Well, this was our last full day in Cambodia. It was pretty relaxed and unhurried. Matt and Lois took us to the Russian Market for some shopping this morning. It was shop till you drop. Unfortunately Matt and Mark dropped much earlier than us ladies. For an unmarried woman it was a different experience shopping with men. The market is in a building with narrow little aisle ways filled to the brim with little shops all along them. In some places it is a maze of aisles. So Matt and Mark didn't have a lot of room to stand around waiting for us. They got a little antsy. We took a break and went out and got cold drinks and some fresh(er) air. then back in for a little more shopping. Lois is a shopper but I think I outlasted even her. It was fun looking around without buying.
We went to a coffee shop Matt and Lois know just outside the market for our cold drinks. They know the woman who owns it. Lois noticed one of her sons was sick in a chair there at the cafe. (The family living quarters were there also.) She asked about him and found he had typhoid and had a very high temperature. They had ice packs on him trying to cool him down. He'd had the temp. several days. He was really aching and sore too. The poor little guy couldn't have been more than 7 or 8. Before we left, Lois asked the mom if we could pray with and for the boy. She was thrilled. I don't think she is a Christian but Matt and Lois have witnessed to her and she is aware of Jesus Christ. The young boy was not a Christian and must have wondered what the people were doing. We gathered around him as he lay on a chair and prayed for him. Matt prayed first in Khmer, then Lois prayed in English. It was just one small opportunity to show God's love and witness for Christ. We probably will never hear how the boy is doing.
Our afternoon was restful and relaxed. After having lunch near the market, we came back to the mission house to rest and just hang out. Tyla and Jillian took Carolyne to get her hair cut. I don't remember if I told you about Tyla and Jillian getting their hair done a couple of days ago. They had so much fun they talked Carolyne into it. She came back with a cute cut but it was definitely much shorter than when she left. The look on Steve's face was priceless when they returned. You could just see the wheels turning in his moment of silence as he tried to decide what the appropriate response would be to get himself in the least amount of trouble! He was okay with it after the initial shock, but I can pretty much gaurantee she will be letting it grow out some.
We went to Matt and Lois's for dinner and debriefing. We took a tuk tuk over there. It was the first time our driver could not find our destination. We got close but then he took a wrong turn somewhere and we ended up stopping in this dark back road. It was not comforting when the driver asked for the map we brought with us that Steve had used to show him where to go. It was so dark on this road, the driver pulled out his cell phone for light to look at the map. Then he walked off with the map looking up to find streets signs to find out where we were! Most Cambodians don't read maps. They don't know street names or numbers. They get around by land marks, so we could tell this guy didn't know where he was let alone how to get where we wanted to go. Just as we were going to call Matt for assistance, he called us to find out where we were. Mark ran up the road to find the driver who actually was asking another guy for directions! He came back, handed us the map and confidently started off. We knew we were supposed to turn at the corner with the Long Beach Hotel, so as we passed the hotel we got the guy to stop and where trying to tell him our turn was back there as he was trying to tell us it was just up ahead. At that moment Matt rode up on his bike and lead the guy back to the house. I guess he had been on the corner next to the hotel trying to wave us down we drove by. After that adventure the rest of the evening was tame. We enjoyed a meal together and debriefed about the trip and the seminar. Matt drove us back to Steve and Carolyne's!
It is just after midnight here. Time to go start packing. Matt and Lois will be here at 10:00am to take us to the airport and grab an early lunch before leaving. It has been a productive trip and I know God will continue to bring fruit from our work here. Our Cambodian students are eager to use the information we gave them to not only improve health here but to show God's love and introduce others to Him. Please continue to pray with us that God will be glorified and souls will be won for Christ in the coming months. Matt is already looking forward to another health mission trip next year to do more training if the results from this continue as positively as they are now.
I'll let you know when we get to Taipei.
