First Village- Luke's Home

Luke is a precious six year old boy who lives at Shelter of Love. Luke's mom died during childbirth, as many Cambodian women do (lack of doctor care, nutrition, etc.). When Luke was a few days old, he was dying. There was no milk for him since his mother died.

Luke's father was trying desperately to care for the newborn, but could not. So he rode his bike (holding newborn baby Luke) from the village all the way to Shelter of Love. The journey took him about half a day to do! He begged Sue Singleton (founder of Shelter of Love- a NC lady!!) to take the baby. The baby was not named yet, and the father could not even remember the exact day the birth had taken olace!!

How could Sue Singleton refuse this few day old baby boy??? She took him to the doctor and the doctor told her that he was in fact dying, and was terribly dehydrated. So Sue bought some baby formula (something most Cambodian mothers can not afford), and fed him. Next she put him in a warm bath and washed him, then cuddled him tightly in a blanket. So now at 65 years old, Sue Singleton was a "new mom" again!!! Sue kept Luke at her home for about a year before moving him to the Shelter of Love.

Months later after Luke's father had given his son to Shelter of Love, he made another journey to the Shelter to inquire if the baby lived or not. One of the house mothers said quietly, "Come with me....". She led the father to a room with a crib that held a precious little healthy baby who was sleeping so peacefully. The father just smiled a great big smile........

This is a picture of Luke's home, Luke and his father, and the couple that are squatting (I believe) are Luke's grandparents.

Village Road

On the road into the village, we passed a young boy (maybe about 10 or 12 years old) herding cattle. This is a sight seen all over Cambodia.

MORE Village Homes

Just some village homes for you to see....

Village Homes

The village homes are much different from the homes in the "city". The village homes are more rustic, and are made from plam leaves!! Many people live in these tee-tiny one room dwellings. The average "village woman" has SIX children. The siblings take good care of each other. It is quite common to see a 5 or 6 year old carrying a baby brother or sister! Amazing to me!!!

It is the rainy season in Cambodia now. Most of the land in the village is flooded. When people want to get out of the house, they have to wade through the water to get to the road.

Of course there is no running water, no bathrooms, no showers, no electricity! CAN YOU EVEN IMAGINE???!!!

Some homes have a well, where they get water to drink, cook with, and to bathe with. Most Cambodians boil the well water before drinking, but some don't..... How do they boil the water? They use wood and start a fire and put the pot on top of the fire! (I'm not sure how they start the fire....will find out!)

First Village Experience

During the summer, all 53 of the children and 4 house parents who live at Shelter of Love do home visits. This means that they all load up into three vans and travel to the various villages of where the children are from. The children see parents (if they are living), aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends. I asked to go on one of these home visits, and it worked out that a home visit was planned for that week (which was last week, on September 8.

So we loaded up the vans, all of dressed in dark pants and Shelter of Love tee-shirts, and headed off to the one hour trip to the first village. We were off to visit three villages.

We drove on the highway for about 30 minutes, then turned down an orange-dirt muddy road for another 30 minutes. As we bumped and squished down the road to the village, I was amazed at the beautiful palm trees that lined the road.

I hope you enjoy these pictures. It was an ABSOLUTELY AMAZING experience. WOW. Words just can not even justify this experience and what my eyes saw and what my heart felt. ENJOY.........

TO MARKET..... TO MARKET.....

On Saturday the girls and I visited the local market, THE ONLY place to buy fruits, vegetables, and meats in town! Going to the market is always an EXPERIENCE!! PE and Baby Girl held their noses due to the sour smells in the air. They just could not handle the raw meat and seafood smell that lingered in the air! We saw lots for sale! Live baby chicks, pig heads, various animal body parts and organs, and a variety of fruits and vegetables. Personally I love going to the market, as each time I go it is truely a learning experience and very "eye opening" to see how the Khmer culture lives. All I can say is W O W !!

FROGS 4 SALE!!!

Two children came by the school the other day selling fresh fried FROGS!!!! The teachers were very excited and bought quite a few to eat for lunch! Baby Girl asked me to buy a frog for her and, like a good Mommy, I DID! She ate the frog and enjoyed it.......(she got the love for strange food from her Daddy)!!