Mission Update

Sunday December 29 Team 1 traveled over 30 hours to arrive in Bangkok on Saturday. On Sunday, the team flew the last leg to Siem Reap and went to the regional community training center. We posed in front of the building that we will be trying to complete while we are here. Aaron was asked to preach at the service that started as soon as we arrived.

Monday December 30 Sunday night, we presented the Siem Reap Regional Community Training Center leaders with the additional funds that have been raised at St. Luke’s and the many contributed goods that were carried by the Team I members (including day camp supplies, a lawn mower, and power tools); they were extremely grateful. The team members spent Monday morning preparing for 100 kids at the day camp to begin later in the day, and began laying bricks at the new building. Those of us who were here last time are beginning to remember how hot Cambodia is.

Wednesday January 1 The day camp began Monday afternoon, starting with lunch and including songs and crafts for the Cambodian children. 90+ kids showed up, and it has been very successful so far; the smiles and laughter from the kids have been heartwarming. The book bags and pencil cases that the St. Luke’s members sewed were a big hit. The camp continued on Tuesday; the kids had green bean ice cream (total cost for 100 kids was $2.50). Ken performed magic tricks.

Tuesday, we continued laying bricks for the walls of the new building. We were also able, with great effort, to re-start the generator that Rich Boon brought out during the last trip; Brian Sorsby ended up having to clean the carburetor jets to get it to work.

New Year’s Eve was marked by everyone staying up until 10 PM, an hour later than normal.

Thursday January 2 Today, New Year’s Day, we finished the children’s Day Camp and continued work on the building. We celebrated by attending a combined Christmas and New Year’s service in the local church building; it included music, dancing, and a drama about the birth of Christ. Aaron preached, and Dalay interpreted.

Friday January 3 Ann, one of the site directors, gave us a tour of the site in the morning; the highlight was seeing the pigs and their piglets. Joseph Chan brought a videographer to the site, to do a video about the work being done here; he interviewed several of the team members for a Methodist Church video. The team made the rest of the rebar cages and framed them, mixed aggregate, and poured concrete for the lintels over 5 of the windows.

Saturday January 4 We poured the window lintels on both ends of the lintel, including moving lots of rock, sand, and bricks. 10 out of 16 have now been poured. The inside walls are bricked up to window height. See the photos. Team 2 arrives tomorrow!

Sunday January 5 Today, Sunday, was a day of rest for us. Many team members went shopping in Siem Reap, while others saw the sun rise at Angkor Wat. We had a church service in the afternoon. The big event of the day was the arrival of Team 2. Tomorrow, most everyone is off to Phnom Penh for sightseeing.

Wednesday January 8 On Monday, the combined teams took a speed boat to visit Phnom Penh, the largest city in Cambodia. We saw the Killing Fields and the prison where people were tortured by the Khmer Rouge. We also visited the Cambodian UMC headquarters. On Tuesday, we drove back to Siem Reap, traveling 9 hours in 2 small vans on some incredibly bumpy roads. On Wednesday, we all visited Angkor Wat, truly one of the most amazing places in the world. Tomorrow, Team I returns to the US by way of Bangkok, and Team II continues work at the Training Center.

Thursday January 9 Team 1 said many tearful goodbyes this morning as they left for the airport. Team 2 has re-arranged some of the living arrangements and is helping the Cambodian construction team with tasks such as moving bricks. Most of the effort went into planning the roof for the new building and procuring materials for it. We also purchased a new generator for the Training Center. It seems awfully quiet at night, now.

Friday January 10 The first task of the day was to unload the generator and install it; we used it to demonstrate how the new power tools we brought can be used. We also demonstrated how to use the lawn mower we brought. The building is almost ready for the roof, so we helped move the sand needed for the concrete roof support.

Saturday January 11 Last night, we began giving late evening English classes to some of the local Cambodians. This morning, we began building a low brick wall for the vocational training building, to help keep the rain out during rainy season. The Cambodian construction workers began using the new power tools we donated, hooked up to the generator we installed yesterday. We also visited a local orphanage to make donations. Team 1 should be returning to Denver this afternoon.

Sunday January 12 Today, Sunday, is a day of rest. We will spend the morning shopping in Siem Reap (our last chance to do so). We will have a church service in the afternoon. Tomorrow, Joseph Chan leaves for Phnom Penh to be ordained in the Methodist Church; this will be an historic occasion, since he will be in the first group ever to be ordained in Cambodia. Unfortunately, he is driving the Center’s truck to Phnom Penh, which means we will have difficulty getting into Siem Reap again; therefore, we may not be able to send further updates until after we leave Cambodia. The current plan is to pour the concrete roof foundation tomorrow, and to continue building the wall around the base of the vocational training building next week.

Team I Wrap-up After checking into our hotel in Bangkok, Team 1 took the Sky Rail to shop at a Thai handicrafts store, which for me was delightful! Among the offerings of the store were bolts of Thai silk, scarves, clothing, pillow cases, jewelry, as well as crafts made of wood, metal and ceramics. We had lunch nearby - the noodle soup and sticky rice with mango were two favorites. Following the shopping trip, some of the team members had 2-hour Thai massages in their hotel rooms. In the evening, we had a Thai dinner and a show with traditional Thai dancers. The costumes were beautiful - the colors were pleasing to look at and glittered with gold.

The next day our guide, Tommy, took us on a tour of Bangkok and the outskirts. In the morning, we learned about the various uses of the coconut and saw how coconut brown sugar is made; visited a small orchid farm and a teak carving business; and went to the floating market in "James Bond" boats. In the afternoon, we visited the Grand Palace, which was truly amazing! It is a complex of ornately decorated 220 year-old buildings, which house the royal residence hall, throne hall, government offices and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. The architecture was Thai style and the outside decor consisted of brightly shining gold mosaic as well as glass mosaic and Chinese porcelain in blues, pinks, greens and yellows. While we were in the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, we learned from Tommy about the history and beliefs of Buddhism and had some discussion about the comparisons between Christianity and Buddhism. Our tour of Bangkok ended with a visit to the Gems Gallery, "The World's Biggest Jewelry Store." Thailand is especially known for sapphires and rubies. We saw the jewelry being made by hand and some team members made purchases for their loved ones.

Monday January 13 was our most productive and fun day at the center. Working hand-in-hand with the Cambodian construction workers, we spent about 7 hours pouring the concrete foundation for the new building’s roof. This included mixing the concrete, hauling a near-infinite number of small buckets of concrete, handing it up to the masons, catching empty buckets, and repeating. While it was the most strenuous day we’ve had, it was immensely satisfying to complete the job, and we really enjoyed working with the Cambodians as one team.

Tuesday January 14 we built more rebar cages to support the new roof and continued working on the brick wall for the vocational training building. We also visited the nearby homes of two of the center’s workers.

Wednesday January 15 On Wednesday, we continued work on the brick wall for the vocational training building. We also attended the wedding of the daughter of one of the workers at the center. We will be leaving Cambodia tomorrow; Ken D, David, and Marie are returning home after a short visit to Bangkok, and Ken F, Andrea, Steve, Brian and Dale are visiting Vietnam for 5 days. It will be very difficult saying goodbye to the many friends we've made here.

Thursday January 16 Team 2 left Siem Reap today. The goodbyes to our Cambodian friends were indeed difficult. Ken F, Steve, Dale, Brian, and Andrea are all now sightseeing in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), and Ken D, David, and Marie left for Bangkok.