written by Becky...
This morning we walked around the Russian Market and took in the many sights, sounds and smells that flood your senses. I could walk around these markets all day long, there is so much to explore. We grabbed an amazing breakfast at Cafe Yejj which boasts a more Western menu.
After breakfast, we took our first ride in a tuk-tuk to visit the tailor that Jeremy went to last August. The shirts they made him are so nice and fit so well, that we wanted to be sure to grab a few more. You can't beat $12 for a tailored dress shirt! Watching Caleb and Faith's faces as we traversed the streets in a tuk-tuk was quite comical. The driving is pretty crazy around here, no real order, people just cross intersections at will and honk their horn to let you know their coming through. Motos zip around and squeeze through whatever tight spot they can. After safely making it back to Asia's Hope's Guest House, we showered and awaited Narun's arrival.
While waiting, we called the airport here in Phnom Penh with the help of some Asia's Hope staff to assist us in translating to check on status of my bag. I couldn't believe it when they actually said there was a carry-on for Slagle. My bag arriving here in PNH is seriously an answer to prayer. After my bag was switched with another passengers, it was sent to the Atlanta airport. Korean Air contacted Delta b/c that's who we were flying with when we realized what happened. Delta then transferred my bag to Korean Air and flew it to Seoul and from there to Phnom Penh. The best part is that everything was still in my bag, my clothes, book, SHOES (no more blisters from shoes from the market), an MP3 player for the kids at PE2, an ipod Nano which someone sent along as a gift for her family that lives here in PNH, our probiotics & all of my doterra oils (which is pretty much like our medicine cabinet from home). The best part is when I looked at the tag on my bag, it was the only one that Faith had filled out. She wanted to help me in the airport and so I had asked her to copy one that I had already filled out and to do it in her best handwriting. I don't know why, but the fact that she had filled this one out, brought me to tears because she had taken such care to write legiblly. Thank you God for working out every little detail to not only return the bag to me, but to safely deliver it to the other side of the world.
From the airport, we stopped to pick up coconut ice cream with Narun & Sopal for our dinner & ice cream party with the kids. Sopal as always, orchestrated an amazing meal and we all enjoyed one another's company. Prior to dinner, the kids performed a couple traditional Khmer dances as well as some crazy American dance routines. I have never laughed so hard in my life as I did while watching some of the boys dance to Gangam Style. Absolutely hilarious. You guys can't even begin to fathom the personalities these kids have. They are so much fun to be with and so very loving. I can't move without someone hugging me or grabbing my hand; I love it!
To top off a great dinner, the kids all enjoyed coconut ice cream. Because they can't really store it, they eat their ice cream and bring their cones back for seconds. And as if this wasn't enough...they surprised me with an anniversary cake complete with candles and song to celebrate Jeremy & I's 15th wedding anniversary. After blowing out the candles, several of the kids said what they were thankful for and how they much they love us and pray for us every day. Yes...tears streaming then and now. You've never seen more grateful kids in your life! After being served a giant piece of cake, Jeremy fed me a bite of cake and I him...except I smeared it all over his mouth. :) I missed my opportunity 15 years ago and figured it was as good a time as any to make up for it. Had I realized what I unleashed, I probablly wouldn't have. The kids when given their cake, promptly started feeding one another and smearing it on each other's faces! Let's just say, they were all going to need showers that night.
We played a few more games and Caleb and I sang worship songs with some of the kids. CV sent along 2 complete copies of our worship books that have guitar chords in them. Many of the kids are super eager to learn to play guitar and several can do so already. It was fun to watch Caleb teach them some of the chords and then sing praises to our Heavenly Father together.