March 13, 2010 (Saturday)

Hi Everyone!

Rich and I arrived late Tuesday around midnight because ofsnow in Seoul! In the morning we rusheddown to breakfast with the rest of the team that had already arrived and headedfor the church to meet the children who are orphans. We sorted some gifts for a while and then wemet these precious kids. There are eightof us and each of us are kinda in charge of two orphans. Mine are Priscilla (6 years) and Tola(16years) Rich’s kids are Chenn (17yrs)and Channak (18yrs). They all get to goto school and it is paid for by Fran.There are close to 20 boys and girls in this orphanage. These children are the most gracious and kindyoung people you could meet. Theirstories vary and I won’t go into all that here but today we took them shoppingand they each got 15 dollars to spend.It was fun to see them blessed.Then we took them to the water park for a couple of hours and it was sohot Gail got in clothes and all. Whatthe heck! Then we took them to lunch ata real nice restaurant and then back to the orphanage. They get to do this once a year and areactually better off than most Cambodians.What we take for granted they take a special privilege once a year.

On Thursday we went to a village with the poorest people we have ever met we thought, until we went tothe one on Friday! We meet about 75-80children on Thursday and the team played with the kids and Gail brought amessage on hope to the adults. Friday’sgroup was about 200 children and Pat King and Barb Snyder told somereally neatstories and then Gail gave a message to the adults. It is wild to see this team of people come upwith games to play with the children who cannot understand a word we aresaying. Such fun and sense of making adifference in a small way. After theservice we (actually Rich and a few men) handed out 40 pound bags of rice tothe poorest people. They have about onewell every mile I think. They live offthe land and try to raise their families as best they can. Every child got agift! Most of them have never received a new toy in their life. Chen La is the pastor in charge when PastorMony is not here. He preaches each weekin these villiages and prays for these people.Chin La was one of the children who escaped the Khmer Rouge and was wonto Christ through a missionary woman named Mary Hill from England. After his family went back to Phnom Penhafter the “Killing Fields” thisbeautiful missionary woman found him and discipled him in the Lord and taughthim how to make jewelry to support himself.One womans work with one young man has resulted in a pastor disciplinghundreds. How sweet is that?

After our trips to the villages on roads that really werenot roads in the USA we took some time yesterday to go to one of the KillingFields. There are 81 Killing Fields inCambodia and some have not been found yet.It was very moving and shocking to see what man can do to man. The Khmer Rouge killed off 2 ½ millionpeople during the seige of Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. They tried to completely kill off theeducated class immediately. They toldthe whole country that America was going to bomb Phnom Penh so they had to moveout of the city. After 3 days they toldall the educated people to come back.When they got back to the city they methodically killed them off at 30people a day. The grounds in thisparticular field was giving up the bones of those killed. Wherever we walked there are bone fragmentscoming up through the soil. Pol Pot supported by the Chineese government wasput out of power in 1979 and lived out his life without ever being charged withthe crime. Most of the poorer peoplestarved to death in the rice fields which is what Cambodia payed off theChineese government with.( Rice forguns) There has been no justice forthese people. The population is mostlyyoung people because the adults, rich and poor, were killed offor starved todeath. I won’t tell you of the otheratrocities I saw because they are too horible to repeat. Needless to say this is broken country but itis very ripe for the gospel. Many youngpeople just raised their brothers andsisters. It is the poorest country wehave ever been in.

The good news is this.Jesus lives in and among this people.They are rebuilding and seem to be some of the kindest people you haveever met. Fran is a work horse but wehave managed to get into a few shops so that has been quite an experience aswell. Rich and I have drunk at least 10gallons of water so far. You getdehydrated so quick and as soon as you start shaking you know you haven’t drumkenough! The heat is just wild.

I have written off line because we are paying by the minutefor the internet. We love each of youand thank you so much for your prayers and love towards us as we reach out totouch a few people with God’s awesome love.God bless you. To ourkids……………we think about you every day and love you to the max!

Love
Dad (Rich) and Mom (Gail) :)