Update from the team - 12 July 2009

Greetings from Sisophon,

Time to catch everyone up with our journey. We left Phnom Penh - 6 July 2009 - as scheduled by 1000 on Monday. We pulled out at 1005 which is nothing short of a miracle for this group. How all the luggage, food that we carry, medicines and all our supplies and people loaded into the vans. We left Phnom Penh amid lots of crowds that arrived by the bus loads for the mourning of President Chea Sim's wife. What saddened us all was last Thursday, 25 June John Clark along with Jim and Cheryl McCandliss had a wonderful 45 minute visit with President Chea Sim along with Ps Setan Lee and his daughter Sandra. Ps Setan was very close with the President and his wife so her death had a personal impact for our team. Setan conveyed our warmest condolences to the President and that we prayed for the Lord of the Universe to comfort the President during this time. President Chea Sim called Setan the day we left Phnom Penh to thank us all for our prayers on his behalf. So...Traffic was blocked on many streets and police and military were everywhere. But we left the big city behind and traveled out to the country and The Women's Center in Kompong Chhnang. We distributed rice of about 2 tons here and set up under the awning for the medical clinic. It was a very overcast day so that helped with the heat. One of the vans had a flat tire, so there was a distraction for some of the kids while they changed the tire. We saw about 150 people here at the Women's Center where they train young girls in the art of hair dressing and sewing. With so much prostitution in this country, this at least gives the young ladies a fighting chance to earn a living if they can gain a skill. We were finishing up seeing the last 50 people or so when the rains came. They were monsoon-type rain that soaked everything in its path. The kids were playing with a beach ball early on in the rain, then even they came in for cover. We had to move all medicines inside to finish our clinic. We once again loaded into the vans and we were off again.

We stopped in Pursat for the next two nights. We stayed in a guest house that used a pillow that was as comfortable as a bag of cement!!! But it was clean and the restaurant for breakfast was next door. This is a good thing. The next day was a rice distribution with the Governor of the Provence. Here we gave out 10 tons of rice. Of course we had a medical clinic that happened also. We had a couple of very sick children that will hopefully do well with the antibiotics given. Lots of older people with arthritis pain too. A couple of people sat with our wonderful translators (two wonderful and God loving young American ladies from YWAM that speak fluent Khmer - Krissy and Molly) and said they really did not have any medical maladies, but wanted to say hello anyway. Regardless, we gave them vitamins and Tylenol and they were on their way. Our doctor, Dr Randy Alanko from Baker City, Oregon feels the biggest service we are doing for these people is giving everyone the worm medicine. Funds have been donated to cover the cost of thousands of toothbrushes and toothpaste. Debbie Dawson (from Washington state) has a set of teeth and a translator to explain how to brush your teeth. And she's joyfully giving toothbrushes and trainng to everyone who comes to the clinics. Praise God!!!

That evening we had a concert with all the performers from Cambodia, South Africa, Indonesia and the United States. We started about 7pm and the crowd was maybe 400 people. By the time the music started and others heard this, we had lots more people arrive on their motos. The stage was set up in the middle of a field and we were off to the races. Best guess is there were 3000 in attendance at the highest point. Cambodians can be fickle about the music they like. When the ballads were sung, they were off for points unknown as they left in droves. A restaurant actually stayed open for us and we managed to have a late dinner before collapsing into bed.

The vans were packed up in the morning and we were off again to Battambang. This is where Ps Setan Lee the leader of Transform Asia who is our contact here in Cambodia is from and where his nightmarish ordeal began in 1975 through 1979 in the Killing Fields. He points to many places where he remembers his friends and he gathered, the University where his Mom attended, the place where he watched his best friend murdered in cold blood….. It is amazing to listen to his stories. We have a group of Pastors with us to assist with the rice distributions and all the red tape. We handed out 5 tons of rice at Pastor Chanta's church as well as school uniforms. Time was short, so we had a bag of medications including vitamins, Tylenol, Ibuprofen and worm medicine to leave behind. Lunch was prepared for us at the Trade School in Battambang where some young ladies are taught to sew. They do a beautiful job and this was a chance to purchase gifts as well as support a worthy cause. We finally checked into the hotel for a very short time before we gathered at the pool. John and Jim and Pastor Chanta climbed in the swimming pool and baptized 41 people of all ages. They stepped in the pool fully dressed and were reassured by the men in the pool that they were safe. Some had looks of shock as they came up after the immersion, but they all did it as planned. It was a heart-warming sight to see. Just enough time to change shirts or splash cold water on your face and off we went to Pastor Kosal's church. We met his mother who usually does not venture out of the house, but knew we would be there and wanted to meet us. Another 5 tons of rice and another medicine bag drop off and we climbed back in the vans to return to the Trade School. And of course - lots of music and dancing by all at every stop!!!

The Trade school takes students that they hand pick and teach them how to sew and make Khmer clothing, purses, wallets, etc. It also teches computer training to other students. It was time for the team to do some shopping and support the girls and the Trade School. They learn to cook and learn hygiene. This at least gives them a fighting chance in this country and a way to earn money. No tuition is charged for this one year of schooling, but they are sponsored by various donors for the year. We had an incredible lunch and dinner prepared for us at the Trade School. It was wonderful to have a home-cooked meal.

During the evening we particpated in a youth rally at the Trade School. Everyone had a great time for a couple of hours with the singing and the dancing. It was an energetic crowd of young people while us older folk were pooped and looking forward to go back to the hotel we were in. The internet at the hotel was sketchy to say the least. The wireless connection would connect and drop off on a pretty regular basis. Since we were looking at an early morning, we gave up and went to bed.

Up and out at 0600 and off to Poipet near the Thai border. Last year when we visited this town, the paved road ended and we bounced along through a gutted dirt road for about 12 miles. This year the paving was completed to the Thai border. We handed out 10 tons of rice and set up for a medical clinic. The President of Poipet - Mayor as we would know him - was there and participated in the speeches. The Cambodian Health Department was also there and wanted a sample of all of our medication. Pastor Sophana came over and said they wanted to see what medicine we were giving out. They wanted to analyze them and make sure they were pure!!! We all think they were trying to get some free medicine. Guess we have to play by their rules. As it was they never came back and there was no trouble with the clinic we were doing.

After Poipet, we arrived in Sisophon. The rooms are not special by any means. No hot water or mirror in the bathroom. It is clean (relatively) and there are no critters running around but a large snake was seen the next morning in the parking lot!!!. The air con works well and that is what counts. We had a concert on a real stage that the Governor allowed us to use free of charge. Remember the 41 baptized in Battambang? Well about the time the baptisms were done, the Govenor of the province called and offered us to use his permanant stage in Sisophon at no cost. Wow God's blessing on us was wonderful!!! So we were able to set up and perform on a real stage - permamanet with all the things we needed so we didnt have to assemble our stage we travel with. There were probably about 4000 people in attendance. Lots of upbeat songs and great team and crowd participation. It has been great to have the Cambodian band members from New Song along with us. Their bad is led by Chanta who's wife was waiting to deliver at any moment back in Phnom Penh. So papa to be was so happy but nervous to be so far awya from his wife. The concert was packed throughout and no one from the crowd wanted to leave. Makes for a long day when the concert ends at 1000pm after 3 and half hours of playing. We all came back to the hotel, ate and fell into bed.

Rice distribution and medical clinic in the morning at the same stage the concert was held at the night before. 8 am with the Govenor came early and we coaxed the govenment officials to allow all the Cambodians to join us up on stage - near 400 plus - to keep out of the sweltering heat. At the medical clinic they saw another 200 people. Lots of HIV in this neck of the woods. The young children with HIV are the saddest. They are searching for something that we could not give. We saw one woman who was in pain. She had lost her arm in a land mine accident many years ago. We saw lots of people with prosthetic legs. The foot has a space between the big toe and the second toe so they can wear a flip flop type sandal. These people are resilient and grateful for even the simplest thing we can do. Their smiles are infectious. We have a break and off again to an Orphanage in Sisophon to hand out school uniforms and school supplies and play with the kids. We did see one little boy with a rash all over. It appeared he had an infestation of parasites by washing with unclean water. Off to the local Pharmacy to pick up some medication for him. Then it was time to play. There was a beach ball which made a hit with all the boys. They chased some of the teenagers we had with us and had a blast. Lots of running and lots of energy. There was a lot of laughter and I think fun by all.

Our last day in Sisophon, we traveled to Banteay Chhmar approximately 61km and 2 hours away via a paved road which becomes a dirt road which becomes a very, very, very bumpy road for the majority of the trip. Oh did I tell you the road was bumpy??? There was actually a bump where we were all lifted off our seats!! Glad all our teeth are still intact. En route, we stopped for a bathroom break. We pulled into a house to ask if we could use their squatty potty. They were gracious enough to agree. The woman of the house seemed in distress so Dr. Randy examined her and found her in need of valve replacement surgery. Setan took her name to have her scheduled for surgery when his cardiac team of Physicians arrived in February. No coincidence we pulled into this house. We continued on and visited a church that was built with money raised by Melanie, a singer from South Africa. She held concerts in order to raise the money. It was too bad Melanie couldn't join us here - she was at Siem Reap Airport set to return home to South Africa for an young ladies conference. We did call her at the airport and she spoke by phone to the people gathered at the church. We handed out the 10 tons of rice. We had our medical clinic and Dr. Randy was very busy. He was able to suture a wound on a woman's thumb that she cut with a knife just today. There was a precious 6 month old with serious health problems. We could hear a heart condition and he was struggling to breath. Setan's Physician group/surgeons would not arrive until February. The infant will probably not survive that long so we all gathered together and prayed for Haim and his mother. At that point in time, that was the best medicine we could do. How frustrating that we cannot fix it all and save all the children. We saw other people who really needed medical care with infections and blood pressure problems. Some still just wanted to say hello. Unfortunately we parted paths with our two American YWAM friends who have been wonderful translators who are so precious and gentle with these people. Krissy and Molly gave tirelessly for the whole week and we'll miss them greatly but there's always next year right?

Today –Sunday 12 July, we headed to Siem Reap and we hope to be able to actually send this note out to everyone. We stopped at the TransForm Asia " Eye Of God" church for Sunday services and a rice distribution. The church is in the town of Preah Net Preah and the village chief came to the Lord a few years back - followed thereafter by the whole village. Daud, Ps Setan and Timothy sang beautifully for us all and after the service we gave new clothes to the adults and school supplies to the children. After a stop for lunch we made it to our hotel – Angkor Holiday where we'll be as we change over the team tomorrow. The team is healthy with just some minor issues with ear infection (we carry medicine for that), allergy-type symptoms with runny nose and minor episodes of stomach issues. Believe it or not, we are very close to team exchange. We cannot believe it has come upon us so soon.

God Bess one and all and Please remember us in your Prayers.