Surprise! I'm Home!

Normally, I'm pretty bad at naming blog posts, but for this one I came up with several- The 36 Hour Friday, Goodby Cambodia, Hello America!, and Look! The Water Here Won't Kill Me! 

You can probably guess from the above titles that I am home! Its wonderful to be back in the states again! Here is a recap of my last days in Cambodia and my 36 hour long travel day.

 I was kept pretty busy up until the day I left with teaching, cleaning, worship band, Leah duty, and whatever else needed to be done. Below is a video of Strey Hang, myself, Kayla, and Seth leading worship at the last small group I attended.  Seth kept telling me not to, "Sing so frilly." I can't help it that I'm a legit singer! We only had one rehearsal, so don't expect anything too amazing.

Then I had to pack. I'm not very good at remembering to pack important things like my glasses, so I was pleasantly surprised when everything came home with me! The red rolling duffel was something that I found at the market. I haggled the most on it and managed to get the lady down from $30 to $20. Haggling is something that I miss.

All packed!

One last load of laundry drying on the roof.

My flight wasn't until late, so there was time for one last game of Settlers before it was time to head to the airport. Boo, our amazing tuk tuk driver, was sad to see me go.

Boo and I after my last tuk tuk ride.

I was at the airport two hours early and there was no line for anything so I had a lot of free time on my hands. I was 2/3 of the way through The Great Gatsby before I boarded. The plane lifted off at 11:50 and suddenly, I was on my way home! This started what I like to call, "The 36 Hour Friday". Because I crossed the International Dateline, December 12 was 36 hours long instead of 24.

Goodby Cambodia!

Curled up in my seat. It felt like I had my own reading nook!

The obligatory passport and ticket picture.

After a 5 hour flight, I landed in Seoul for a 4 hour layover. They really knew how to do security! There were about 100 people in line ahead of me and I was through in 5 minutes. everyone there was wearing boots and scarves. I even saw some puffy coats! Being in the tropics for so long, I had forgotten what cold felt like. The airport was freezing, so I huddled under my blanket and ignored the stares from everyone around me.

My blanket sure did come in handy!

Finally, it was time to board the plane that would take me home!

Get ready, America! I'm coming back!

The flight could not have gone more perfectly. Between the two flights, I somehow managed to get 7 hours of sleep as well as watch two movies and three Doctor Who episodes and read several more Sherlock Holmes short stories. We even landed 35 minutes early!

I found these chocolate biscuits things for $.80. They were pretty good!

There was no line at customs and my bags were the first to come out. They were too heavy for me to lift, so this very nice man got them onto my very squeaky cart for me. My mom and brother were there to pick me up and it was wonderful to see them in person again! After a two hour car ride I was home!

I'm back!

Trying to keep warm. My kitties missed me!

Of course, I couldn't stay home for long. I was there for about a half hour before I was asking if we could go see my littles. I had arranged beforehand with their mom to surprise them on the day I came back. As you can see, they were very excited that I was home.

Two of my very awesome friends decided to spend and hour in the freezing cold decorating my car. I've never felt more loved than I have this week coming home and realizing how many people missed me. I don't think that they realized how much I missed them!

Bob looked amazing!

My personal favorite window. You can definitely tell who wrote it!

I haven't been jet lagged at all (Thanks, God!), but I'm using it as an excuse not to unpack. All of the gifts were take out and my personal stuff has been consolidated into one suitcase which is currently sitting in the living room and is being used as a cat toy.

Making a mess in the living room.

I've been pretty busy since I've gotten back with hugging my friends, babysitting, and getting rehired at the library- I start tomorrow! It's wonderful to be home, but I'm going to miss Cambodia and the friends that I made there. Thank you all for following this blog, and supporting me through this journey. To see more of what I did in Cambodia or to stay updated on my latest adventures, feel free to friend me on Facebook if we aren't already friends. Thank you!

It's Asia- who cares?

A list of things that no one cares about because it's Asia, compiled by Tiffony and Faith.

There is a lizard crawling on the kitchen wall. 
I spilled water on my shirt.
I have sweat running down my back.
I haven't shaved in a week.
I'm wearing my pajamas on the street.
I don't have a bathroom sink, or shower for that matter.
I have to flush my toilet with a bucket.
There are mosquitoes in my shower.
I don't have air conditioning.
I may be eating pigs blood in my soup.
I eat the same thing my rabbit does.
I wash my face with a hose.
The sweat on my shirt looks like Mickey Mouse.
There are weevils in the oats and ants in my mango.
I have a near death experience coming back from church every Sunday night.

But it's Asia, who cares?

I'm out of toilet paper but there is this hose here. . .  Wait. I do care about that!

Injuries and Thanksgiving

As you are probably aware, we celebrated Thanksgiving this past week. Even here in Cambodia we could not let the fourth Thursday of November pass without a large meal and turkey decorations. However, turkeys are very expensive here, so I made one out of vegetables and named it Adelbert.

My awesome turkey, Adelbert.

We had a delicious meal of smoked ham and turkey and the leftovers have fed us continuously for the past few days.

The next day, Tiffony, Kayla, and I took the older Bykota kids to go play soccer. This was the first time that they let girls play, which made us feel pretty special. We did find out later that they only let us play because we were paying, but you take what you can get. Tiffony was smart and decided to become our official photographer. The kids play barefoot and must have very tough feet since Kayla and I both suffered injuries. Kayla split a toenail and my ankle had a collision with Ratanak's foot. Its been swollen for the past couple of days and has been particularity painful. Thankfully, Kayla's toe has been doing much better.The kids enjoyed it, which is the main thing. I seem to be very injury prone.

Small Group!

Here at Bykota House there is small group every Tuesday night. This Tuesday, it was my turn to teach on Romans 6:23 and the consequences of sin. I had no idea how it would go, since I am not normally with the Bykota kids and wasn't sure how they would react to me teaching them. Surprisingly, it went better than I had thought!  Because I'm not one of their usual teachers they responded better than they have at any of the small groups I have been at. It probably helped that my lesson was short. They even answered the questions I asked, though to be fair, they were pretty easy ones.

Getting set up.

 Tuesday was also the first day that the new worship band played. It was made up of Ratana, Hang, and Seth on guitar, Kayla playing the piano, and Tiffony and I singing. For only having two rehearsals it went pretty well.

Rehearsing

In other news, Kayla recently adopted Muggy, the Bergen's dog. She has taken to carrying him around the house. He is such a sweetheart, padding after Kayla all day. The kids adore him and are always asking Kayla if they can play with him. Muggy's parents are Windy and Stormy (anyone sensing a pattern here?) who are two of the Benz's dogs. Muggy is part of the ongoing effort to turn me into a dog person.

Muggy curled up with Tiffony.

A Little Update and A Lot of Pictures

These last few weeks here have been pretty hard. After attempting to digest several pieces of unexpected and saddening news from home, it has been difficult to focus on why I'm really here. The kids and the other inters have been amazing. The other day during school, SJ offered to pray and said, "Please help Miss Faith not to be sad anymore and help us not to have school." I'm doing better than I was and every day is a good one when I have these littles.

Thank you for all of your support, I genuinely appreciate it. To thank you, I have a boatload of pictures below. Please enjoy!

SJ and Melody. He always begs me to let him hold her.

We finished school early one day, so we played Candyland!

I'm the kids favorite toy!

Sarah says hello

A rare moment when they are all seated properly.

SJ

My wall gecko. Thankfully, he hasn't been around enough to warrant a name.

This is Kayla on the way home from picking up Muggy, the Bergen's dog that she is adopting. As you can tell, she is very excited (and the roads were bumpy).

How do you defeat a Dalek? Let Leah at it.

Or Melody

The building on the left is a store, the equivalent of a Dash In or  7- 11. I believe that the one on the right is a house. Out in province, these are the most popular types of buildings. Most don't have electricity or air conditioning. They are little more than wooden shacks. However, some have been updated with modern conveniences. Makes my bedroom and bathroom seem like a luxury.

My kiddos doing their math.

Abby loves to climb on me and be picked up "like an airplane!"

She also loves to tickle.

The kids playing twister during our monthly birthday party.

SJ and Snap

Tiffony leading the elementary kids in song.

Tiffony and Kayla with Gina and Linda.

The letters I have received so far. Thank you for thinking of me!

My favorite times are when I get to watch Baby Melody!

Skyping with my AWANA girls. Its always a good day when I see them first thing!

Leah playing the piano.

Thank you for taking the time to read this! I'm not one of those people who take a lot of pictures, but I will try to be better.

 If you would like to help support BYKOTA House, whether it be through prayer or financially, please check out my How to Help page.

A Letter to You

Dear Person Reading This Letter-

First off, I would like to apologize for not updating this blog in a while. I know that you enjoy hearing about what I am up to. It is a wonderful to hear that someone actually reads this.

I have not posted anything lately because this past week or so has been full of unfortunate news from home. Because of this, I have decided to draw my journey here to a close in mid- December in order to be with my family.  I would like to thank you for your prayers while I have been here and would ask that you pray for my extended family. It truly means a lot to me that you have supported me in my decision to serve here in Cambodia. I look forward to seeing you when I return.

With Love-

Faith 

Bathrooms

I never thought that I would get excited at the prospect of brushing my teeth with tap water. This is and interesting way to start a blog post, but I thought that my bathroom is best way to illustrate the differences between how I live in Cambodia and how you all back in the US live. This is my bathroom here in Cambodia-

As you can see, it is all one room. the shower and the toilet are all in one tiny cubicle. I have no sink and even if I did, I would not be able to use it for anything other than washing my hands, as the water is not clean. Instead, I brush my teeth over the drain next to the toilet. I am fortunate to have both a hot water heater and a western toilet.

Although some people may see this as a hardship, I don't. It just makes me appreciate what I have back home. Appreciate what you have, especially if it is something that you take for granted every day, like clean tap water. 

A Wedding and A Lizard Among Other Things

Sunday's are quickly becoming my favorite day. I sleep in, have a relaxed morning, go over my school for the next week and make sure everything is ready, then go to church in the afternoon with Kelsey and Micah. I love the church I've been going to here. Every Sunday I come back feeling enriched in the Spirit.

This week has been my best school week yet. Sarah was sounding out words when she suddenly looked over at the next word and exclaimed, "that's fat"! I was so proud of her. And SJ has been having trouble remembering his letter sounds but something clicked and he's doing so much better. This has been validating. I'm not completely making a mess of things!

Yesterday there was a wedding quite literally on our doorstep. A giant tent was blocking the street. There was music blasting even before any of the guests arrived!  The celebration went quite late into the night. Everyone thought that it was annoying, but it made me happy. It was that couples special day and there will never be one like it for them. If I have to listen to songs in Khmer until 1am, so be it.

Also yesterday I finally met the lizard who lives in my room. I knew that there was one living with me but yesterday was the first day he had made his presence known. He I nome more than four inches long and a light brown color. He pays his rent by eating mosquitos and other bugs. As long as he doesn't run across my face while I am sleeping, we should get along well.

This week we also got two new interns, Valerie and Kayla. Valerie is going to be doing therapy with the special needs children and Kayla will be assisting Rhonda and Micah with school. They are great girls and it's nice to have other people here. Unfortunately, Valerie came down with the stomach bug that's been floating around a few days after she arrived. She says that she is feeling like someone punched her in the stomach but that is better than throwing up.

In more cheerful news, I got Seth into a musical! I had shown him the trailer for the upcoming Into the Woods movie, which was one of my favorites growing up. He seemed genuinely interested and we started watching the Original Broadway Cast proshot with Bernadette Peters (I am still mad that she isn't in the movie). I am planning on taking everyone to see the movie when it comes out here.

I have heard that several people have sent me things. If you feel led to send me something, please don't send a package! Shipping is expensive! Id much rather you dontated to any of the links in my last post. A letter would be appreciated just as much. Things take a while to get over here, but they are appreciated when they do arrive.

How to Help

If you would like to help me, instead of sending a package please consider giving the amount you would have spent on shipping to one of these causes.

BYKOTA House- The kids have started their school year but they need support to help pay for tuition, school supplies and their uniform. You can choose to sponsor a child for school or help pay for their yearly visit to the dentist or for immunizations, both of which are a large expense. 

Support the kids!

The Bergens- Micah and Kelsi Bergen are the primary teachers at the BYKOTA House school. They have three daughters, two from Bykota House that they are in the process of adopting and a beautiful 9 month old who was born here in Cambodia. These girls have stolen my heart! The Bergens are leaving this week! This will be the first time that Abby and Lily will meet their grandparents.
Fly them home! 

Prayer- Tiffony fell down the stairs (they are incredibly steep) and got three stitches in her elbow. There were no other fall- related injuries Praise the Lord! However, she has had a reaction to the tetanus shot. It shouldn't be anything serious, but I know that she would appreciate your prayers.

I am struggling through some things personally as I am not able to be with my family during this difficult time we are going through.

Thank you!

Emergency Update

I think I'm set on goldfish for quite a while! Please don't send me anymore!

Sick

As of Sunday I have been in Cambodia for a month. How did I celebrate this? By getting sick. Rhonda, Danielle, Tiffony and I were all sick these past couple days. I was the first felled by the stomach bug and the longest recovering, unfortunately. It seems like I am missing a day since I spent most of Monday asleep. Danielle was wonderful and taught for me both Monday and today. Yesterday everyone was doing better,  but unfortunately today I was not. If you wouldn't mind, please pray that tomorrow I am feeling well enough to teach.

Scavenger Hunt!!

Tiffony and I had both previously mentioned to Danielle that we would love to go and explore the market. So Danielle came up with the idea of a scavenger hunt in the market. Today she sent Tiffony and I off into the market with a list of things we had to find. We would meet her at a near by coffee shop when we were done. The catch was that she didn't tell us where it was, only that it was within walking distance of the market. Thankfully we spotted it from the tuk tuk on the way there.

Our list.

Surprisingly, we were able to find everything rather quickly, even if we did spend 30 minutes looking at jewelry. Tiffony and I both wanted watches and ended up with ones that have the same face and charm, but different bands. Danielle called them our friendship watches.

Our watches!

We ended up walking around the market about three times, but it was good because now we are pretty confident of finding our way through the maze of stalls. It does seem that there are hidden booths that you only seem to be able to find once. It is one of my favorite places that I've been to so far. You can find just about anything there. It even has a food court!

It's sideways, but this is nail polish remover written in Khmer.

Once we were finished, we met Danielle at a coffee shop called Jars of Clay for lunch. The food was good, but best of all, it was air conditioned! You don't appreciate what you have until you don't have it anymore. Until last night, I haven't minded not having AC in my room because I have a fan. Yesterday, for some reason my room was boiling. I woke up covered in sweat. Gross, I know, but this is Cambodia.

Tiffony's mochaccino and my lemon shake.

A double decker chicken sandwich and a caesar and bacon salad.

I did not realize that Tiffony was taking a picture.