Working at the nursery...

No...we didn't take care of Khmer babies...though we all would have been up for that!
Cham's property has a tree nursery!

I just got downstairs from a long awaited shower...we've worked all day at Cham's house. It was 95 degrees or so and humid. Everyone drank probably 7 bottles of water each.
Today's work allowed us the chance to join Cham's family in the work they do...everyday.
We carried bucket after bucket of dirt to the back of his property in prep to build a frog farm later in the afternoon. Some of the ladies joined the Khmer women in the market to buy all the food for lunch. It was awesome to see the ladies prep the meal over the outdoor fire. Chicken innards in broth, fish (the whole fish...it was looking at us), green mango slices, chicken and cucumbers, and other yummy toppings to our rice. We finished up the meal with watermelon, lychee, and another fruit that's red with small daggers coming out of it...very sweet...very good.

After we ate it was too hot to work. Everyone took a nap...they set out pillows and mats and turned the fans on. We were out! I think we sweated off all 7 bottles of water today...without exaggerating.

After naptime came some good ol' planting. The guys went to build the frog farm while the ladies joined all of Cham's daughters in mixing soil for the off-shoots that we planted. The mixture first started off with dirt...then we added dried cow manure...then soot from burned rice husks...and lastly we added the rice grain from the husks. Mix mix mix!

Here's the best part...for hours we sat on the ground and mixed the soil BY HAND and shoved handfuls of it into black plastic bags. Each mini-bag would recieve a shoot that'd been cut off his other trees to start the next generation. We sat and sang songs and listened as Cham's wife busted out some songs in Khmer.

We were filthy! It was great to scrub that manure off our legs and arms.

We are headed out know to go to dinner with Cham's family. The place is called the Soup Dragon...I'm kind of excited. We'll hit the market again tonight. It was so nice last night...not too crowded, tons of sweet stuff, and some great buys.

Some fun things today...
-Heather was followed all morning by these two little girls. They were adorable. She let them sit on her lap and they were hooked. I think they slowed her down when they went to 'help' her carry the bucket of dirt, but it was precious.
-um...the team just found out that Abigail's birthday is tomorrow. Sweet! Send your love eveyone! She is going celebrate it on the opposite side of the world!
-Playing in dirt was a highlight fr most of us...we all felt like we were back to our childhood.
Sidenote: Scott says that his best time in life was when he was 12...cause he still acts like he's 12 years old...too bad he didn't play in the dirt with us today.
-Watching the women cook and helping wash dishes outside on the ground afterward
-Enjoying the manual labor and getting a nap! So satisfying...C'ham's family is so welcoming.

Some things to be praying about:
-Heather burnt her leg while getting off the motocycle today. She's fine...but it hurts of course.
-Pray for Jill, one of the missionaries. She's been feeling sick all day. Pray for a quick recovery for her as I know she wants to be a part of this trip with us
-Scott...his back is really bothering him. Pray that his discomfort lessens and that he will return to full motion and energy soon. It was hard for him to bow out of stuff today...we missed him.
-Ashley, me...my lingering cold. It hasn't been too bad, but it's still with me every morning.
-Safe travels and for the salvation of our bus driver, Mr. Vanna

More later I hope! Thanks for joining us and for your prayers.
Chau!