Service Trip to Camodia

Preface:
A bunch of us from Garrett's team that he manages for Vivint went to Cambodia to do service.  It was such an incredible experience that was life-changing and overwhelmingly humbling.  We got to work with some amazing people and I definitely learned a lot about myself and the people who live in Southeast Asia.  We worked for hours everyday sweating in the hot sun, just to give back to others what we have the luxuries of enjoying here in the states.  Most of Cambodians have nearly nothing, yet they have no idea about their circumstances.  Most of them seemed so content, like the way they live is the way the rest of the world does.  I had a couple experiences that were completely life-changing that will be expressed below with pictures and captions.  I really didn't understand the extreme humility I would feel while there and frankly, I don't think I was prepared for the feelings I felt and for getting as emotional as I did almost every night as I was going to sleep.  I am so grateful to my husband for working so hard to be able to take us on such an amazing trip!

Pictures!!!

This was right after we got off the plane and we're on our way to our hotel in Siem Reap.  We were all prepared for a swarm of bugs and a tiger to jump into the plane right when we landed when the door opened.  Like "Welcome to Cambodia!" (Garrett's joke)

Fish pedi!! It was definitely an interesting experience to say the least.  We were all laughing and twitching because it tickles so bad and feels so weird! But it is definitely something everyone should do in their lifetime.

This was taken as we were walking through the school gates for the first time.

She was probably one of the most gorgeous little girls I saw the whole trip.  I mean just look at those eyes!

Inside one of the classrooms at the school.

Such beautiful Cambodian children.

What a diva.  These next couple pictures are at the orphanage that we ate lunch at almost everyday.  The kids there are such precious spirits and they were so fun to play with.

One of my favorite shots playing with a little angel at the orphanage.  Thanks Viv for capturing such a great moment!

This little girl Minea was so much fun to play with!  I would've adopted her right then and there if Gar would have let me.

We sanded down and painted all the shutters and doors at the school.  It took a couple days to get it all done, but it made the school look so much better and it was so much fun to play with the kids whenever they were on recess.

The only source of water for the entire school...

Garrett showing the orphans some magic tricks.  They loved it!

We had lunch almost everyday at the orphanage.  We had all kinds of authentic Cambodian food as well as dragon fruit and an Asian fruit called lychee.

Garrett enjoying his dragon fruit.

Garrett and this little boy fell in love with each other.  All the children at the orphanage were so loving and sweet.  All they want is someone to love them and give them attention, and it was so humbling to be able to give them some sort of affection while we were there.

This is a "grocery store".

This is a home.

This little girl was another beauty that stole my heart.

The kids at the school loved to take pictures with us.

The boys had a blast roughing it up with the kids.  The kids loved climbing all over them and running around with them.

Tuk tuk!  Everyone drives scooters or bikes around and somehow fits their whole family on them.  We took tuk tuks around Siem Reap for like a dollar per ride.  They are like taxis but cooler and 200 times cheaper.

This church building is right in the center of the Siem Reap hub.  It got dedicated the Saturday after we left for Thailand.  It was so wonderful to see the church growing in a third world country.

The name of the school we worked at everyday.

I love the contrast between the orange mud against the lush greenery.

Dance party at the orphanage!

My baby girl Minea being a diva in my sunglasses.

All the kids at the school picked a million flowers for me and were so excited to give them to me.  I was so touched with how excited they were to give me something that they picked themselves.  They gave me so many that both my hands were completely full!

So much love.

I love the way the palm trees look in the reflection of the pond.  Look at all the beautiful greenery!

This is the house that got partially burnt down.  The mother in the family and a couple of the kids were in the hospital for severe burns.  The father left to be with his wife and kids in the hospital so a couple of the kids were left in the house with some neighbors watching them.

One of the children of the family who's house brunt down.

This is Ezra our guide/translator for the week.  He was so cool and so funny.  We asked him where in the US he would want to go if he had the opportunity, and he said Walmart! Haha it was so funny to here him talk all about how cool Walmart sounds.  When Garrett and I told him that we live right down the road from a Walmart, he put his hands over his mouth and his eyes got all wide.  It was so endearing!

Most of the houses in rural Cambodia are set up high because it rains so much.

Us trying to figure out how best to go about repairing the house.

When we arrived to the house, Ezra told us that the neighbors gathered together some money to help pay for the damages.  Garrett and I asked how much they had to donate and he said 50 cents.  Garrett and I looked at each other and decided then and there to take care of all the damages ourselves so their neighbors didn't have to spend their money on something they couldn't afford.  We went to the "hardware store" in the rural town and bought some tin and bamboo to rebuild the house.  It costed only $40.  If Garrett and I weren't there to pay for the house, I honestly don't know what that family would have done.  It was such a powerful experience for Garrett and I to change a whole family's life so drastically in the way we did.  Helping this family was by far one of the most touching experiences I had the whole trip.  I'm so grateful that my husband and I were able to give back to people that were so in need of help.

I have so much love for this man!

The group with the house in the back.  Cambodia is seriously so beautiful.  We were standing in front of a beautiful sunset, but it was too hard to capture with my camera.

The best steak I've ever had!

My handsome hubby eating his food out of a pineapple.  We went to this restaurant two nights in a row because we loved it so much!

Pub Street was one of the funnest places for us to hang out.  There are so many yummy restaurants along Pub Street and right next to it is the night market.  Every night we went to the night market and went shopping, got $7 hour long massages, I got a mani and a pedi for $5 total one night, etc.  It was so fun to walk around and have people try and sell you random things.  It was so easy to haggle with the people working the booths at the night market.  You can basically pick your price for everything!

Angkor Wat at sunrise!

Angkor Wat is the biggest temple in the world.  It was all made by hand thousands of years ago, and it took about 300-400 years to build.  It was seriously one of the coolest things ever!  Of course we had to take a dipping picture.

 All of the carvings in Angkor Wat were hand carved.  All of these women's faces look exactly the same.  That is so hard to achieve when carving rock!

 We played with monkeys!!

 We kept feeding them some of our snacks and some of them decided to climb up on some of the boys' backs to get the food better out of their hands.

 Sharing a coconut like the love birds we are.  Garrett hates coconuts though!

 I love elephants!  These ones were such gentle spirits and so sweet.

 Captured this on our oh so bumpy elephant ride around the temple.

 This is the start of the bathroom we built at the back of the school.  We laid brick in like 5 inches of mud! It was a lot of work but very rewarding to know that these kids will have somewhere to use the restroom while at school.

Our last night in Siem Reap, and naturally we got foot massages!

I am so grateful to have been able to go on such a fulfilling service trip.  Siem Reap Cambodia is my favorite place in the world so far.  The people there are so warm, happy, and funny!  I will never forget this experience and it truly has made me a more loving, caring, and humble person.  I hope everyone has an opportunity to go do service in a foreign country because it was life-changing for me.  I owe everything to my Heavenly Father because he has given me so much and has given me an opportunity of a lifetime.

Thanks for reading! :)