Sunscreen, TSA Locks and Insecticide Wash

5 days! We leave in 5 days!  I can't believe it.  This trip has seemed so far away, and now it's finally here.  I feel like we have a really strong team, and we are going to do great things over there.  We have however, had some setbacks, i.e. the weather and personal struggles - so please keep praying for the team and our mission.  We fly out of Atlanta next Thursday, on a direct flight to Seoul (about 15.5 hours).  Then we have a two hour layover - not too bad, you know, enough time to grab a meal (I haven't configured which meal it will be) - then we fly from Seoul into Siem Reap (about 5.5 hours).  Whew.  That's a lot of traveling.  Don't forget your neck pillows, headphones, and Tylenol PM, people!  I think we're all secretly hoping to NOT get the middle seat.

I've been told the notorious humidity in Cambodia will knock you down.  I can't imagine a place more humid than Atlanta in the summertime, so this should be fun.  We've all packed our "moisture wicking clothing."  Long pants and sleeves are recommended because of the mosquitoes (see past two posts for flooding updates).  We've also been instructed to "wash" our cloths in insecticide.  The travel clinics sell this liquid mix you dunk your clothes in before you leave.  It's good for up to 20 washes.  Die mosquitoes, die.

We're taking a lot of supplies over with us, mostly for the kids: nerf balls, arts & crafts, stickers, coloring pages, crayons.  The coloring pages we printed for free online.  We decided Noah's Ark and David & Goliath were good starting points for the kids ministry - what kid doesn't love animals and giants?  I'm just hoping we don't confuse them too much, because these stories are, obviously, brand new concepts for them.

I'm looking forward to a lot of things: meeting the women and children, sharing stories and testimonies, experiencing a new culture and cuisine, and seeing a part of the world that has gone through so much struggle, yet persevered.  I'm excited about meeting/bonding with the Cambodian Hope Organization (CHO) staff, as well.  Matt and Robert, two of our team members, have planned a presentation for the CHO staff based on Andy Stanley's 7 Practices of Effective Ministry.  CHO's staff plans to then use the information to "effectively minister" to people in Cambodia.  Think of it as a train-the-trainer type of thing.  I hope it translates well.

Micah