Inside of Village Home

This an inside shot of what Village home #3 looked like on the inside.

Home #3~ FAVORITE picture!!

Okay, it does not get any better than this!!!! What a great photo!!!! The older brother riding a bicycle that is MUCH too big for him, toting the baby brother on the back of the bike (and the baby brother has on no pants~~shirt only!!

I LOVE THIS PICTURE!!!

Home #3 Village Children

I love these pictures!! Precious innocent children......

Home #3

So the children of Shelter of Love climbed the guava tree and picked lots of guavas for eating!! I tried, but it was a bit hard and seedy......PE and Baby Girl enjoyed!!! Most of the children hung out under the house during the visit. I went under there and was surprised how COOL it was under there!!! Nice and breezy too!!! SO THAT'S WHY Cambodians all sit under their houses!!! Ok, now I get it~~I have experienced it.

Before leaving, the group formed a big circle and we all sung some songs, as the village children came to see what was going on!!!!

Village #3 Home

So now the last village to visit......this was the home of a bother, Jun Tu (Ellis' good friend), 13 years old, and his sister,15 years old. I was invited to go inside this house, along with the house parents, and sit on the floor and talk (really listened, since I don't understand Khmer!!!) with the mother. Notice in the pictures that the inside floor is just strips of bamboo placed together. The only items this mother had in her home was her bicycle and some cooking items like pots, pans, etc. There were several family photographs attached to the walls of the home, and I did spot some broken pieces of mirrors she had displayed I guess so she could look at herself! And I did spot a comb and brush. That was it.

I was surprised to see that neither Jun Tu or his sister did not run up to hug their mother, who they had not seen since last summer!! In fact, Jun Tu came in the house for a short time when I was sitting in there, but he never made eye contact with his mother or even spoke to her!! I found that so strange and my heart felt funny. I asked Jun Tu's house mother about this. She said, "The Cambodians do not hug much. They don't show affection. Maybe he doesn't feel close to his mother." I felt so sad for the mother and for Jun Tu when I heard this!! I wonder if he feels his mother does not love him, since she gave him up five years ago? Wonder what he thinks of his mother? Wonder if Jun Tu knows what it feels like to be loved? Oh this worries me so much! I can not imagine not feeling like you are loved by your mother!! I have talked to Americans who have experienced the feeling of not being loved by their mothers, and it is TERRIBLE!!!! What a hurtful feeling...... On the other hand, Jun Tu may not have these feelings at all!!!! Maybe I will try to talk to him about it.......(he really does not speak English!!!). Hmmmmmm.......

Now Jun Tu's sister did talk with her mother briefly. I watched her as she walked around the inside of the small house. She looked at few pictures that were clipped on the walls made of palm fronds. Then she looked in some of the pots in the kitchen to see if there was anything in them.......again my heart ached as I thought of times when I had been away from home as a teenager (like when spending the night at a friend's house, or going off to summer camp), and I remember when I came home, my parents were always so glad to see me!! They would prepare my favorite dinner and my mom would have even prepared a cake or cookies!!

Do the children at Shelter of Love feel unwanted or alone? Or does the good life they live there at the Shelter erase those feelings? They are provided with a safe place to live with brothers and sisters who love each other, and plenty of food to eat, and an education through the college years!! But I just can't help but wonder their true feelings inside their heart..........

Praying Mantis

Baby Girl is following in her big sister's footsteps, loving animals of all sorts!! She found this Praying Mantis and played with it for quite a while. Funny, the Cambodian children from Shelter of Love did not want to TOUCH the Praying Mantis!!!

Pictures of Village #2

Here are some pictures of the visit to Village #2. Notice the beautiful banana trees!

Every Day Village Life

Children playing in the dirt was the scene at this home.......no beds, no sheets, no extra clothes, nothing to sit on but a pieced-together wooden floor, no building blocks, no balls, no dolls, no books, no crayons, no board games, no tricycles or scooters, no X-Boxes, no Leapsters, no TV or computers. The children find ways to entertain themselves. They play in the dirt and mudpuddles, climb trees, run, play with the cows and water buffalo, look for insects, sleep, sit, and just watch the people go by.

Second Village Home

The second village home we visited belonged to two children, Leng and Lem. This picture is of Leng and her brother (her brother still lives with the mother). Leng was so happy to see her brother!! She kept hugging him and her smile was bigger than ever!! THis house was where Leng and her three siblings and parents lived before Sue Singleton took Leng and Lem to the Shelter of Love. The inside of the home was about 7 feet by 5 feet, and SIX people lived there!

Eating Plants

Savoon, one of the house parents at Shelter of Love, shows me the stalk of a palm frond and explains to me that Cambodians eat this part of the plant. He also showed me a plant growing in the water and told me people use that plant when bathing because it gives your body a good smell. I smelled the plant and it did smell good!! It is just so amazing to me how these people really do live off the land......Do you think you could survive living totally off the land???!!!

Lunch Time!!

After leaving the first village, we stopped for a picnic lunch! We spread out tarps and everyone sat and ate RICE, quail, and cucumbers (the house mothers prepared pork for my family just in case we did not choose to have the quail, so gladly we ate the pork!) The quail consisted of the whole body except for the head, which include the legs and feet.......Ughhhhhhhh!!!

After the picnic, the children ran around and waded and splashed through the water! This picnic site was much different than a picnic site I WOULD CHOOSE in America!! All of the children had a good time, so that is what mattered!!

Notice: Ellis' sweet friend Jun Tu keeps close tabs on her. I love it beause it gives me a little "break" from parent duty!!

Village People

This is my favorite part of going to the village......looking at the beautiful people. Under the tough, dark, aging, sun-burned skin and under the ragged, filthy, stinky clothes, there is a person JUST LIKE YOU AND ME!!! They smile, they laugh, they cry and they have feelings just like US! They have dreams, they have nightmares, just like US! More importantly, they are beautiful people who are surviving each day by collecting and consuming only what they need for the DAY to just make it through the journey of life one more day.......

I'm not sure if they have any "wants", their focus is on their "needs" for survival. They live off the land, one Cambodian friend explained to me. They eat frogs, bugs, birds, fish, rats, crickets, stalks of Elephant Ear plants, stems of palm tree fronds, and sometimes drink water from the rivers. Water from the rivers is the same water they bathe in and sometimes use the bathroom in that water. My friend said, "As long as there is water (from the rain), Cambodians can survive. If no water, we can not survive."

It really makes you think.........

Ellis the Explorer

Ellis spent time in the village exploring around and made herself right at home! She even climbed the steps and ventured into Luke's home!! Her good friend Jun Tu stayed close by to make sure she did not get into any trouble!!

TIA (This Is Asia)

TIA~~ This Is Asia....as one of my Singapore friends would label a situation like this!!! Only in Asia would you see a sick girl with an IV pole "rigged up" so that she could walk around outdoors in her village. This girl came to see all the excitement in the village!!

Presentation At Village

The children from Shelter of Love did a presentation for the villagers. They sang songs and then role-played the story of Jesus. Next, the house parents of Luke spoke about Luke and gave an update of what all he had been doing in the past year. Luke's father was emotional...I saw him wiping tears away. The father was proud of his son, even though they really don't even know each other at all.......