The SWU team arrived Thursday night May 19. I was full of energy and they were exhausted. After a good night's rest we began Friday morning at a prayer meeting with the World Hope staff and then went to a nearby Buddhist temple known as Wat Phnom so the girls could see exactly what Buddhist worship was like. Above is a picture of Wat Phnom 

Inside Wat Phnom.  

On Saturday the team did a prayer walk around the new property of our Assessement Center. These are the front steps of our new place!  

On Saturday May 21, the team spent some time at the Potter's Place prayer garden designed for Christian workers to retreat. On the far right is Barbara who founded this much needed retreat center.  

On Sunday we visited 2 house churches in a nearby province called Kampong Cham. This is a picture of the first church we visited.  

We started Sunday morning with Breakfast. This lady was selling tarantulas to eat. We decided to split one between the 7 of us rather than eating the whole plate of spiders. Almost all of us ate at least a leg of the tarantula. It didn't taste that bad......it was a little hairy though! 

Donna uses a mousetrap for one of her illustrations. None of us really knew how to work this one.  

The team sang a song for each church we visited. 

Due to the small size of the house, many of the children watch from outside the door. 

Inside one of the house churches we visited. 

On Monday, May 23 the team went to the Hope School to teach a Bible lesson, play games and make crafts with the children. 

Outside the team was playing dizzy bat with the kids. 

Looks like Donna was having fun! 

The team taught the children how to make chickens out of plastic cups. They are really hiding their excitement for the camera! After I took this picture the whole class went wild making chicken noises 

This is Julie showing the children how to make the craft project. 

On Tuesday and Wedenesday the girls went to a women's development center established to work with at risk and vulnerable women. Unfortunately we were unable to take pictures at this center. The team brought craft supplies for the ladies to make items to sell. They also shared testimonies and performed a skit for the girls. The ladies at the center taught us Khmer Dancing and weaving. Before we left the girls at the center paused to pray over us. It was an amazing experience. The picture above is of a White Lotus which is a common flower here in Cambodia and has a special meaning for those staying at this development center.  

The students taught classes on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of last week. Everyone taught one level of English except Ruthie (pictured above) who taught a worship class with the assistance of her translator, Titus. 

On Thursday the team led our chapel service at the School. These drama queens used no words, but the message was clear to the students.  

Friday night we had a cookout with students from the Wesleyan Bible Institute. They invited us out for dessert after dinner. Duck eggs were on the menu! This is Ruthie happily eating a duck egg with lemon-pepper seasoning. 

Our last lunch together at Friends Cafe.  

SWU team departure

I was so sad to say goodbye to the Southern Wesleyan University team this morning. They were such an encouragement to me. They brought with them fresh excitement, energy, enthusiasm and love from home to me and many others here in Cambodia. This trip was no vacation for these six ladies. During their twelve day stay they helped teach classes, lead chapel, paint the Assessment Center, train staff in hygiene and medicine distribution, teach crafts and games to elementary school students, and work with a group of women at a women's development center. In addition to all of the above they prayed a ton and shared testimonies, preached sermons, and led worship in four different churches. Wow! Each of these special girls, and very special team mother, touched the lives of many in Cambodia. I know I have been blessed by their hard work and positive attitudes. Thank you Donna, Ruth Russel, Lauren, Carrie, Julie, and Ruth for sharing your lives with me and all of us here in Cambodia! I love you all!

The past few weeks I've been busy assisting in the training of our new Assessment Center staff. Today we are talking about how children learn and develop. Our office is full of chairs but these ladies prefer sitting on the floor, so our chairs remain stacked in the corner of the room.  

I'm teaching about the importance of play in child development. Play happens to be very therapeutic for adults as well. As you can see, I really enjoyed teaching this topic!  

Dale and I before going to a Khmer concert