Today began with a trip to the Lucky supermarket which is like Taj Majal compared to the outdoor Russian market...it has A/C and it makes you want to lay down in the aisles, spend the majority of the day there, and seriously consider asking about employment opportunities. That's what I call genius marketing in a third world country. We were buying supplies to make 72 peanut butter, honey and banana sandwiches. I don't know what is more fun, the excitement of the kids or the entertainment of watching 72 kids eat peanut butter for the first time. A little selfish of us, I know. When we arrived at the orphanage we received our usual reception fit for royalty and kids struggling to try and be the the one's who got to carry the grocery bags inside. Can you imagine? Today we brought Ken with us, he is from Belgium and staying at our guest house for a couple weeks as just one stop in his journey around the world. After hearing us gush over these kids at every meal he decided he needed to come see it for himself and see if all our stories checked out. The boys have a lot of energy and all the children welcomed him with love and curiosity. His day went so well that he recruited some other friends we have made here Jessica from Italy and Bella who Jacey and I are sharing a room with, from England. We are going to have lots of help today and more importantly lots of attention for the kids. We formed an assembly line for the sandwiches and handed them out one by one with a box of chocolate soy milk. The children sat in a circle and with zero direction given to them each waited until everyone had one. We looked up to see if they were finished and were shocked to see them waiting. Making that many sandwiches takes a long time and they didn't seem to mind at all. When they finally started eating they had no idea how to eat a sandwich, the unexpected always makes my day here. Teaching a 10 year old how to eat a PBJ, so great. After finishing I walked all three buildings with the intensity of a building inspector, minus the hard hat and credentials and wrote down all the improvements that needed to be made and all the supplies the children needed. I came up with the idea to make a list, kind of like a registry and when people donate money let them choose what they would like me to buy with it. So many of you have generously offered to donate and asked what the children need. Shipping to Cambodia is apparently like trying to ship something to the moon, except with gravity involved it would be cheaper to send it to the moon than Cambodia. So, I have the list compiled and I am going to find out the prices for everything today. When I get home tonight the list will be posted, so feel free to get after it and shamelessly recruit your friends, family and co-workers. The items will start around $5 so even the smallest amount can make a difference.

O.K, back to my most emotional part of the day. I noticed Taupe, the boy who was found in a forest with both parents dying of AIDS, was wearing his dirty clothes again. I walked with him over to the boys house and asked him to see all his worldly possessions via translator. He ran, under the stairs and came back grasping on to a small grocery bag like it was a relative. I looked in the bag and tried not to lose it. There was a faded fluorescent windbreaker that was adult sized and looked like it was an artifact from the Jurassic period, another equally as foul t-shirt, one pair of pants that were 3 sizes too small and shimmery black, and the new shirt I had bought him two days ago. THAT.IS.IT. No underwear, the only pair of shorts were the ones he was wearing, no toys, pictures, nothing. Can you begin to imagine all your worldly possessions in one bag hidden under the stairs? I asked another boy, Bonlou to do the same thing and it was the same situation. I had bought him an outfit and some underwear last week which doubled his wardrobe. I was feeling more than a little guilty about everything I have and will never complain again that I have, "Nothing to wear." I finally understood completely why the kids do not wear their new clothes right away. When your wardrobe consists of four items, you want to keep them as nice as possible for as long as possible.....imagine that. After lunch I headed straight to the market and bought Taupe 3 pairs of shorts, a t-shirt and a button down shirt for school. When I got back and tried to give them to him he didn't quite understand. When he realized what was happening he lunged into my arms and gave me the biggest hug... this may or may not have pulled a muscle in my neck. He then stepped back, shut his eyes and gave his new clothes the same hug, eyes closed. If they had neck muscles they would have been pulled too. He then darted under the stairs and put them in his bag, under the stairs...priceless.

These children have minimal food and a broken down shelter but they are so happy solely because they have the love of one another. It's easy to see that we are the ones who have it all wrong, the children have gotten it right. They don't chase possessions or the next best or biggest things and they rarely stop smiling. If we would all  focus more on loving and cherishing our relationships with our families and one another and stop chasing possessions, we may one day be as happy as these orphans.

To my family....Mom, Dad, Christey and Jason. I think about you every second of every day I am here. I can't imagine not having a Mother to nuture me, a Father to guide me or an older brother or sister to torture me. ; ) I hope that one day these children will at least be able to experience half of the love I was fortunate enough to be given by the four of you. Make today great, off to the orphanage!

xo,
LM