Friday-Final workday for Iowa team

Its 9:40 PM on Friday here in Battambang. We are finally back to our room after another very fulfilling day. We started the day at 5:00 AM getting ready to go. Had to be at Pastors house at 6:30 for devotions and then to our final clinic at Pastor Timothy's Church. It was a 15 minute ride on bicycles but we had 2 ambitious volunteers to ride our bikes so we could ride the tuk tuk. It was a long morning as we ministered to 140 patients under the lean-to of the church while some of us made balloon swords, others played games with kids, and still others just helped where needed. I had the privilege of visiting with the pastor for quite a while and what an interesting story his is. He was 15 when the Pol Pot regime began the slaughter of the educated citizens and he was a sympathetic member of what he thought was the right political cause so at 16, joined the army and remained a faithful follower of the dictator until the regime was invaded by the Viet Cong Communist army. Rather than surrender and be shot to death, he joined the Khmer army and was forced to live in the jungle for 5 years without shelter or food. He became quite ill with Malaria and malnutrition so in 1986, he escaped during the night and unfortunately that is where the story must end because he was called away to help interpret for someone at the clinic. I will finish that conversation in the next while because I want to learn more about him and his road to salvation. I do know that, in his words, a big white missionary just like me came every year to encourage him but that he became to old and now he thanks God that I can come to encourage him.

Our clinic lasted until after 12:30 so we missed lunch at the base and decided to go to Cafe Eden for lunch. On the way, Mary's bike had another flat tire so the rest of them went on while she and I found a place to fix the tire. Mary found a chair to sit in and the repair man pointed me to a hammock in the shade.  He pulled the tube out, patched it but it still leaked so he finally did what i tried to tell him in English right away. He put in a new tube. After paying a whole $2 for the repair we made our way to the cafe for lunch.

While we were having lunch as Cafe Eden, Kim was doing her third CPR Class for the YWAM Staff and students who are required to take it, thanks Kim for being in charge of all three classes, we know it kept you up late two nights and today you missed lunch! I know some of the time Janielle and Kirsten assisted Kim!

After lunch it was back to Jeevits house for a few final touch-ups on the playground, empty suitcases of supplies, and various last minute clean up duties and then back to the base for some debriefing and rest.

About 10 of us went to Gecko for dinner and some of us, even I ate Asian food while others stuck to more traditional Western food. I had VietNamese noodles with tangy Asian sauce and Mary had fried pineapple rice with chicken. Then a wild tuk tuk ride back to the base. We went on to meet with Rina and tell her about the plans for tomorrow and then back to our room.

Thanks to all of our Iowa Team for spending your time, money, talents, energy, sweat, stress, short nights with the strange noises in a strange country! You all affected the lives of many dear people here in Cambodia. We praise God for each of you! Tomorrow you start your trip home. May you be blessed as you each go back to your normal routines in the US.

That was our day. It was again hot and humid but a wonderful day. May you all have the same.

Ed & Mary