Ok, Here We Go...

So the last month has been crazy busy, as you have likely assumed due to the lack of blog postage since the end of last month. But it's been soooo good here! I've been teaching up a storm while balancing leadership responsibilities, meeting with students outside of class, visiting Angkor Wat, and sharing about Jesus in the midst of it all. As you can tell by the numerous typing errors, I was in a little bit of a rush the last post I made. So here is a little more detailed visual of the happenings in my life this month. Enjoy :)

The school is next to the main river that runs through the province. The river looks relatively clean in this picture but is actually full of garbage in most places.

Snake or tarantula anyone??

Leading Sunday church service at the school!

Teaching class....I usually have about 35-40 students for english classes Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. On Wednesday I teach about Biblical values.

The countryside clothesline. I had the opportunity to visit one of my students' home in a country village yesterday - it was one of the most memorable moments of my entire life. I ate lunch with her and came home with a bunch of native cambodia fruit!

The girls at the orphanage we visit weekly. Beautiful children :)

Pcitures!

Here are just a few quick looks at a little bit of life in Cambodia:

Top: our bike shop.

Middle: Cambodian countryside on the bus between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. Its beauty is hard to campture.

Bottom: Our house, the YWAM base in Siem Reap. I live on the top level with all of the girls :)

More to come!

Christmas Eve in Siem Reap

So I find myself this Christmas Eve sweating profusely as I write this entry after biking around downtown Siem Reap on a rickety old bike with a basket attached to the front and carrying my teammate Bekah on the back. This city is definitely cleaner and more open in comparison to Phnom Penh. The number of tourists here is much greater as the city is home to one of the greatest historic sites in the world: Angkor Wat. We have not yet had a chance to visit this gigantic temple compound yet (fyi: Angkor Wat was where Tomb Raider was filmed).

The YWAM base here has attached to it an English school started a few years ago by missionaries from the Phillipines - Fhonkie and Hya. Upon arrival to Siem Reap on Monday evening after a six hour bus ride, we were given a short orientation and informed that we would all begin teaching English classes the next day. Surprise for us! We dove straight into teaching a total of approximately 300 students in various classroom settings about grammar, conversation, pronunciation, computers, and much more. I am teaching a computer class in the morning with about 10 kids and an English class in the evening for over 50 teenage students. The classrooms are small and dimly lit with flourescent lights but the students are eager to learn and are very bright. Many students are from the nearby community with people ranging from teens to adult businessmen and a few monks. I'm so excited to be here and actively do something and be a part of these students' lives. One day of the week is set aside to teach and discuss with the students about Christian values and expose them to the Bible. The lives of many here have been changed through the work that goes on here not only as they learn English but as they come to know who Jesus is. I'm so glad to be here :)

Thank you for your prayers and your encouraging words. I hope you have an awesome holiday weekend - Merry Christmas!!!