Hey everyone. After causing a family member to strain a calf muscle with an attempted Skype call, I've decided that I need to relieve Heidi of blog duties for tonight because I don't want her causing serious injury to any more of our faithful blog followers. (You all can thank me later.)

So now it's up to me to try to catch you up on what has been an amazing two days for our team. The most important detail to share (and one that I will come back and revisit in more detail in a little while) is that this morning we had our first opportunity to experience the true purpose behind our mission - spending time with the children of the New Life Ministries orphanage in Phnom Penh. Having been on this trip last year, I knew it was going to be overwhelming to see these wonderful kids again, but the love and affection they showed to our team was more than I ever could have expected. Although our visit today was brief, the impact of those two hours was monumental.

So before going into more detail about our orphanage visit, I'm going to try and share some of the details about our last two days.
Our Saturday morning started with a very emotional visit to Choeung Ek. I won't go into a history lesson on what the country of Cambodia suffered through during the late 1970s, but the grounds we were walking are better known by the name 'The Killing Fields' and this was a site where over 17,000 innocent victims were brutally executed during the reign of the Khmer Rouge. The grounds today appear to be nothing more than a quiet area with dirt paths that weave through a beautiful section of land just outside the city of Phnom Pehn. But as you walk the paths, you pass by countless large trenches that served as mass graves. And two large trees in the area have signs recounting the nicknames by which they are better known - The Killing Tree and The Magic Tree. And even though the word 'magic' might seem like it would possibly denote something positive, nothing could have been further from the truth. We knew going into our visit that this was not going to be a uplifting experience, but I hope that the rest of the team would agree when I say that it gave us a valuable insight into Cambodian history and is a visit that will remain in our memories forever.
Saturday evening we were treated to a sunset boat ride on the Mekong River. Our ride lasted for several hours and I would venture to say that the highlight of the ride was not watching the sunset or rejoicing that the boat didn't actually tip over at any point during our journey, but was the brief portion of the trip that took us by one of the many small pockets of dwellings that are located on the river. These 'houses' are a far cry from the lakefront properties that many of us are familiar with and were another humbling example of level of poverty that surrounds us.

We began this morning by attending service at the New Life Church in Phnom Pehn. We attended this same church last year and at that time we were given a tour of the new facility that was currently under construction. Although the entire building is not yet complete, construction on the actual church was done about a month ago and we were guests for just the third service that was being held in this beautiful new facility.
After service, it was time for us to make our initial visit to the orphanage. As we pulled onto the small dirt road that leads to the orphange, we were greeted by a sight that absolutely made my heart go into my throat. Instead of waiting for us inside the gates, the children had lined up along the final short stretch of road leading the orphange and were waiting to greet us. Immediately after the van stopped and we opened the doors, the children swarmed us and I knew that our mission was truly beginning. We made our way into one of the small classrooms on the grounds where we did a brief introduction of the team - and then the children did something that immediately made nearly all of us break into tears. On our final day at the orphanage last year, we presented the children with a banner that featured the handprints of each member of our team along with a very brief personal message. (In addition to myself, there are two other members of our team who were here last year - Carol and Lacey.) So as we're standing in front of the children this morning, several of the older boys who were seated in the very back of the room stood up..and they were holding the banner above their heads. I think it goes without saying that we were stunned to see that this banner was not only still in tact, but also that these children so clearly remembered our team. Just an amazing testimony to how God's love impacts us all.
After composing ourselves, we spent a couple hours playing with kids - various games like basketball and soccer and also 'manicures' for many of the girls. (And, yes, the girls did decide that us boys needed them as well. So I'm currently blogging with bluish glitter polish on my nails that also features little purple crosses on my right hand fingers and A-L-E-X spelled out on four finger on my left hand. Who was I to deny beautiful little Srey Nath her fun?)

So there's the recap of our last 48 hours. We are all anxious to begin spending full days with these children and can only imagine the amazing things that God has in store for us over this next week.

Again, your prayers for our team are appreciated and please be sure to also pray for the health and well-being of these wonderful children.

Thanks to everyone who is taking the time to follow our blog. We truly appreciate your love and support.

God Bless,
Alex