Post Cambodia - Days 6-11

Here's all the kids from the community ready for the carnival!

All the rice packed and ready to give out with an invitation to church inside written in Khmer

The Battambang kids serving the community by handing out rice and their toys

Our sweet kiddos having so much fun at the carnival!

Battambang team 2011! What an awesome team God put together!

Day 6: CARNIVAL DAY! This day was unbelievable. We had over 116 kids from the community at the orphanage for the event. Jill and Glenn did an aweosme job of making a carnival that these kids will never forget. Face painting, tattoos, potato sack racing, slip and slide, a balloon room, hair color, candy, and much more! We had also planned to give out rice and an invitation to church to the community kids. But our sweet kids took over and served the community (without being asked). It was incredible to see!

We are circled up telling the person on the left what we love about them

Praying over each child individually - incredible. A memory etched in my heart.

We gave the kids pillows because they didn't have any

All the kids were lined up outside so we could tell them each individually a special "see you soon"

Day 7: Today was our last day at the orphanage. It was sand day. We still had an awesome morning doing of course another dance party. Ashley did a great job of teaching the kids that they are uniquely made. We all say in a circle and told the person next to us what we loved about them. It was so sweet to see what the kids said about each other. After lunch, we came back to the orphanage and took lots of pictures and did some more dancing. Around 4:00, it was time for us to head out. We prayed individually over each child and said "see you soon" - hugging the kids one by one as they were standing in line. Such a precious memory.

Me and my awesome roomie!

The floating village

The kids floated around in these basins trying to sell stuff

Yes - scary, right?

Day 8: We headed to Siem Reap. On the way we picked up one of the other teams in Banteay Meanchey. It was great to see some old friends - like Mike and Candace. We got checked in to our hotel and walked around the city. My whole team experienced Dr. Fish. You literally out your feet into a big tub of fish that eat the dead skin off your feet. It was quite the experience. After that we headed to the floating village. That was the saddest place I have ever seen. People living in what seemed to me as terrible conditions. I actually saw a little boy pooping in the water then a few houses down, I saw a little girl drinking the water. That just broke my heart.

Jill and I at Angkor Wat

 Day 9: Our last day in Siem Reap. We went to church in the morning and that was very cool to see. Jon almost passed out at church while praying. And Ashley and I couldn't even stay in the church service because we were feeling nauseous and light headed. I think we were dehydrated. As the day progressed, I got worse. I only ended up staying at Angkor Wat for an hour before having to be taken back to the hotel. For me, I think the spiritual warfare was hitting all of us. Satan didn't want us to end the trip on a happy note. But I proclaim the name of Jesus and praised him while I was at the hotel sick. I would not let Satan destroy my amazing time in Cambodia!

Day 10, 11, and 12: Today we travel home. It was a rough ride for many of us. Ready to get home and not feeling so good. For me, I just kept picturing Greg and Finn's face in my head. I could hardly wait to melt in my husband's arms and love on my sweet son. Please continue to pray for us with the jet lag, sickness, and life change with being home. We basically lose a day coming home because of the time difference. We left Korea on Monday at 10:30am and arrived in Atlanta on Monday at 11:30 am.

Thank you to all that prayed for us. Thank you for asking about the trip and actually wanting to hear about it. I'm so grateful for the friends and family that supported me while I was gone. I love the letters of encouragement and knowing my family was taken care of while I was gone.

Now that I'm home - let the life change begin. Praise God!