Heading to Thailand

It would be impossible to recount all of the past few days’ events even in the scantest of detail, but it should give you some idea of our pace to know that we were in Siem Reap yesterday, Battambang this morning, Phnom Penh this evening and will be traveling to Chiang Mai via Bangkok tomorrow. 

This trip has been much more hectic than most of my others, thanks mostly to the ambitious excursions we planned – all the kids from the four Prek Eng homes went with us by bus to the beach at Kampong Som and all of the five Battambang homes traveled with us to see the Angkorian temples at Siem Reap. We enjoyed so many sweet moments with the kids; I only wish I hadn’t lost more than 200 photos from our time at Angkor Wat. 

I’ve played more games of freeze tag, follow-the-leader and hangman than I can count. I’ve had literally thousands of hugs. Each child is so precious, each director so amazing – I’m at a point of overload. Yesterday we said “goodbye” to the kids in Battambang, including the precious ones from Battambang 1 I first met years ago. It was difficult, but not as much as it was on my first few trips – I know I’ll be back soon. 

Tomorrow we leave the Prek Eng kids and start all over in Thailand, where we will meet a whole bunch of children I’ve never even seen at our new Battambang 4 and perhaps even at the just-being-born Wiang Pa Pow 1. I’ll have to switch from “Chum reap suor” to “Sawadee krup.”

Tonight I had a wonderful dinner at Le Duo with Ted Olbrich from Foursquare Children of Promise. They have more than 100 orphan homes in Cambodia, and lots more experience and knowledge than any of us. He ratified a lot of my thoughts and opinions about ministry here and challenged others of mine. I look forward to many years of ministering with him here in this country.

And I’m minutes away from an evening snack with Joe Crawford a member of my church – Central Vineyard – who is on holiday from his teaching job in Thailand. 

Life is complex. Life is good. The task before us is so daunting that only God could accomplish it.

More later.