A day off, a day out
Yesterday morning, it was clear that everyone could use a change of pace. My kids had been out and about, being hustled back and forth between the hotel, the school and the children's homes since our arrival in Phnom Penh, and attitudes were starting to fray. The team from Central Vineyard was also feeling a bit harried, so we decided to take a day off, do some shopping and sightseeing and stay in the city.
Clearing our schedule ended up being a good thing. My family decided to show the Central Vineyard team to some shopping and sightseeing opportunities around town. On my way out of the hotel, I checked my email one last time, and realized that our director Savorn Ou's email had been hacked, and that someone using his account was impersonating him and sending requests worldwide for money to get him out of a tight spot in, of all places, Spain.
I sent my family along and spent the next hours doing damage control, contacting people from Savorn's email list, establishing new email accounts and setting them up on Savorn's phone and computer.
By the time my family returned, they were almost ready for lunch. Me? I was ready for a nap. But I went to lunch anyway. Probably a bad move. The family and team finished lunch with enough energy to hit the streets again. Me, not so much. In fact, I felt like I was going to yak. I took a moto back to the hotel, sent the rest on the way and got a couple hour's worth of sleep.
I felt well enough to go to dinner with everyone, but not enough to hang out afterwards. I hit the sack relatively early. That's probably why I'm now awake at 3:49 a.m. Ugh.
I'm going to try to go back to sleep. I'll need my energy -- we're taking the kids from Prek Eng 2 out to the water park today. 5 hours of roughhousing with a couple dozen energetic kids in the blazing Cambodian sun can take the spit out of the healthiest man. After an hour or so, I think I'll need to scout out a hammock. Or a gurney.
After the water park, we're headed to Savorn and Sony's new house for dinner. I'm looking forward to seeing their new place which many of you helped us purchase. Unlike their old house, this one doesn't fill with 3 feet of poo every time it rains. This is a very good thing.
Tomorrow, we're going to church with the kids, and then we're hosting a dance party for all five Prek Eng homes. By the time Monday rolls around, we may need another break. But until then, we're going to give it all we got and try our best to show the kids and staff just how much we love them.
I'll start by trying -- and failing -- to get another hour or so of sleep. If it doesn't work, I'll take an early morning photo Safari.