Same same, but different

We have been settling into life in Battambang the past two weeks and the days have become the same but different (where is my t-shirt when I need it!).

We finished our agriculture course last week and said goodbye to Dave Askin, David Hewson and the rest of the Hewson family on Friday January 22.

Highlights of that week included:
-teaching the English class with Mark
-creating and performing a skit for the Youth Centre party that weekend
-playing volleyball at the youth centre
-visiting the first healthy garden we've seen mentored by World Vision,
-having fun with the Khmer students in our agriculture class and at the youth centre
-piling into a "truck"(actually a motorbike/car engine with a truck bed on the back) and driving out to a refugee-settled area....pretty sad to see....dry caking clay and very little growing....
-talking to my parents and Gordon!!!
-hearing about the rest of the team go to the orphanage and do their first "God broadcast"(bible study with a news anchor skit to make it fun.....Mark and I were teaching so couldn't go)
-having delicious curry at the Smokin' Pot restaurant on free day
-coconut shakes
-breaking out of the fear of trying to fit the norm instead of being myself

Another big announcement for that week included our school leaders, the Blakelys, saying that they are going back to New Zealand on February 4 because Rob's health hasn't improved yet (he's been very tired and has been having trouble focussing and concentrating on anything).  It was a bit of a shock at first, but we are all sure it's what God has in store.  It will give the family time together at Ounatai (west coast of NZ) and also will force the team to step out and become more independent in Cambodia.  Please pray for their safe travels and for our staff Laura and Seang as they step up to the task of full leadership.

This past week has been our first real ministry week.  We also said goodbye to George Probek, a Canadian who has been travelling and networking for many years and who has been working with our team up until last Monday.  We already miss his faithful prayer, his enthusiastic dancing, and his well-thought out devotions.  He'll be in Siem Riep (Cambodia) networking with friends and then heading on to Thailand for the YWAM 50 year celebrations.

Our schedule has changed somewhat now that we've started ministry and so each morning we go and do some gardening work while it is somewhat cool.  These projects have included hauling subsoil from a pile collected from road construction to build up a garden site at the Four Square orphanage we've been working with.  Hopefully next week we will be able to put on some topsoil and cow manure to fertilize it and build a fence to protect it from animals.  The other project we focussed on this week was building up beds at our leader Seang's house ....digging the clay-ey soil up and then mixing in ash, using cow manure to fertilize and planting beans, corn and morning glory. We covered the beds with rice straw as mulch and even set up our first drip irrigation lines.  They help the family so much because otherwise they have to haul water in watering cans on their shoulders from their pond.

Our afternoons have been spent at the Youth centre and Mark and I have been asked to continue teaching for another two weeks which I was very excited about!  I love working with the students and some are near and dear to my heart already.  Please pray for relationship building and wisdom about what to share on "God days".

We had our first family night which was a coffee house and open mike and everyone had a lot of fun stepping out.  Susanna and I also led worship with some kids songs.

Miss and love you all..  Thanks for all your prayers.  Please continue to pray for team unity and health, as well as safe travels, and guidance during our ministry time and also as we begin to look toward the time following outreach.