Monday was the first morning at our new hotel. We got up, got ready, and headed to Rescue 3 where we were going to spend the morning with the kids. In typical Cambodian fashion, we arrived late, and started even later. In our western frame of mind, we always want things to begin on time and follow a schedule. This is not the case in Cambodia. Last minute changes are not a possibility, but rather a guarantee. This was definitely the case at Rescue 3. We had many games and activities planned to fill our morning with the children, but had to change them due to our late arrival. The unscheduled early lunch also through one more big wrench into the mix. Lunch is always fun at Place of Rescue, but it isn't very Barang (White person) friendly. You learn very quickly that sitting cross legged on cement floors is very uncomfortable, especially when trying to balance a bowl of rice and curry. After lunch, our team returned to the hotel in preparation for the pool party. That afternoon we had the children and staff from Rescue come over to the hotel for swimming and a dinner buffet. It took some courage getting in the pool because it was so green you could not see the bottom. Once you got past the murky tinge of the pool, the water felt quite refreshing. Dinner was interesting to watch. Getting 80 kids through a buffet line is not the easiest thing to do, but we managed to get it done in a relatively fast order. We concluded the evening with our friends at Rescue 3 by praying over the staff, and giving the kids goodbye high-fives.
The next morning we left the hotel and drove 3 minutes down a small gravel road in an oversized tour bus to the local school. We got to hear the children sing their national anthem, and in return we sang ours. It was very sad to see how little money the Cambodian government put into public education, but a good reminder as to how fortunate we are in the western world. From the school we traveled on a 2 hour bus ride to meet the university students at the House of New Dreams dorm. We were able to see a few of the students we had at English camp, which also helped as translators. We took a tour of the rooms, and then prayed over them.
The next trip was to Reksa's Youth centre, and the part of the trip I was most excited for, the Cambodian Stanley Cup! It was decided that we would do a best of 3 game tournament, and play each game to 5 points. I knew Reksa's team would be good, but I didn't realize they would be that good. The first game they smacked us 5-1, but we made a wicked come back in game 2 for a 5-3 win. That left the final game, and it was a tough one. We were tired, and had sweat beading absolutely every where. The last game was a test of endurance, which team Cambodia definitely won. They came back with a whopping 5-1 victory to take the "Stanley Cup". Despite the crushing defeat, we were still happy that we had such an amazing time playing. To finish the evening, we went to Pub Street for dinner. That was a very cool experience, and the food was so good. After dinner we met at the hotel and listened to Darren and Minako Polishchuk who told us about their journey to Cambodia, and the work they have been doing. It was very encouraging to see God working through their lives, and see the impact they have had on the community. All in all it was a great few days and I am so glad I got to be a part of God's work in Cambodia.