Wow! What a crazy week and a half it has been. We made it to Phnom Phen and it was definitely culture shock! We were there for a couple of days and then moved to where we will be for two months, Kampong Chhnang. We arrived and I feel in love with the women and children. The “compound” has about 8 orphans that live there- they just came in off the street. Here is a recap of what we have been doing everyday:
5:30- wake up under mosquito net, covered in sweat. It is so hot and humid. Pee in the squat toilet and brush teeth with water bottle.
6:00- bell (like a gong) rings and it is time for devotions. There are about  17 girls here and we are building really great relationships. The girls sing in Khmer and then we each share something for the morning. Hey and Che Oun don’t go to school in the morning, so they are there. Hey is 7 and Che Oun is 5. They are both orphans.
7:00 BREAKFAST- RICE. Every meal is rice and a little something else. The food has been really good and I have “enjoyed” eating the food. We are staying in a gated place with guards. We live up stairs and the women live downstairs. We eat with the women and do everything with them.
(after breakfast is a good time to get a quick nap in)
8:00 Sewing class- the women learn how to sew which is so fun. They use old singer sewing machines that you power by foot. They have a teacher who is awesome and makes fantastic clothes. I have been learning how to sew as well.
11:00 Lunch. More rice, conversations and goofing off.
11:30 English Class: This is one of my favorite things and has proven to be very challenging. We have no curriculum and are starting with ABC’s and they have never seen things like markers. They are so eager to learn and are very interested in learning.
1:00- Most of the orphans come back from school and we teach them English. They are catching on very quickly and I have never seen any kids more interested in learning than they are. It kills me everyday to see these kids without families and how much they could flourish with one. I was getting really worked up and mad that they don’t have families. God showed me that the only thing you can do is pray about it. So we have begun to pray that each kid gets a family by christmas.
3:30- teach dance, music, art and rec. We switch off everyday. I got to teach an art class and we learned about the color wheel. It was so fun to see them mixing colors and learning about this for the first time.
Then it rains. It rains everyday for about 10 minutes, but it is the best  10 minutes of the day.
6- Dinner! Rice and something else. Getting real used to rice- but not complaining that we have 3 meals a day.
7- night devotions. Covered in sweat by this point. We each talk about something each night. The other night, two girls came up crying to one of us and talked about their relationship with God with her. It is great to see that they are learning from our teachings.
Then its time for a bucket shower. There is bucket with rain water and you pour it on yourself. It is actually really fun. Then we get in our nets and doze off for a sweaty slumber.
I have had a great time getting to know the girls and the relationships are really starting grow. It is really hard for me to look at them and imagine what they have gone through. I am missing the familiarities at home, but loving all the new experiences.