower.

Images from the area the kids that are attending VBS live in.

Part of the bridge we walked across. We were just hoping in didn't come crashing down... not the most sturdy bridge! :-)

The other part of the bridge.

Trash

One of the homes had the color page we did at VBS on their door!

This home sits above the Black River. You can see the river behind their home.

2010-01-12T06:01:00.000-08:00

FROM PAT:

We are out in the villages this week with the health promoters. We worked today in a village that sits along a river called the "black river" basically because the water looks black and it is one of the main routes of sewage for Phnom Penh. Truly disgusting. Some of these peoples homes are right on the river. It is where they get their water, etc... During the rainy season, the water actually rises into their homes and some of them live in the sewage. Most of the homes are about 10 ft x10 ft and that includes kitchen, living area, sleeping. I am having to redefine my definition of poverty. The team met a woman today with HIV, badly beaten. I think her neighbors are trying to kill her to get rid of the "evil spirits" that surround her because she has HIV. The whole thing is breaking my heart but the Cambodian people we are working with are trying to make life a bit better for their people.

The outside of one of the homes in the village we visited today.

One of the health promoters using the manual from the health and hygiene seminar.

Many houses are built on stilts. Trash covers the area beneath the stilts of the homes we visited.

Cooking in the Bathroom

2010-01-12T04:24:00.003-08:00

Here are pictures of our sweet cooking set up in our bathroom! Jealous!?

Dinner is served! Grilled cheese, yogurt and Mango

VBS and Sunday School

2010-01-12T04:10:00.000-08:00

The kids and I helped in Sunday School and we have done 2 days of VBS.

On the first day of VBS, we walked about 3 blocks to a village to gather kids for VBS. We walked through trash and over a bridge. The homes were located above the Black River (Tren't likes to call it the Poop River because sadly, that is what it is filled with). We gathered about 25 kids. On the first day, we talked about God and that He is eternal. He lives in Heaven and He loves us. On day 2, we talked about all the things God created.

When we pulled up in front of the church this morning, we were greeted by about 20 kids, ready for VBS. They had been waiting since 8AM! We didn't arrive until 10AM. It was really cute that they were there waiting for us.

Pov, VBS translator! She is so sweet and so beautiful!

Trent getting a little frustrated by all the kids grabbing the pops. He was trying so hard to get them to line up! It is hard when you don't speak Khmer and you are smaller than some of the kids you are working with! He was a good sport!

The kids LOVE to color! They color carefully and beautifully!

A Conversation

2010-01-11T18:39:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful conversation with a Cambodian couple a few nights ago. We have been communicating with them for a few months through Matt, one of the missionaries here. This couple is really interested in working with orphans, specifically, orphans with HIV. They want take in these children, as their own and adopt them. That is really "out of the box" thinking for a Cambodian to want to do this!!! We are trying to figure out how we can support them through this. This couple amazes me. From what we understand, orphans in Cambodia are the lowest of the low, and the ones with HIV are often detested. There are not many orphanages set up or equipped to take in children with HIV. This couple, not only wants to add children to their family through adoption (they already have 2 precious boys), but they also want to educate and advocate for these children and others like them. We talked about the various struggles and trials that might come their way for taking in children with HIV. They fully understand the cost involved. They have spoken to their family members here about their plans and they have the full support of each family member, that in itself is surprising to me. Many people here are not educated about the facts of HIV and how it is transmitted. We are fortunate to live in a country, where most people are educated and accepting of people with HIV. This couple understands that neighbors might not like them or might even harass them, that people might consider them dirty or unclean because they will have such children in their homes, but they want to be faithful to God's call. The wife teared up and said her main fear is that when she loves these children as her own, that eventually they might get sick and die and she worries about the sadness that will bring her. The medicine here is slightly different than in the states. At home, we can do great testing to see which medication will work best with each patient. Here, in Cambodia, they just have a few medicines that they use. However, most of the medicines work well with most people so their future children should have a long life span. This couple has seen people wither away and die of AIDS, so they know their fear is real. I just think it is so amazing that the Lord has brought our families together. We have the same passion for these children. I am excited to see what God will do through all of this. I shared a verse that I had just read in 2 Timothy with them that says, "If you want to live a godly life, you will be persecuted." That verse makes me question my own life... I am really being persecuted for God, am I really living a godly life? So often I am not.

Walking Around

2010-01-11T18:06:00.000-08:00

First, thank you so much for your emails and comments. We genuinely appreciate everyone's encouragement and prayers.

VBS went really well yesterday. I will post pictures and write about that later. Yesterday was the first day of clinic. It went great. We have such a great team of people we are working with!

Today, the medical team will doing home visits to do medical and spiritual assessments. They will be taking the health promoters, who were trained last week with them. The idea is to continue to train the health promoters to educate the local people good health practice. There are so many things that the Cambodians get sick from that can be so easily prevented for example, last year, we met a family that washed their dishes in their toilet. It was their only water source and they did not know any better. One thing I am learning on this trip, is that you have to make due with what you have. I can't tell you how many zip-lock bags I have reused or cleaned because they are hard to get here. I have been saving our little yogurt cups to reuse as bowls. And craziest of all, had to cook in our bathroom, you heard me, OUR BATHROOM!!! Our outlet doesn't work in little kitchen area and the only other place with tile, was our bathroom counter. I didn't want to place an burner on our wooden desk for fear of burning it. I know, it sounds gross, but it was honestly pretty sanitary and clean, and I had to make due with what I had. Life here is hard, not that hard for us, but for those who live here.

Flies on the trash

Afternoon Siesta

Those are little hot dogs they are dipping in the jar of chili sauce

Cooking snails

Bananas

Snails

Rattanak!

2010-01-10T23:32:00.001-08:00

Last year, we met a beautiful family. Their son, Rattanak needed his heart repaired and that surgery was not possible in Cambodia. With a lot of prayer and connections that Pat's dad had, we were able to bring him to the states to get his surgery. If you look at older blog post from last year, you can read more about it.

We got to see Rattanak and his family yesterday! Wow! He looked so different. Last year, when we met him, he was lethargic, pale, and tiny. This year, he is so big, so happy, and so energetic. It is amazing what a repaired heart will do. Trent asked if we could adopt him! He said he wants him as his brother!

Today we were able to walk over to their house to give them some gifts. They live in a 9X9 room. There is enough room for two wooden beds (not beds but platforms) and a small kitchen area. There is a space of about 4 ft. x 2 ft. for standing room. Their whole home is smaller than Taliah's bedroom. But, it was clean, they were proud of it, and for them, it is home! I love the perspective we gain by being here.

Here are some pictures....

Rattanak's Home

Gifts for Rattanak and his sister

Giving a gift to Rattanak's Dad

Chenda, Rattanak's Mom

The family on their "moto." Rattanak is in between his dad and mom. Cambodias put all their family members on one "moto!"

Health and Hygiene Seminar

2010-01-09T16:59:00.000-08:00

The 3 day health and hygiene seminar finished today. It seemed to be successful. Many of the students were the same as last year and we could see that they had been using the material and their growth in understanding. We also have a complete translation of the health manual in Khmer (Cambodian) that can be used for the next 2 years. So overall we are very pleased.

Tomorrow part of the team will be traveling up North to Battambang with the remainder of us staying in Phnom Penh (the capital city). The next week we will be in groups of 2, going out with the health promoters that we just trained, using the material in their villages. It will be a great opportunity to do on the job training and to encourage and support their work. Please continue to pray for safety, health, and discernment for the team and the Nationals.

The kids are great, Kacie is a saint. We feel blessed to be part of the Lord's work here. -Pat

Random

2010-01-09T01:50:00.001-08:00

What can $15 get you in Cambodia??? Foot massages for three people, tip included! Trent, Didi and I enjoyed an hour long foot massage this afternoon! The massage therapists giggled the whole time they massaged Trent and Didi's feet/legs. I don't think they get many clients that are that young! I know, it seems like we are on a vacation, but I promise we will be doing work! Pat has been working hard. The kids and I are enjoying our down time until Vacation Bible School starts next week!

Trent hanging out with one of our favorite people... Peter!!!!

Some of our old friends from last year. The kids were thrilled to see them! You will be seeing more pictures of them! We will be going to a village with Kityvat (right) to wash kids' hair and to do VBS type of stuff on Saturday. Pau (middle) will be helping us with VBS all week. Tiarot (left) will be taking us to a carnival next Sunday night! Their mom is Sinath, one of the main health promoters. They are such a wonderful family! We adore each of them.

We made each health promoter who attended the health and hygiene seminar a goodie bag filled with fruits, vegetables and rice. We wanted to thank them for their time and efforts. They are working hard to make their country better place!

BEAUTIFUL GIRL! (This one is for Mommles and Grandma)

This is what Trent means by saying Didi is fancy...I had to bring curlers to Cambodia for her so she could have curly hair... Shameless, I know, using our Cambodia blog to post cute pictures of our kids. I can't help myself!!!

Fruit Shopping at the Market

2010-01-08T16:34:00.000-08:00

Michelle, one of the missionaries took us fruit shopping.... here are some pictures.

This is the fruit we ended up with! The Mango was so good! I am the only one that likes the little red, pokey things. They taste like a peeled grape and are really good! All this fruit cost about $3.oo.

Fish, fish with flies that is!!! I am not a fan of fish to begin with!

I love how they sit on the tables!!!

It seems many people eat clams here because they are sold all over the place. Some come from The Black River, a river filled with sewage. Can you imagine eating such things? They Cambodians are very smart people but they just don't have some of the knowledge that we have been blessed with. The team addresses such issues at the health and hygiene seminar.

Tuk Tuk Driver

2010-01-08T16:26:00.000-08:00

We have our own Tuk Tuk driver to take us around. It is hard to walk places in Cambodia for a couple reasons. Things are pretty far apart and people park on the sidewalks, so you actually end up having to walk in the streets, which is a little scary with three kids! Our tuk tuk driver is awesome! He wipes down our seat each time we get in and out, he helps "load" the kids, he is always on time, understands English, and he gave Trent, Didi, and Taliah a bracelet yesterday! He is really a blessing. Last year, we didn't think to hire someone for the whole day. Every time we went somewhere, we had to negotiate a price and try to explain where we wanted to go to someone who might not speak English. We are thankful for Tan, our tuk tuk driver!

Not Cambodia Related....

2010-01-07T16:23:00.001-08:00

but I had to share... (This might be a duplicate post, I lost my internet connection during the first one).

Yesterday, Trent and I went shopping at the Russian Market and enjoyed a cold Fanta while Pat and the girls were resting. While we were there, he decided to buy Diana (Didi) a princess toy with his own money. He said that she was a princess because she always flips her hair around and because she is so fancy. It was the sweetest thing. When we came back to the room, Didi was sleeping, so he wrote her a note and slipped the gift and note under her pillow. He was so excited as was she! He has such a tender heart at times. I love it!

The health and hygiene seminar started yesterday. Pat will write about that later on. He said it went well. At the seminar, they train some locals good health practice and then those locals go out into their community and the villages and train families good health practice. There are two more days of seminars, then we start the medical clinic and VBS on Monday.

We have adjusted pretty well and don't have much jet lag which is such a blessing!

Hope you are all well!!!

We Are Here!

2010-01-05T17:26:00.000-08:00

We arrived safely! We were greeted by almost all the "Friends" missionaries which was so fun! Our dear friends and two of our favorite people in the WHOLE WORLD, Scott and Andrea Sward were at the airport to greet us as well. I saw Scott first and cried when I saw him. It might have been jet-lag, but I think it was genuine excitement to see our friends whom we have seen in 3.5 months! They left in September to be full time missionaries here. They are two of the most amazing people we know (and they are a lot of fun which is a bonus!) We enjoyed some time with them last night. It was so good to catch up and here all that is going on with them!

The kids slept a lot of our first leg of the trip. The layover in Taiwan and our flight from Taiwan to Cambodia was a little painful, but we made it, safe and sound. Shockingly enough, I don't think I freaked out once on the plane and I actually was not afraid! Amazing. Thank you for praying.

One prayer request, part of Trent's filling came out on the plane. It looks like it will hold up okay and won't need work done until we come home, but we'd love prayer for that. We don't want to take him to the dentist here if we don't have to. The dental care is fine here, but we prefer our beloved pediatric dentist at home.

Pat is in a few meetings today. The kids and I are getting settled and will do a little shopping. We got a good amount of sleep last night which was a blessing.

So far so good. We feel content being here. The kids are excited. Pat is excited. I am getting excited! :-) Thank you for your prayers and your friendship!

Love to all.

Kacie

Tonight is the Night!

2010-01-03T14:30:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year Everyone!

First, thank you so much for your prayers already. We have been blessed by so many of you already and we are truly grateful.

We leave tonight at 10:45 PM. We fly 14 hours to Taiwan and then about 3 more to Cambodia. I plan to be heavily drugged! Our (actually MY) first prayer request is that we actually make it to Cambodia and that the plane stays suspended in the air. As I was packing, I was starting to panic about all the pounds I was added to the weight of the plane and how on earth does it stay in the air?!

I felt convicted this past week. I have been so worried about the trip.... getting sick again, or the kids getting sick, worried about the in-country travel and accommodations, worried about whether or not we would have a hard time adjusting to the time zone, basically just worried being there in general. I kept worrying about all these silly (and not so silly) little things. I found myself praying only for me and only for our family. I felt convicted. The trip is not about me. It is not about the kids. It is not about Pat. It is about giving our lives to others even when it is not comfortable or fun. It is about loving others even when I don't feel like it. It is about serving a God who had loved me in a such a way that I cannot even begin to understand. It isn't about me.

There was a great article in Parenting Magazine this month about how we can raise globally minded children. It talked about how we take for granted that our rate of HIV in the US is so low, how we don't worry about catching Malaria when we have a mosquito bite, how we have clean water to drink and so on. There have been some people who have questioned why we would take our kids on this trip and questioned the "danger" we might be putting them in. I guess we feel that we should not be immune to such things. These things are a global crisis, we are called to love everyone, and the best part is we can help change things one life at a time.

One of my favorite quotes is, "Let your heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God." That is sincerely my prayer for this trip. It is easy for me to worry about so many things and get so wrapped up in myself. I want our hearts to truly be broken.

So after you pray for our flight, please pray that we are ready and willing to give ourselves fully to this trip, that we would have endless amounts of love for the Cambodians, and that God's love would be revealed to them.

We hope to update with pictures often, I know photos are more exciting than my words!

Love and Peace to you all!

Kacie for the Van Winkles

Update on Rattanak

2009-04-15T19:52:00.000-07:00

DINNER PARTY FOR RATTANAK AND HIS MOM

Margaret, nurse from our Cambodia team

Chendra, opening gifts

Chum reap suor (Hello in Khmer/Cambodian)

Scott and Taliah

Pat thinks Rattanak is HIS baby. He really does!!!

Chendra with Host Family

SHOPPING DAY WITH CHENDRA

Chendra's first hamburger

WAITING AT THE HOSPITAL

Rattanak had his surgery yesterday. His little heart was repaired and he is doing really well. We would still appreciate your prayers as he is still in the PICU.

The host family Chendra (Rattanak's mom) is staying with wonderful host family from Long Beach Friends. They are also Cambodian. The host family (Kim and Nara) have taken such good care of Chendra. Yesterday they took her to the hospital and they stayed with her from 5AM until really late last night. They cried with her, worried with her, and rejoiced with her once the surgery was done. We are so thankful for their support! Pat and Scott Sward spent most of the day at the hospital as well. I truly love being around these people who's love for Christ is so evident. Its truly a blessing.

Here are some pictures from the hospital. Trent and Diana did a good job of getting Chendra to smile while she waited for Rattanak's surgery to be complete! I have also included pictures from a shopping day we had with Chendra. We introduced her to Mc Donald's. She loved the Big and Tasty! Also are some pictures for a dinner we had for Chendra and Rattanak.

Thank you for your prayers!

He Is Here!

2009-03-11T20:06:00.000-07:00

We are very excited to tell you that the baby is here for his surgery! His name is Ratanak. He and his mom arrived about a week ago. The surgery has not been schedule as of yet, but he has been seen by several doctors and they are very optimistic. Wonderful members of Long Beach Friends Church have come alongside this beautiful family! It is such a blessing that so many members of Long Beach Friends are Cambodian and speak Khmer. We are so thankful for every one's kindness and prayers! Thank you!

We will keep you posted. Here are a few pictures from the day Ratanak and his mom arrived.

What a Way to End the Trip!

2009-02-01T06:33:00.000-08:00

One last amazing update...

This afternoon we received an email saying that the baby had been approved for surgery in the United States!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is such a huge miracle and blessing. Our hearts are overjoyed. At this point the group who will be providing the care wishes to remain anonymous. We aren't sure if we are allowed to post pictures of him or not, but when we can we will. He is such a cutie!!!

We were very surprised by this news as typically a group will not bring a child over that has more than one medical need. Since he may have down syndrome, there might be other medical issues the come along with that, so we thought that they would say no. When you see this mother and father look at their baby, your hearts would have been breaking as ours were. The love him so much and are so sweet with him.

Please pray that things go smoothly on the Cambodian end, that he gets a medical visa, and please pray for his family. This will be a big deal for the mom to come to the United States away from the rest of her family. Oh my gosh, we are so happy right now!!!!

We will keep you updated!

Thanks!!!!

Last Day!

2009-01-31T21:42:00.000-08:00

I was hoping to be able to update the blog more and post pictures, but we haven't had a consistent internet connection.

This week has been eventful.

It started with me (kacie) getting a really bad stomach bug of some sort. Fortunately no one else got it. I was really sick. Not fun! I have been better for a few days!

We had 4 days of clinic that went very well. I think over 450 patients were seen. The team did an amazing job! We were able to provide physical therapy, first aid, consultations and more. There is one patient that stands out in particular. A little boy, that needs heart surgery. Pat is looking into some groups that sponsor this type of surgery. We don't know where that will lead. The type of surgery cannont be done here in Cambodia. If this little baby (4 mo. old) doesn't have surgery within the next few months, he will die. It just breaks our heart. Today Pat and I just looked at each other and cried thinking about that. His parents adore him. He has a big sister who adores him. It is just so sad. We think he has Down Syndrome but we are not 100% sure. Please pray for him and for his family. Please pray that the Lord will provide a way for the surgery.

Some of you asked if the people at the HIV village have been sent there... I don't know. I don't honestly know the level of the stigma here. It is hard to get a straight answer at times. Not everyone in the village was positive. We don't think they had access to medicines. This is something we want to work on. We want to have Sinat the health promoter continue going to this village and build relationships with them and assess their needs...spiritually, physically, and emotionally. In time, we hope to test the people in this village and see who is positive and then get them medicines. They would also be taught good health and hygiene because that is a key part of the treatment. We do not know where all of this will lead or if it will happen. But we are praying about it and moving forward as much as we can.

The trip has been amazing, it has also been difficult in many ways. Some of you have complimented us for coming, thank you... but please know that we are not doing anything amazing or special. It is something that the Lord put on our hearts and we are doing it....at times, not so well. (You should have seen my attitude the first few days.... not so great!) :-)

We truly have appreciated your prayers. One last request is that we have a safe flight home! We are excited to come home!!!

I will post pictures when we get home and have a good internet connection!

God Bless!
Love,
Kacie and family

HIV Village

2009-01-25T04:49:00.000-08:00

Today (Sunday), we took a 1.5 hour tuk tuk ride to an HIV village. Not everyone in the village is HIV+ but several of the people are. We had a wonderful time with them. It is a very small village. There were maybe 15 huts/houses. We hung out with them, did a craft and painted some nails. There was one lady there who was so beautiful and so skinny. Her disease had definitely progressed to AIDS. Her mouth had some sores and bleeding in the gums. It is just so sad because if she had proper care, she would have the chance to live a long, normal, healthy life. You will see her and Diana sitting next to each other in the picture. Diana especially loved here. Diana was amazing today! She played with the kids and painted nails! Trent was a little moody, but he did control himself. Taliah wondered down the path a few times and was crazy as usual.

We had to cross a bridge to get to the village and walk about 20 minutes. The bridge was pretty scary. It might look easy to cross, but it was pretty freaky. About 10 feet below was some pretty dirty water, not a place one would like to fall! We all made it across safely. Some locals and Lois (missionary) here, helped the kids across.

It was a great day, but a sad day. We met a little boy that was unmedicated and HIV+. His grandma is also positive and both of his parents already died. They will remain in our hearts and prayers. I wish we could do more for them.

On Saturday, Trent, Diana and I went to a different village and helped Kitivat with her weekly visit. Kitivat is the daughter of Sunat (the health promoter we told you about). Kitivat visits this village weekly and works with the kids there. She teaches them, tells them Bible stories and helps them with their overall hygiene. This week she had promised to wash a few of the kids hair, so the kids and I helped. It was a lot of fun! We of course had to add some fun clips in the girls hair after! We also did some crafts and of course, Trent passed out lollipops!

Thanks for your support!

Health and Hygiene

2009-01-24T20:22:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone!

I wish we could update more often, but the internet has been slow making it hard to do. I hope you are all doing well. We really miss everyone and we miss home! Diana is especially homesick! She is doing fine, but often says (in her sweet voice), "When are we going home?" Overall, the kids are having a great time and have honestly been the best part of the trip. Traveling with 3 little ones has been challenging at times, but it has been worth it!

The Health and Hygiene Training Talks went really well!!! Pat, George and Denise (another teammate) taught the classes. At the end, the locals taught Pat, George and Denise what they learned and they did a great job!

Yesterday, the team went out into the city and local villages and let them know that there will be a medical clinic. The locals also accessed some of the health and hygiene needs. One family that was visited use their toilet as a bathroom and a kitchen! They use the toilet as one normally would. However, after they eat their meal, they wash their dishes in the toilet. It is their only water source. One of the locals that attended the Health and Hygiene seminar, will be teaching them that they need to do their dishes somewhere else.

There is a river here known as "The Black River." It contains all the sewage waste in the city. Something that the locals love to eat are clams. Guess where the clams come from? .... The Black River! Can you even imagine? Again, they don't know that eating those clams can make them very sick.

We have one week to go. The next part of the trip will consist of the medical clinic. It will be for mostly first aid type of stuff and immediate needs. Please be praying for the families that come. We really want to show them Christ's love.

Thank you again for your prayers!

Love,

Kacie and family!

2009-01-19T18:27:00.000-08:00

Pictures....

1. Pat, Trent and George (medical student) on a tuk tuk

2. Streets of Phnom Penh

3. Kacie and kids on tuk tuk

on next post...

1. Temples of Angkor (they were part of the Amazing Race). Super old temples. They were amazing. They were so big and details. And there were so many of them!

2. Children in a local village

3. Traditional Cambodian house

2009-01-19T17:55:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone!

We finally have an internet connection! We thought we would have one daily, but that has not been the case. Thanks for all the emails! It has been fun hearing from everyone!

We are doing great! Pat is really excited about how things have been progressing. He is especially excited about one of the health promoters he is working with. Her name is Sunat. She has four wonderful daughters. One works with World Vision and the other is their church's Sunday School teacher... a really neat family. Sunat has the same vision we have and that the missionaries here have. She is passionate about working with people living with HIV. That is somewhat rare here, because many don't have the education that we have, many don't have the meds here so they watch their loved ones waste away and in general, the just have a huge fear of it. She also has a passion of working with local villages and teaching them about good health. She wants to mentor them spiritually, physically, and emotionally. Life here can be very hard. Sunat is truly a light in here!

Pat, Matt (wonderful missionary here) and George (wonderful medical student with us) were able to meet with the man who recently translated Where There Is No Doctor into Khmer (Cambodian language). That was a great as this is the curriculum they plan to use to teach the health promoters. They guys were also able to meet the director of Angkor Wat Children's Hospital (thanks Scott and Andrea!). He is doing some amazing work here and is a great connection for us! .

My role has been different than we thought it would be. We envisioned that we would do a lot of this work together. The isn't really possible with the kids here. However, the kids and I are able to participate in other ways though. We are helping out with the kids' program on Sunday mornings, we are doing Vacation Bible School activities during clinic and we will be visiting a local village on Saturday. It took me some time to adjust my expectations and role here, but now that I have, we are loving it. The kids are having a blast. They have fun wherever they go! Overall, they have been such troopers and have been so good! We are blessed. We can't imagine the trip without them.

Today, the health and hygiene team comes. We will have three days of health and hygiene talks. On Saturday, the clinic teams arrives. We will have 4 days of clinic.

We genuinely appreciate your prayers! We definitely need them!

We hope you are all doing well! We miss everyone!

Love,

Kacie and family

And, We're Off!

2009-01-06T16:04:00.000-08:00

Today is the big day! We leave tonight from LAX at 10:50. We will fly for 14.5 hours to Tawain change planes, then we fly another 3 hours to Cambodia. Please pray that the plane doesn't fall from the sky (this is Kacie talking... I don't like to fly).

We truly appreciate all of the phone calls and emails of well wishes. It means so much to us. Thank you!

Strangely enough, we are feeling calm about the trip and we are just plain excited! It will be fun to see what God has in store for us.

We will post as soon as we can once we arrive.

Happy 2009!

Love,
Kacie for the Van Winkles

15 days and counting!

2008-12-22T15:56:00.001-08:00

We leave for Cambodia in 15 days! We are so excited.

We will be in Cambodia from January 6th-February 2nd. Our good friend George will be joining us for the first half and a team of eight more friends will join us for the second half of the trip. We are working alongside Evangelical Friends Church Southwest (hence the blog name Friends in Cambodia).

During the first part of the trip, we will be working at various orphanages and hope to find one that needs sponsorship. We would love to have the opportunity to provide them with food, clothes, and health care on a regular basis! Many more details to come. Pat and George will also be working to set up some community health programs. The kids and I will have to do a lot of shopping and playing while they are working on the health programs!

During the second part of the trip, we will join eight others and run a medical clinic and give health and hygiene talks. During the medical clinic, the kids will help me do some vacation Bible school activities and we plan to pass out hundreds of lollipops! In Ethiopia, Trent is known as "The Candy Man." He had a "pop" for everyone he met!

We are so thankful for this wonderful opportunity that the Lord has given us. We truly feel blessed.

Please keep us in your prayers!

-health

-safety

-that the Lord leads us to an orphanage that needs sponsorship

-that we are able to communicate well and truly show the love of Christ to the Cambodians we meet