God blessed us so greatly again. Amy Thrailkill Britton and her husband, Damon and son, Jackson came to see us! Also that same evening, our 2nd son, Randall and his wife, Kassie and girls, Kenley and Ryah also arrived!!! What fun! They all were a terrific encouragement to us and gave us a sweet refreshing period.
On very next day after arriving in Cambodia, Randall taught Wednesday night Bible class at the Phnom Penh congregation.
We took them to Toul Sleng, the high school turned prison camp during the Pol Pot Regime from 1974-1979.
This picture is taken at the Killing Fields, south of Phnom Penh, where they mass buried thousands of people. There is this tower there where the skulls and bones that they have unearthed, are displayed. (I tried to pick the calmer pictures.)
The Brittons were on a vacation in Vietnam and decided to come see us for a few days. We had a wonderful time!
They did do some things that they didn't care for.
This is Damon and Rich eating bugs.
Isn't it lucky that the Brittons and the Randall Dolans got here just as durians were coming into season!!
(Another thing they didn't enjoy!)
So we had the Durian Taste Challenge. Yes, they are standing in front of our house as I don't allow durian IN my house. It smells horrible!!!
Here, Jackson, Amy, Damon, Ryah, Kenley, Randall and Kassie are all smiles BEFORE trying the durian. (Full disclosure, Randall has eaten durian in Thailand before with his grandfather, so he knew what he was in for.)
And...yuk!! Ryah and Kenley aren't in this picture because they are off to the side spitting it out.
But I can confirm that only a tiny tiny bit of each person's durian actually touched their mouths; and most of that was spit back out!
But they had the experience!
This is the Brittons and Dolans with our CBI students.
They were a big boost to our students by coming to chapel and interacting with our students. Of course, the students who lead chapels the days they were here were scared to lead in front of them.
It was so fun to get to show Cambodia to Damon, Amy and Jackson! We were thrilled that they were able to fit us in.
I think I will do a blog with pictures that Amy and Kassie took. We have been here so long that everything is normal now. So I thought I would share some pictures that they shared with me for you to enjoy. I'll try to remember to do that next time.
After a couple days in Phnom Penh, we made the trip to Siem Reap.
This is Damon and Amy Britton, Kassie and Randall Dolan in front of Angkor Wat.
Angkor Wat. We are coming down from the top. As you can tell, the stairs are steep. But the original stairs underneath are MUCH steeper.
At Bayon Temple, Kenley and Ryah Dolan are attempting the poses of the Aspara Dancers in the carved pillar between them.
All of us at the Night Market in Siem Reap
Then we had a nice dinner on the riverside off the carts.
Kassie and Randall Dolan at the Ta Prohm temple. (This is the temple where Tomb Raider was filmed)
Ta Prohm Temple is the temple where they tried to leave it as it was found, as much as possible. The birds drop seeds in the top of the temples and the tree roots grown to the ground. As you can see, they are huge roots. I think this is my favorite temple.
Bayon Temple is the one with the at least 4 faces on each spire. Sadly, they are having to do some reconstruction work on it and we weren't able to walk up to the top like we have in the past.
Amy, Damon, and Jackson flew out of Siem Reap to continue their Vietnam trip. We came back to Phnom Penh for one night, and then repacked and headed for the coast for a few days.
As it is the beginning of rainy season, we had great waves! We got beat up but it was so much fun!
And the sunsets are one of my favorites.
I love the ocean that God created for us to enjoy! For all its vastness, depth, and mysteries, it is also calming and beautiful. Truly a special creation.
As Randall, Kassie, Kenley and Ryah were appreciating all our fresh tropical fruit, we had a couple suppers of just fruit. Mangoes, rambutans, bananas, passion fruit, dragon fruit, monkoots, etc. They also drank plenty of smoothies.
Naturally, their time ended way too soon! But it was wonderful to get to spend time with them here. The last time Randall, Kassie and Kenley were here, Kassie was about 6 month pregnant with Ryah, and Ryah's 10 years old now.
They did a great job making friends and talking with the Khmer Christians and our neighbors, trying all the foods.
I didn't get a picture, but Randall preached last Sunday at the Capitol congregation as well.
God has blessed us so richly with our family and all our brothers and sisters in Christ, our friends. And we love to share our lives here with others.
Tuesday is split chapel with the girls meeting upstairs. Last Tuesday, the girl students wanted a picture with Kassie, Kenley and Ryah.
Damon, Amy, Jackson and Randall, Kassie, Kenley and Ryah were wonderful encouragements to the church here as well as our students.
So, when are you coming?
Much love to you all!
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