And that's why we love our job

Top, L-R: Micheal, Veassna, Krumm, Jonathan, Hocklee,
Middle L-R: Rene, Paht, Tia, Pov, Vanny, David, Joe
Bottom L-R: Caleb, Logan, Kosal, Sam

We try to have schedules and "to do" lists. Most days they don't work out.... The things at the top of the list or in time slots are often set aside to build relationships with the guys when they need it most.

When we are beginning a project or in the middle it, often one of the guys needs to feel loved. We like the fact that relationships come first for us here. It is a pleasant change from a construction site manager where the project always has to get done ASAP. I don't have to weigh Person vs. Project. This is a very large plus considering the pasts that the guys here have had and their various emotional states.

Some times it starts with a conflict. Maybe a test to see if we love them. Some times a genuine issue. It might be a desire for any attention, positive or negative. There are countless reasons. Whatever the reason, we get to work through the issue and find out what's on the other side. I'm encouraged that most conflicts are resolved the same day and the relationships are much stronger for it. Some have taken longer. It bring me joy to say that all conflicts are resolved to date. I'm sure there will be more on the horizon. That's just how relationships are built.

Many of the guys here have not felt like they have had love and encouragement. Having a safe environment to express their emotions has been a problem. The guys have said things like:

"I don't let people get close. It's just easier"
"I don't have any friends"
"I don't know how to talk about my feelings"
"I'm sad and mad that I don't feel comfortable with my feelings"
"I should have learned this from my parents"
"Why didn't I have this sort of relationship with my parents?"
"What is Love?"
"How do you know your in love?"
"I finally feel like some one wants to know me."
"You guys are the only friends I can talk to"

It is encouraging to see them being freed from their past and how their lives are being redeemed.

We love being able to talk for hours about what is going on inside of a guy. Many times it has to do with their past and how it is affecting their life now. Some of it has to do with just growing up and sometimes the questions about "Girls". We feel so privileged to speak into the lives of these young men. It is so amazing to see them growing and maturing.

I suppose the projects will just have to wait!

OUR JOB ROCKS!!!

Milk it does a body good!

Rene has discovered coconut milk. Not canned coconut milk. Pick a coconut off the tree, hack it open with a machete, stick a straw in it, and drink it fresh coconut milk. She has decided that it is a perk of living in Cambodia.
She has even tried different varieties of coconut. Yes it is true, there are different kinds of coconuts. From what we have been told the smaller kind tends to be sweeter than the larger one's. She likes the sweeter ones best so far.

I'll just toss it in my truck...

Don't try this at home.... Unless your home is Cambodia.
If you were wondering, the pickup is passing the empty dump truck. Before that it passed us. It eventualy passed enough cars in front of us we lost sight of it.
I keep trying to get a picture of five or six people on one moto. I'm just to slow to get it in time. This gives you an idea of things that are normal here. I am constantly reminded of the resourcefulness of the people here.

When life is a mine field...

So we were helping one of the boys organize his room and found a surprising book. It was childrens book that was a minefield awareness tool. It was written to kids about how to recognize mine fields and the hazards of them. The pictures speak for themselves...





Mines are still a problem in Cambodia. Due to major wars and military campaings in the 70' and slow civil war all through the 80's. There have even been military skirmishes on a regular basis into the 90's . It wasn't actualy cosidered a "stable country" by the UN until around 1998. I suppose it makes a lot of sence for mines to be a real issue.

Lets just say I'm not going to be hiking along the Thai border any time soon.

Not so white Christmas

I suppose that most people (including me), would be surprised if there was snow here. So with the obvious out of the way...

The kids all (including the girls house) wrote names and ideas for gifts on 3x5 cards and drew names for the Christmas gift exchange. On Christmas day we got together at the girls house to ate donuts and opened gifts. We went from youngest to oldest.

"Oh, it's so cute"

"it looks like school disguised as a gift....should I still smile?"

Somedi finds a winner

"Gee, I never would have guessed what was in the round present"

To: Rene, From: Joe "needs to be taken in a little in the waste"

There was only one person who felt bummed after opening all the gifts. 1 out of 28... I can live with that.

For lunch we went to a Khmer restaurant. It was very South-East Asian. Rene's dish was pineapple fried rice. They served it in a hollowed out pineapple. It was picture worthy.

Personally, I would be bummed to have so much rice in my pineapple

After the meal we all went home and took a nap. Later that day we watched a movie... must not have been that great of a DVD because I can't think of the name right now. So ended our Christmas. All in all, a different experience.