"Is this real life?"

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Cambodia. After all the waiting, praying...and more waiting, it's finally here. Being here definitely feels so surreal. This is real life, and we're really here. We found out that "Tamara and Lauren Cambodia" isn't too much different than "Normal Tamara and Lauren." For example, today we locked the keys to our bedroom in our bedroom. SWEEEET. Something we would totally do in everyday life. haha. I think we told Sokhom we were sorry like one million times as him and Randy worked at breaking back in. Of course, he's awesome, and just kept reassuring us: "No problem, no problem." He keeps telling us that his English is "no good." But that's totally not the truth; even though there is some difficulty at times, it is far from a language barrier. It was so exciting to step off the plane and see him waiting there waving at us. We felt welcomed from the very beginning. Since then, Ronnie (Sokhom's wife) and Ratchana (Sokhom's daughter, just a few years younger than us) have fed us some of the best Khmer food I've ever had. We keep trying to help, and Randy has told Sokhom on several occasions, "They are not guests, they are family." Tamara and I talked to Ratchana today, and I think we will get to start helping with meals tomorrow - yay for Khmer cooking! In exchange, she wants to learn how to make fajitas. I'm sure our reactions were priceless: "Can we help you learn to make fajitas?! Umm...HECK YES!" So, needless to say, as soon as our kitchen is done, Ratchana is going to learn how to make some Texas fajitas. Speaking of kitchen....our apartment is being worked on as I type. I know a lot of people have been asking about what it is going to be like. Well, when Sokhom gave us the tour of the unfinished apartment, Tamara and I were about ready to cry...we feel so unworthy. It has blown our expectations. Tamara has taken some pictures which should be online about the time this gets posted (we don't have internet now, so we're typing all this up in hopes when we do come along some internet in town sometime, we can post what we've already written.) Tamara and I each have seperate rooms with seperate bathrooms. Our bedrooms are larger than any bedroom I've ever had. We'll have a kitchen in the back and a very large living room in the front. Off the living room we will have a balcony that overlooks the street -- this is where we will wash clothes. We knew whatever Sokhom would provide would be nice, but this is beyond what we ever thought. We totally don't deserve this, and we're not sure how we got it so good. God is SO good. Tamara and I keep asking..."Okay, so why are we so surprised?" Really? God has just provided above and beyond what we need...always does. :)

Today we got to visit the orphanage for the first time. I was super antsy as we took the ferry over the Mekong and then rode on the back of a moto to the orphanage -- we couldn't wait to see our kids! The orphanage looked great -- super clean and with some new buildings. The kids looked great too -- of course one of the twins was in what I think was a woman's old blouse, but of course not a far stretch from last year's Hannah Montana night gown. Nonetheless, the kids looked happy and healthy. As we sat with Pastor Sokhom and Randy at lunch, I felt that feeling I felt last December...this is where I'm supposed to be. I'm sure for the time that we're here, we'll have frustrating and down moments, but these last few days have yet to have their disappointments. We have the coolest kids to work with and the coolest family to live with -- life is good. Thank you all so much for praying for us and all the encouragement. We'll probably miss comments and messages to respond to...when you're without internet for days at a time, it's difficult to respond to everything, but please don't stop them coming!! They mean so much to us! We love you all, and we definitely miss you too! You guys are awesome, and we feel so loved.

-Lauren