Before we prepare to jump back into our own culture, we've been filling the last week in Cambodia with some great activities.

Yesterday morning a smaller group of students went to DAIL, a Korean run organization in the outskirts of Siem Reap.  Each day they feed 300+ children lunch.  Some of the children eat their only meal of the day in this place.  We looked around the community before beginning our work to see the village school and some specific families DAIL supports.  It's amazing to see such large organizations making personal connections within communities here.  When we got into the building, kids were already lined up to eat, some on their way back from school's morning shift, some on their way to the afternoon shift.  They were as energetic as ever, hardly able to maintain a line in the center of the room.  When we finally began feeding, the organization was incredible, and we fed all 300 in 25 minutes.  It was intense, but a great team to be a part of.

This morning was a bit more leisurely, as some of us rented bikes to explore Siem Reap a little differently.  Transportation in Cambodia is always an adventure, and this situation was no different.  While some chose to rent a mountain bike, others went for the "simple bike," with a basket and all.  (Bonus!)  When we hit the countryside, we quickly found these bikes were not built for off roading, but we also found a beautiful landscape.  (And we posed for our very own North Face advertisement.)  It was a great time!

Thanks for the prayers and support on our Asian adventure-- See you soon!

Its so crazy to think that this trip is almost done. In some ways it feels like we just arrived, but in others it feels that we are quite settled and at home here. These last few days of our trip are pretty free for us to chose what we want to do. This morning, a small group of us walked to the NIBC kintergarden to help the Korean students paint a mural on the wall. It is so nice to work with students from outside the Calvin community on this trip. There are some differences, but we serve the same Lord and in that we can unite and do wonderful things. We've gotten to know a ton of people on this trip, and it will be very hard to say goodbye. Some of the Koreans, and the Cambodian students we had to leave in Phnom Pehn, but there are still many we will have to leave in the next few days. The most rewarding part of the trip for me has been the personal relationships created through working and worshiping together. The natural wonder of the countryside and the ancient glory of the Angkor wat temples has been quite something, but none of that can compare with the beauty of the people in this place.

Today, a few of us went to another kindergarten this morning (which was also set up by the NIBC) The tuk-tuk ride over there was quite the ride! The driver had a difficult time on these impassable roads. Some of them were so dusty and sandy that we had to get out of the tuk-tuk a few times and walk so the tuk-tuk could pass through. Once we got to the site of the kindergarten, we had to help unpack everything and make the space look like a classroom (there is a problem w/ theft) A few of us played with the children before class started. There were less than 20 4-6 yr olds in the actual class, but the brothers and the sisters of the students wanted to learn, too. So a few people taught the older children ABC's and numbers in a different area. The rest of us played and sang songs with the class. The class wasn't as structured as the other NIBC kindergarten, but they made do with the resources they had. I did have a lot of fun playing and interacting with the children!

 Nora Wallace