When we went into the ruins there were more little pagodas where you could worship the gods. Some were large and some were small. It blows my mind to think that people walk all the way up this mountain just to pray to these demonic statues. There was some kind of fire smoking around the ruins out of a black pot, I don't know really what this was, but the smell was sickening to me. We explored the ruins and took a few pictures. There were a few cats roaming around and also a huge centipede, about 6 inches long and poisonous. We also saw a hug millipede about the same length. These are the type of bugs you see on Fear Factor that they try to get people to touch.
Speaking of large insects, we had our first encounter with one the night before we went to the mountain. Ginny came out of the bathroom and told us she saw a scorpion. Now, we have little scorpions in Alabama and I have seen my share so I didn't think it was a big deal. Ginny had closed the bathroom door. I went over to the door and was talking to Jessica about trying to get a picture when I heard this scratching noise. I thought surely that can't be the scorpion. I opened the wooden bathroom door and there it was. It was about 6 inches long with a huge stinger and two huge pincers in the front. This was NOT your average scorpion. This was a mutant, giant, alien scorpion! As soon as I opened the door it came running out of the bathroom toward us. Being the girls that we are, we all four screamed and ran into our room. We never found it until later when it came out from under the sink. One of the boys caught it, proceeded to remove its stinger and began playing with it while at the same time taunting us and threatening to throw it on us! It was quite a hilarious and chilling experience.
After we got off the mountain, we went to Sali's house. They live in a house that is sort of like a hut on stilts. They have a farm and considered pretty comfortable for Cambodia. They served us a meal that was very delicious. We got to try a ton of new odd fruits as well. Most of them were very good. I wish I knew the names of them. After lunch, we rested, (which is custom here) and they decided to take us out on their "boat." They live beside this huge pond covered in grass and lily pads, water lilies, and all sorts of plant life. You wouldn't think there was any water unless you were told. The boat they took each of us in was a hollowed out log. It was a very interesting experience. The boat was very, very, wobbly and I felt like I was going to tip over any second the entire time. There were lots of edible things in the pond such as these water lilly type fruits and the stems. I tried the fruit, it tasted like pumpkin to me. At Sali's house we got to know her family a little bit and had a really good time. Sali showed us how they make scarves with this huge wooden machine that they "sew" thread by thread. It is amazing and the fabrics are georgeous! Sali's family gave us a present to take back to the orphanage with us. It was these thin, folded, cookies in the shape of a taco that had a fortune cookie like texture. They were SO good! Very light and vanilla flavored. We really enjoyed them and still have some left. Since Sali is about to leave the orphanage because they are sending her to college to be a teacher, she will soon have a replacement, and we went and visited her on the way back to the orphanage. She had a spinning wheel which was pretty cool and taught us how to use it. As we were going through the different villages, there were so many, many, children. I can't help but hope that they get a second chance like these kids have.
This morning we went to church. It was all in Khmer so we didn't understand it, but it was cool. After church we went to the market to buy some more fruit and get some fabrics. Cambodia is famous for its gorgeous skirts they make. You can buy the fabric and someone in the village will custom make it to your size just for you. The fabric is only 3 U.S. dollars. They sell nice scarves here too. We got to wash our clothes by hand today which was pretty interesting. Ginny and I had a good time kind of goofing off. Wut, one of the girls, showed us how to properly do it. I told her that I bet our clothes are cleaner washing them by hand then when we put them in a machine! We hung them out on the clothes line to dry.
It's so fun playing with the kids! I love them all so much! They bring such joy to my heart! The girls have given me so many bracelets that they have made and a headband. These crafts are exquisite! They are all so talented! I told them how I sell earrings and that if they wanted, I could sell their bracelets and give them the money. I hope they decide to do this! The U.S. dollar goes pretty far here and it could really give the girls a lot of money.
Tomorrow we will be going to take the kids to the beach. I am pretty excited about this! The kids are too! This is such a special treat for them and I am so excited that I am able to be a part of it. We are going to a little island. Kit was showing us pictures of it today and there is so much wild life there! I am really excited to see some more different creatures! We will be staying in little huts, which should be pretty interesting. Each of us is staying with two of the little girls. I am staying with Chantrea and Vannack. They are both so sweet.
I love going up to the girls room at night and just being silly with them. They all bring so much joy to my heart. I love the way they say my name! I don't know how to spell it out phonetically, but it is pretty awesome. I love learning new little Khmer words from them like how to say beautiful. It is said like suh-ant with a particular accent on the ant. I always tell the girls how pretty they are and most of them deny it. This worries me and hurts my heart. I hate that they think that. Here in Cambodia, there is no regulation on products. For example there is this "whitening cream" that is basically made of acid that girls put on their skin to be whiter because it is considered pretty. I wish these girls could see how beautiful they are!
Thing are going pretty well. Been a little sick to my stomach the past two days, so please pray that gets better, it really is no fun. To be honest, and I am not one to hide or sugar coat things, I have been feeling very discouraged the past two days. I don't really know why, but I know that the enemy is slowly trying to creep in. Please pray that I can fight against this with Truth. It was funny because in Ephesians where it talks about the armor of God, has been brought up a lot for me lately, and that is the passage the pastor preached on today at the Khmer church. I thought that was pretty cool.
I won't be able to update my blog for a few days, so please keep praying and stay tuned!
Blessings,
Laura
After we got off the mountain, we went to Sali's house. They live in a house that is sort of like a hut on stilts. They have a farm and considered pretty comfortable for Cambodia. They served us a meal that was very delicious. We got to try a ton of new odd fruits as well. Most of them were very good. I wish I knew the names of them. After lunch, we rested, (which is custom here) and they decided to take us out on their "boat." They live beside this huge pond covered in grass and lily pads, water lilies, and all sorts of plant life. You wouldn't think there was any water unless you were told. The boat they took each of us in was a hollowed out log. It was a very interesting experience. The boat was very, very, wobbly and I felt like I was going to tip over any second the entire time. There were lots of edible things in the pond such as these water lilly type fruits and the stems. I tried the fruit, it tasted like pumpkin to me. At Sali's house we got to know her family a little bit and had a really good time. Sali showed us how they make scarves with this huge wooden machine that they "sew" thread by thread. It is amazing and the fabrics are georgeous! Sali's family gave us a present to take back to the orphanage with us. It was these thin, folded, cookies in the shape of a taco that had a fortune cookie like texture. They were SO good! Very light and vanilla flavored. We really enjoyed them and still have some left. Since Sali is about to leave the orphanage because they are sending her to college to be a teacher, she will soon have a replacement, and we went and visited her on the way back to the orphanage. She had a spinning wheel which was pretty cool and taught us how to use it. As we were going through the different villages, there were so many, many, children. I can't help but hope that they get a second chance like these kids have.
This morning we went to church. It was all in Khmer so we didn't understand it, but it was cool. After church we went to the market to buy some more fruit and get some fabrics. Cambodia is famous for its gorgeous skirts they make. You can buy the fabric and someone in the village will custom make it to your size just for you. The fabric is only 3 U.S. dollars. They sell nice scarves here too. We got to wash our clothes by hand today which was pretty interesting. Ginny and I had a good time kind of goofing off. Wut, one of the girls, showed us how to properly do it. I told her that I bet our clothes are cleaner washing them by hand then when we put them in a machine! We hung them out on the clothes line to dry.
It's so fun playing with the kids! I love them all so much! They bring such joy to my heart! The girls have given me so many bracelets that they have made and a headband. These crafts are exquisite! They are all so talented! I told them how I sell earrings and that if they wanted, I could sell their bracelets and give them the money. I hope they decide to do this! The U.S. dollar goes pretty far here and it could really give the girls a lot of money.
Tomorrow we will be going to take the kids to the beach. I am pretty excited about this! The kids are too! This is such a special treat for them and I am so excited that I am able to be a part of it. We are going to a little island. Kit was showing us pictures of it today and there is so much wild life there! I am really excited to see some more different creatures! We will be staying in little huts, which should be pretty interesting. Each of us is staying with two of the little girls. I am staying with Chantrea and Vannack. They are both so sweet.
I love going up to the girls room at night and just being silly with them. They all bring so much joy to my heart. I love the way they say my name! I don't know how to spell it out phonetically, but it is pretty awesome. I love learning new little Khmer words from them like how to say beautiful. It is said like suh-ant with a particular accent on the ant. I always tell the girls how pretty they are and most of them deny it. This worries me and hurts my heart. I hate that they think that. Here in Cambodia, there is no regulation on products. For example there is this "whitening cream" that is basically made of acid that girls put on their skin to be whiter because it is considered pretty. I wish these girls could see how beautiful they are!
Thing are going pretty well. Been a little sick to my stomach the past two days, so please pray that gets better, it really is no fun. To be honest, and I am not one to hide or sugar coat things, I have been feeling very discouraged the past two days. I don't really know why, but I know that the enemy is slowly trying to creep in. Please pray that I can fight against this with Truth. It was funny because in Ephesians where it talks about the armor of God, has been brought up a lot for me lately, and that is the passage the pastor preached on today at the Khmer church. I thought that was pretty cool.
I won't be able to update my blog for a few days, so please keep praying and stay tuned!
Blessings,
Laura
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