Made for an interesting day

 This is an Evangelism week.  So, as most of you know, Rich takes the students out to a different village each day to teach there.  Today we went to Rang Dak.  (And, just a side note, the day I decided to go.  Our sweet students said that they would make room for me to go as well.)
So, we put 16 people in our van and we head to Rang Dak.  All is well until we get there and turn off left off the highway.
As we are almost off the highway, a little boy runs out in front of our car.  His mom screams and runs after him.  Rich slams on the brake.
At the same time, a man is driving his motorcycle very fast down the highway.  He obviously expects us to keep moving and be well out of the way before he gets there, however, because of the little boy,Rich stops and  the motorcycle hits the back of the van.
This picture shows the glass in the floor of the van where the guy's helmet hit the window.  Ended up, the guy broke his wrist and was scraped up, but ok.                                                              
So, we ended up being the excitement for the day.  Rich and Veasna ended up having to go to the police station and then on to the district station where they impounded our car.   We have insurance, so he came out to deal between the motorcycle man, police, and our side.  We still don't know the end result.
At one point the village police said that he would have to arrest Rich for reckless driving.  Veasna asked them if they would have rather us hit the boy. But the district guy said that wouldn't have to happen.  And is the norm, since we are foreigners, the motorcycle guy double or triples the cost to him.  Oh, well.  The students and I went on to start teaching.  We ended up picking Rich up at the town where the district police office is on our way back into Phnom Penh.

This sweet lady is the first lady that was converted in Rang Dak.  She is a teacher and has a good influence in the community.  She has been a major part in sending us several of our students, including 4 of our current students.
Here she is pounding the garlic with some other ingredients for lunch.  We had a fish soup with pumpkin (much smaller than those in the US), green beans, onions, and other spices.  We also had fish paste with assorted vegetables and of course, rice.
There are about 10-12 adults in this village that always show up with their Bibles and take note over the lessons that the students have prepared.





While the girls take the children to another place to teach them Bible stories, several of our guys teach the adults.
This is Vanna.  He just graduated last Friday night.  He has a very warm personality and is a good speaker.  The other students look up to him and he has been a good influence on our new students.




This is Veng.  He is one of our newer students.  This is only his 3rd time to teach.

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The picture above is Sophea.  He has only been at the school for a short time.  He is also older (27) and has a bachelor's degree in management.  He is an excellent student and has a strong desire to learn.



This is Rang.  This is his 2nd time to teach.  He always laughs nervously and says he is scared.  The first time he taught chapel at the school, I really thought he was going to throw up, he was so nervous.  But he keeps at it.  

And this is Cheanreas.  This was his first time to teach.

We have a pretty young group, since we graduated out so many last year.  They are learning.  Their lessons were short, but meaningful.

Please keep them in your prayers as they study, learn about God and His Will and their place in His service.

Much love,
Ronda

PS.  As for the van, I guess we will see if we see it again.  We assume that once the insurance company has settled, it will be released.  As much of a hassle as it was, it was still the best of the two evils.  There is a little boy sleeping just fine with his family tonight.  So, we are grateful that he is well and the man on the motorcycle isn't hurt too badly.
Tomorrow, Rich, Veasna and the students will go out again.  We hope it is a less exciting day.