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