Confession

"Every dad should teach his daughter to ride a bike."

I think it’s time for a funny story. I have a confession, as a child I never learned to ride a bike. My grandfather bought me a really nice pink bicycle. I have never liked pink, it’s too sissy for me. When I was young I was very stuck in my ways, and I refused to ride the pink bike. So I gave it to the neighbor and rode my blue scooter. This really had not been a problem until now. The main way to get around is by Moto. I thought it can’t be that hard, so I bought a moto. Needless to say it was much harder than I expected. I am naturally clumsy and do not have good balance, in return making the process to learn how to drive the moto even harder. I had taken it out to the ‘air port’ a couple times to drive and practice. Until now I had a tuk tuk and a driver to take me where ever I needed to go, but now I am on my own. So this morning I get up alittle early and headed to work. We had a hard rain last night making the roads muddy and rough, but I did well. Granite there was no one else on the road at 6am. Once I made it to the main street, I start to think thing is fun and I can do it. I began to slow down, or basically stop to turn in and the moto tips to the right. I got it stood back up quickly, and it tips to the left. As I am standing it back up again, I grab the gas instead of the break. Needless to say I was the entertainment for the neighbors. I have a little road rash on my hand and knee. Once I got the moto parked and I cleaned up, Ly Phalla sweetly tells me “it’s ok if you fall a few more time you will get the hang of it, or maybe a 4-wheeler would be better for you.” Haha I love how kind and encouraging she is.

I will get the hang of it or I might be in the market for a 4-wheeler.

I have everyone is having a wonderful week!!

Day 4 Someone Who Makes Me Smile

I could not choose just one.

My Girls

My 2nd Family

An  Angle

Day 3 Mail

This is the last mail I received.

Mail means a lot now days. A simple letter or package will brighten my whole week. I have gotten old fashion when it comes to letters, hand written ones are amazing. 

Photo A Day

So I took this from a friend. I know many of you have done this, I figure it would get me back in the retune of blogging. I kinda put it on the bottom of the list when I was focussed on getting the restaurant opened. Now that we have been opened for a month I have more time.

Day 1 Reflection. 

As I sit and reflect my life the past couple years.

Day 2 Color

Green, The color I see every day. 

The color I relate to as growth and life. Where I grew up as a child, when the seasons changed everything would be such a vibrant green. Now today green makes me thing is the growth of the girls and new life they are finding. 

Top Five

Saturday's Top Five (no cretan order)

- My Smoker came today, this excites my on many levels. We can start curing meats to have in the restaurant and wholesale, and I get to play with fire and have some good food. I will be buying a good steak next time Im in Phnom Penh, the fix a salad and baked potato!! I could use a visit to Outback right now :)

- The girls came together can worked as a team. About a month ago we had a little typical teenage girl drama, and I had felt they didn't fully work together. So I have been harping about teamwork. About only being as good as the worst person, so you better help each other out. Tell them stories about when people really works together and some about what happen when they didn't. Explaining to them, it's impossible to do it on there own. At pray time each day I pray for it. And finally today they clicked together as a team. I think it was out a sheer fear, (fear of felling, fear of disappointing, fear of not knowing thing, fear of the English people they were about to serve), whatever it was they came together and it was beautiful. When we sat down to talk about the day it was the first thing they said, 'we worked together as a team!!' This still puts a smile on me face as I type it.


- Prayer yesterday. (yea it was yesterday, but we were praying for today). We had a lot to get done yesterday in preparation for today. So instead of having bible study, we took the time to really pray. I had them pray for the person to their right, for their selves, for the restaurant, and anything else they wanted to pray about, then I would finish. We all pray in our native tongue. So naturally I don't not understand most of what they are praying for or about. Yet it was so powerful and true. They were speaking from their hearts, I could tell that. That being said, they normally only pray at lunch, and Im guessing its the normal, bless this food, amen. So it was amazing  hear them be true and open. By the time it got to me, my eyes were full of tears. This is super exciting and bring joy to my heart.


- There is nothing like the adrenal rush you can from a kitchen. I love the rush of craziness, having to move faster then you normally think. Yea some people might think I'm crazy, be I love it. We had that today! I had invited 15 people to come have breakfast with in a 2-hr window, for the girls to gain experience. Of course like normal 4 people come in sit  as soon as they order,  an eight top plus three kids come in. So that turns everything from nice calm, to everything is crazy( or oh goodness I'm pumped)!! The girls get the food cooked, drinks made, and served, as I pitch in were need and play happy hostess. As the next few people come in the girls are getting the hang of things and are able to do things without questing me how to. I am still pumped. I have been going since 5 am, in the kitchen from 6am-1:30, and it's nearing 11pm. I should be wiped out, but I'm not. It's been awhile since I had the rush. It's like a second wind, that came a the perfect time, as we make the final push to open in 8 days!


- Last but not least. Like in most restaurants the girls got tips today. I explained to them to make it fair to the ones who work in the kitchen that week, we would be splitting them evenly between each of them. So at the end of the day I counted them up and divided it evenly between the girls. I gave it to the after we talked about the day. As we sat at lunch, they start talking about how quick they can get to the market. I naturally engage in the convo, asking what they were going to buy. A few weeks ago I worked on teaching them to budget and plan, which is a really hard concept for Cambodians. Since then we have joke around with one of the girl who spent most of her money on make-up. Jokingly I ask if she is going to buy makeup. She replied with a big smile 'yes Chef and lotion.' we continue around the table of what they are going to do, buy phone card, give to family, save it, don't know and then look at the market. They all started laughing, I asked what . They explain they she never buys anything, she just looks and ask how much. She is my saver! Later in the day we head to the market. They normally fellow me around as I get what we need and plead to carry all the bags. As they start today, I looked at them and tell them they can go buy make-up, and off they go with big smiles. Ly Phalla and I continue getting what we need. They returned fairly quickly, back without any bags. So I ask led if the place was closed or what, she quietly says no Chef. I asked well why didn't you buy makeup, with a slight grin she tells me she is going to save it!! I know the other girls had influenced this choice, but I was excited to see they are listening and starting to understand. The culture here is very much life for the day. They don't really think about the future or tomorrow. I think this comes from not having much and Cambodia's recent history durning the Khmer Rouge. Having her be able to understand and want to plan for what is to come, breaks thru in and levels. Next task is to have them set goal for the future.

Today was a great day. It really sank  in that the restaurant is going to open and people are going to come eat. That the girls are learning and growing, not just in cooking but in live skills and more importantly toward God.

Thank you for all the prayers, they are felt and answered!!

Things to pray about
-For the girls as they are making the final preparations for the opening. 
-For health of me, the girls, and the staff.
-For the Restaurant.
-For the girls as they continue to learn and understand about God and the love of Jesus.

Cold Shower by Candle Light

I have always been one who enjoyed to simple pleasures in life rather then the big elaborate things. This has not changes living half way around the world.
One of the simple things I miss is sitting outside with a group of people and just chilling. Its always calming, and relaxing. Many problems or big choices in life  have been made in this type setting.
I thinks biggest simple joy is a nice long hot shower. Every since bathing down stream of cows in a creek near the Black Sea almost 10 years ago, I always enjoy my time in the shower. I mean really think about it, there isn't much that compares to a nice hot shower.
Here in Cambodia I have a hot water for my shower. No where else in my apartment has hot water. Which I am perfectly fine with. If I can only have hot water come out of one place, I would choice the shower without thinking twice.
Well tonight is the second time the power has gone out in my three months of living here. They say it goes off for many different reasons. Sometimes they cut it off in parts of the city because they were using to much, other times it goes put for line repair, and stuff like that. It can be off for mins, hours, or even days. The first time I experienced this it was only for a couple hours. This time the whole city is without power and who knows how long it will be out.
So naturally when I get hot after sweeting all day the first thing i do is take a shower each night. Tonight was unlike any other. I get a big ice cold bottle of water, chug half of it, sit it on the counter and head to shower. It was dusk at this point I walk in shut the door and realize I can't see. Thankfully the first this Chris made me buy once getting to Battambang was a small battery light. I found it and took my shower with it. I have to say no matter how hot I get, it still enjoy at least a luke warm shower. Oh well I made it and my sure there will be many more as rainy season comes along.

This makes think of all the people in the world who have never has the pleasure of standing under never ending water to clean themselves. Or all the people who don't have clean water to drink let alone to bath in. Something that seems so simple to me, would be huge to more then two-thirds the world.
Tonight or in the morning when you are just standing under the hot water, say alittle prayer to thank God that you are one of the chosen people who have clean hot water to use. I know that God has richly blessed me.

"From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." Luke 12:48

Unable to Help Everyone

One thing that has hit me lately is its impossible it help everyone, and to be honest it have been a little overwhelming.

There are the beggars, it seems like someone is begging every time I look up. Many beggars come to the market day in and day out. Others walk the streets, some hang around western cafes, just to get a little money. In this situation I use the same principles I did in the states, I will give food or something like that, but don't give cash. Let me tell you it would be a lot easier to just hand them a few hundred riel and walk on. What good would that really do, they will be back the next day or even the next hour  needing more.

Then there are the people who share their story with me, I feel that most of them are not directly looking for money, but someone to listen and relate to. The stories range from the mom is sick and had to sell some of the wood from the house to because she is sick. The son shared the store with me. He works in Battambang 7 days a week consisting of over 110 hours, to send most every dime he makes to his family. It just isn't enough to pay for all the needs. Or the lady I buy chicken from at the market. I ask her for a kilo of breast, as she's cutting she tells me about her son who died. 

Then there are the kids that live around my house. Each day as I come and go on the Tuk Tuk they are waiting to yell Hello as loud as they can. I am not sure how many there are, I would guess from 10-22 (from different families). Most of them have 1 or 2 outfits, they play with sticks, mud and rocks. They swim in the little creek, where I'm sure they are going to get sick from. Yet they are so excited no matter day or night to see a white person and be able to yell the only English word they know. We have alittle game now to see who can yell first me or them.  How can I help all of them? I don't know if they are able to go to school, if they are able to drink clean water, take a bath (other then in then in the smelly creek). 

Then there is the people who come asking. This is the one that hit me hard on Sunday. Battambang is one of the largest cities in Cambodia, yet it is more like a small town. Everyone knows each other and normally knows what all is going on. So of course once construction started on propriety, people started asking questions. Once they found out an American was here to teach and hep, people starting coming up to me or to the property. The first time I experienced this I was able to help the ladies daughter, and now her is apart of the program. Some come to just ask if I will teach them to cook alittle, others come wanting a job, others come to try and get a friend in to program.  I always take the time to listen, learn about their situation, what their dreams are, but normally at the end of the conversation I have to look at them and say, we can't currently help you. I write down their information, make a mental note of their face,  and tell they if or when we are able to help I will call. Pray with them and send them on their way. I then normally stand there thinking, why can't we take them in or why cant I give them a job. And asking God why are you sending these people when we cant help more at this point. 

Most of those questions I have not gotten answers to yet, but I have on a few. I am not the one helping them, it is only by the love of Jesus that they are being helped. I am just a tool for God to use. I also know that the loving God we serve did not create more people then he created resources to take care of them.  This gives me hope and makes me excited.  I know that we are hoping to add 12 girls to the program. This will open doors to 12 new families, with new needs and new situations. The way we are able to help these 12 is through sponsorship, to help pay for the needs, supplies and support they will need. At this point the sponsorship is around $250 a month for each of the girls. Please be in prayer for us to connect and find the girls who will benefit the most from the program, and how God wants has planned.  I would also appreciate prayer to have the words needed when I talk with these people. That I let God speak and that I do not get in the way.

After spending most of the week in 'The Big City," I took Saturday as a run around day. Which meant lots of time in the Tuk Tuk. In the States one of my favorite things do to was get in the car and just drive, saying nature and God's creation. I felt today riding around is the closest thing I will get to my long car drives. As we got close to my home this is the sight I saw. I couldn't have ask for a better ending of the day. 

Praising God in Smelly Water

Today I decided we needed to figure out what Khmer dishes we are going to have on the menu. I tell the girls I wanted them to cook their best Khmer dish. The only stipulations I gave was no boiled eggs, no fish paste, and I wanted one vegetarian dish and sent them to the market. I had the change to have some quality FaceTime with my brother!! Then I began working on the POS System (point of sale) in the dining room. I heard water dripping. I get up to see what it is, my feet get wet from all the water. I guess I was so focused on the computer I did not notice til it was bad and I then realize the sink was backed up. I went into the kitchen to find Mr. Den; I notice all the sinks had the same problem. We quickly figure out the tanks were full. Call to have them emptied; as we are waiting I look at the pipes. (Unlike in America pipes, most pipes on people’s property are above ground) The pipes that carry the waste to the tank are on an incline and small, this was causing some of our problem. I talk with Den and he tells me he can run pipes so that they were on a decline and able to drain. So for $50 we ran new pipes that will drain the right way. We also had the tanks emptied and flushed out.

I found myself praising God have this happened now instead of in a month or so, when the restaurant is open. We would have had to close for the day. Also praising him that the pipes are above ground and were able to be fixed quickly. If this would have happened in the states I would have freaked out and let it ruin my day. Instead I stood in awe of God’s timing.

It didn’t faze the girls. They were all on a mission to cook a great dish. For lunch we some of the best chicken curry I have every eaten, wonderful veggie stir fry, and egg dish that have smoked fish (Not my favorite, but had good flavor), and stuffed spicy frogs!! I have to brag on them a bit, everything was great. I was very pleased.

Last week we started having a daily Bible study. It is going great, the girls really seem to enjoy it, and they are asking questions. I started in Genesis, since they have very limited knowledge of the bible or Christianity. We have normally been covering a chapter a day. As we finished the chapter and I get ready to pray they asked if we could continue and cover more than one chapter, I gladly when on. This excited me so, and with all the events of the day I had only planned to review, before English time.

Tomorrow I am going to give the girls alittle test. I plan on giving them all an item to cook that we have covered and they should know. Then Ly Phalla and I are going to do things around town, and see what happens. I am hoping they will pull together, work as a team, and come out with great products. I'll let you know how it goes!!

Things to Pray about:

      As we continue studying the bible, that girls will ask questions are they are able to see God and his wonderful love. Having Buddhist back grounds the spiritual side of this will be challenging, as well.

      I am going to Phnom Penh the first of the week, Pray this trip will be productive and I am able to make the connections and find the items needed.

      

Thanks for all the support and prayers!! 

Ryana

Do for ONE what you wish you could do for EVERYONE

As I sit down to write this the words of Andy Stanley come to mind, “Do for one what you wish you could do for everyone.”

So this story has been a few weeks in the making. It is pretty long, but I feel detail in necessary. 

Today I had a pretty laid back day scheduled. I needed to fill out a few papers dealing with my visa, planned to talk with one of the girls mom, and then dinner and a Christmas movie with my neighbors. The paperwork was done pretty quickly. Then we headed out to Nimol's house.

 Nimlo's House, This is Nimol's and the mom's 

Where they collect water and the Bathroom

A little about Nimol and her family.
Her father was killed in a car accident an few years ago. She was able to study in the orphanage after that. She has an older brother, Sambata, who is 19 and a little sister who is 13. She lives with her mom, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, cousin, grandmother, and dads sister. The mom goes to "wholesale" market every day at 4am, buys stuff to sale, from 6-11:30ish she sales, then goes home to eat and rest. Then at 2 she goes to sale again, if everything sales quick she is able to come home around 6:30, but if not she will stay last to sale til around 8 or 9. All that work to make $2.5 on a good day, many days less. The brother works 7 days a week, but is paid very little.

A photo of Nimol's Family

One the ride there Ly Phalla explains to me that her brother wrecked the family moto last night. It was his fault so he would have to pay for to fix his and the other guys. This means that until they had the money to fix their moto the mother could not get to the market to sale and make money. You can see the cycle.  The journey to the house was off the main road, down a small street and then onto a smaller dirt road. It took us about 20mins by tuk tuk. Nimol rides it every day by bike to the training center, and is normally the first one there every morning. When we arrive at the house, which was very small, just room for three beds with the kitchen and eating area was off to the side. Nimol had fixed French fries (better then he ones we made at school this week), cut mangos and apples, had green tea and bottled water waiting. After looking around and seeing the moto, we sat down to talk with her mother. We want to help the mom with some kind of business where she would grow stuff for the restaurant. We would have top choice and then she would be able to take the rest to market. Or we could put her in contact with other restaurants. As I talked to her and thought about the lot they live on. It seems it would be very hard to have a garden. I saw a chicken run by, and then ask her what she thought or would like to do. She looks at the aunt and explains raising chickens would be nice. But knows it would cost a lot more than a garden, so she said whatever we would like her to do. I smile at her and told her we would be serving chicken in the restaurant. Then I ask did they want to raise chickens to eat or for eggs. They talked to other with the family and she said both if possible. They explained to me that there is a short class to learn about how to raise chickens. I tell them that I have to talk to Chris and other people in America first, but I will do everything I can to help.

I then walk over to the wrecked moto and ask how much it is to fix the moto. They tell me they didn't know since there was no money to fix it. I talk with Bouth la, he thinks it could be fixed somewhere between $30-$50. I stand there looking at the family; their means of being able to survive is riding on not having $50 or less. The amount I spent on a pair of jeans to bring with me, or the amount I have spent on food the past 3 weeks. I tell them ok let's get it fixed. Nimol look at me and quietly ask when chef. I tell her why not right now. So we load the moto in the tuk tuk and took it to a shop. As I started to get in the tuk tuk, Nimol looked at me, I could tell she was about to cry.  I hugged her and hold her that I loved her and so does Jesus.

Loading the Moto in the Tuk Tuk to take to get fixed.

We got the moto to the shop. I was able to talk with Ly Phalla more about the family. The cost to fix the moto came to $37, but was going to take a few hours to fix. So I left to cook what I was taking to dinner and meeting the Internet man twice. We went back to the moto shop to check on everything and pay. They were just finishing up. When Sambata took it for a test drive, I could tell it shook. I asked the shop owner why, he explained to be because it had the wrong kind of tire. A few weeks before the tire had a hole, so a friend gave one that he had. They tell me that the mom had turned the bike over last week, and it's prob why he wrecked. I then ask how much the right tire is. As with most things, the reply was expensive. I ask how expensive, $8.25 for the tire and $1.75 for the tube. I instantly say put the big tire on. The total cost came to $47. He was so happy. As we were leaving I reminded him why and how I was able to help.  When we got back to the training center, Nimol called and asked if we were going to church tomorrow. We tell her yes, and then she asked if her mom could come, I reply of course!!
A note: The family borrowed the money to pay for the other man's Moto, from a neighbor. I talked with Ly Phalla about how they would be able to pay it back. She said they will pay alittle at a time. If the person they borrowed from is nice he will let them to that, if not he will demand the money quickly plus some for the loan. Then they will borrow from someone else to pay that guy. And so on til they get paid off.

The brother, Happy and grateful for the moto was fixed.

I later talk more to Nimol’s mom about the chickens and how to help the family. We decide that chickens were not the right fit for her. This was a learning experience for me, not to always jump at the first thought. She expressed to me that starting a coconut shredding business would be easy and would be able to make profit quickly. Here in Cambodia coconuts are plentiful, and are used in almost all the traditional holiday foods. We figure out the cost of the coconut business was just under $150. This amount included the shredder, a battery (so she could work in any of the markets in town), and a cart to carry the supplies. How this works is CGI has a program called the revolving fund. What happens is people in the states give money to the program, then the money is used to help families. CGI strives to give people hands up instead of hand out. This helps the families not just in the present but in the future as well. As the family begins to profit, they pay the money back over a year to a year and half. Then that money is used to help another family.

So on Saturday I went ago town buying the items. Once we had everything we called for Nimol’s mom to come to the training center. Present her with all the items she needs to start the business. We agree that she will pay $8 a month for 18months. She tells me that she would pay it back faster than that. It was such a joy to be able to make a difference in this families live. I prayed for her, the family, and the business and got do explain the love of Jesus to her.

 The Shredder, something so simple could make such a change for this family.

Filling the battery with acid, no gloves or anything. Stuff like this makes me shake me head and wonder.

Making the Cart

Presenting Nimol's mom with the Cart. Shredder, and Battery. 

Nimol's mom getting 7 snut of bananas from the trees on property to sale at the market. We sale them to her a reduced cost, since we have more then we can eat and she can make money from them.

Driving away with a huge smile on her face!!

This week I will be going to the market where she works, to see how business is going. I also plan to work with Nimol on how to take sales and figure out what the family is making.

Please be in prayer for this family. 

The dining room is starting to make some progress.

Before

 Not sure about table layout yet. The green is a little brighter then I wanted, but it looks good. 

Before

 Coffee and Smoothies will be served at the bar.

 View from behind bar.

 Looking down the bar.

There is still work to be done. We need to add an awning for outdoor seating. Also some stuff on the walls. If you have any ideas, please share (I'm not the greatest at that stuff). I thought maybe some sepia tone pictures of food or of Cambodian life, a big map where guest can mark where they are from?

I'll post more pictures as things develop.

Culture

Some day I feel like I am not taking time to experience and learn the culture. Then others I stop and think to myself where am I and what am I doing. On those days I am normally smacked in the face with culture. Tonight was one of those nights. About a week ago I saw people were setting up a stage and looked to be fair type stuff near my house. I asked the girls what was going on, they tell me its going to be a concert. A few of them got excited and asked if I wanted to go, without thinking I say sure. This week has been a busy up-down week, and I totally forgot about the concert. Then today as the girls are leaving they ask me about going. I wanted to say no really bad, but I knew I needed to go and let them see me relaxed.

So we head to the field for the concert, we got there before it started. I seemed relaxing. I walked around, there was 2 fessis wheels (one fast and one slow) all kinds of dart and ball toss games. As I looked at the prizes it starts to hit me, I'm in a different place. The prizes were shoes, rice cookers, cooking oil, note books, bottles of soda, all things you would never see as prizes in the states. The closest thing to fair food was kettle corn, most venders were selling meat on a stick, boiled eggs on stick, crickets, steamed buns, no funnel cakes, corn dogs, lemonade, or turkey legs. Its time for the music to start. The first group was a boy band, I felt like they were a mix between river dancers and disco, quite odd. The next was a girl singing with backup dancers, then a guy who look like and asian Justin Bieber.

The girls told me the concert lasted til 11. I think by the look on my face they knew we were not going to stay that long. As we were leaving I realize the amount of people. It was crazy, I bet there where over 100,000 people. I can say that today I had my fair share of culture!! There is another concert tomorrow night, I will prob pass, but who knows. 

WOW! WOW! WOW!

WOW Im tired.

                                  WOW Im excited.

WOW There is lots of work to be done.

WOW God is working!

This week flew by. Sunday I spent a lot of time costing the menu, since there was no church because of the New Year. A task I started on Thursday thinking it would not take me long, well it did. I didn’t think about having to convert many of the recipes before I could cost them. That afternoon I had been invited to an English church service. It was good to be able to understand and worship. There were only 8 people there because it’s a new service.

Monday we hit the work week hot and heave. Chris was coming to Battambang and bringing 5 people with him. I know that having a group here would be a great experience for the girls. So Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we prep select items for the menu that we would be having while the group was here. In the afternoons we worked service and making smoothies. Katy and Allen got here mid afternoon on Wed. After the girls greeted them, they were more than willing to let the girls practice serving. I always enjoy being able to spend time with Katy and Allen. We went to Café Eden for dinner and were able to sit and talk for awhile that night. Thursday morning they decided to come to the training center for breakfast, so the girls would be able to practice real timing. The group arrived for lunch. The girls were excited but nervous as well, to have to serve the group. The girls did a good job for this being their first time really working with “costumers.”

Thursday afternoon was filled with things do, places to go and people to see. First was for Chris and I to meet with a young lady and her mother about the girl joining the program. I have met her mom a couple weeks ago. She cleans my neighbor’s house and as I locking my door one morning I turn around and she was there. Mind you I live in a pretty quite area, and not many people are around early in the morning. Thank the Lord that Ly Phalla had come with Bouth La to pick me out or I would not have been able to speak with her. Any way she talks me she has a daughter who want to study cooking and could she come learn at the training center. Only being here a month I had no idea how to handle the situation. I explain to her that I am unsure and I will have to talk with my boss. She also asked me if I need help cleaning my house. It is very common to have a house helper here. I tell her sure, show her around my apartment, and hand her a key. I get she number and tell her once I talk with my boss I would call her. On the way to the school I called Threay, to ask how to I handle this. She tells me to see if I can meet the girl, go to her house and try to figure out ‘her story.’ The week before I was able to hear Threay and Katy working on the stories of a few new girl in the Daughters Project, this helped me to know what kind of questions to ask. So I went to her house, met the family, and got some of the info. I wrote it up and sent to Threay. So we meet with the girl and her mom, and decided that she was a good fit for the program. She asked when did she start, Chris tells her tomorrow if she want to. I thought to myself, tomorrow really. She speaks no English, and I knew Friday was going to be busy, why he couldn’t have said Monday. It all worked out, she was able to see how we do things and started to get to know the girls. On Friday we gave her a bike to be able to get to school, we provide all the girls with one. She was so excited, the family does have a bike or moto, and they walk or find rides. It’s wonderful see how God connects people together. I am excited to see her grow and change for a very shy young lady with very little confidence to someone has a skill, whom believes in herself, and understands that she is loved by her heavenly father.

The rest of Thursday afternoon we went to the two orphanages some of our girls live, and to Nimol’s house. This gave the group a change to meet some to the girl’s families, and see where they come from. Nine of us went to dinner at La Vila, the nicest restaurant in Battambang. It was good I was able to meet and get to know them. Nathan and Whitney, they both work for CGI in America. Nathan does all the office, and keeps CGI organized, at the rate its growing is not an easy task. Whitney is over ByTavi. Jamie and Jeremy, a couple from Indy who were checking what CGI is doing in Cambodia, they are a sweet couple. I am sure they will be back, it might just be for a visit or for a longer time, we will see. The rest of the nine where Katy, Allen, Threay, Chris and myself.

Friday morning came early. When I got to the restaurant (20mins earlier then most Fridays) all the girls were there and already cooking breakfast. We cook and served breakfast. Then the girls fix some sweets for the group as they had a 5+ hour ride ahead of them. Chris and I took this time to catch up and make sure we are on the same page. The group went to the mountain. They returned a little after noon, said their goodbyes and headed to Phnom Penh. I sat down as the girls cleaned up the kitchen, I felt like to was nine o’clock at night. I had noticed that many of the girls didn’t have all the recipes written down, I gave them a list of recipes they each needed. I knew that at least one girl had each of the recipes, so they have to work together to get them all. I headed out to run earns and pick tile to the bathroom.

The girls really benefited from Thursday and Friday. I think they finally understand the importance of serving and also working on their English daily. We have month or less til the restaurant opens. I feel really good that we will be ready.

Tomorrow I am headed to Phnom Penh. All the people working with CGI is meeting on Monday and maybe Tuesday. We will be discussing 2012, things we need to improve on, and just get everyone on the same page so we can more effetely do what God has called us to do.

Please be in prayer for this meeting. Be praying for the girls I am working with as we make the final push to open the restaurant that they form a closer bond together, and they are able to learn and understand the things they need to know.