Health teachings, Sunday school, Dental Clinics & Water Fights! ...Happy Khmer New Year!

It's been two weeks! We are a Little more used to the heat...it gets up to 38ºC! very very hot! but we have been out in the villages, spending some mornings with kids, doing sunday school on Sunday and doing some health care education and dental clinics!

We were invited to join the Nations2Nations outreach at a school, where we had the opportunity to sit down and talk with school students, learn their names and answer their questioons! most of them didn't know where Perù was! We danced with them a typical Cambodian dance, that is done around a table with nice flowers on it, and everyone walks around it and moves their hands. Maclau had so much fun watching the different dances! We also went to church on Sunday, and we will be supporting the church with sunday school. For the first lesson we taught about Zacquious, and we told the bible story and how no matter how Little we think we are, if we want to see Jesus, He sees us and wants to be Friends with us and have a relationship with us! The girls taught the song that tells the bible story! and we played with them and did a couple of songs!

One thing we noticed, is that the kids come by themselves, families don't come to church together. Most parents are either working in Thailand and kids are left with a grandma or aunt. The concept of family has suffered great damaged, because of violence and poverty.

Last week and this week we have run a kid's ministry program, in different villages. YWAM has been consistently working in these villages, and they help us get them together and translating! They love games! balloons and bubbles are a big hit! and we have shared some songs with them, the girls like to do "I feel it in my bones", "the fruit of the spirit" and "Deep cries out" . We explain to them the songs and then we all have fun doing the motions to the songs! We have also been teaching hand washing and brushing teeth. A couple of girls who have been working with them were telling us that most of the kids have never seen a dentist in their lives. They just endure pain, take some pain killers they get at the drugstore, and just wait until it breaks.

Last wedsday we were at a village, and all the kids I saw were saying that they have tooth ache at nights and the moms were saying they cry at night. It brakes my heart, to think all the pain they have to endure. That's why none of them cry with the shots, they are mostly scared, but our translator explained that after the shot, the tooth would "go to sleep" and it won't hurt again, and they were better! they were very brave, and strong! we told them to brush their teeth to avoid future decay.

We also had a dental clinic at the YWAM base on thursday, although there are not a lot of staff or student because Khmer New Year started on Friday, but we were happy to help those who came to see us.

Friday afternoon we were invited to celebrate the beginning of new year at YWAM Battambang. Grace and us went! and it has been so much fun to see their games and traditions! They play wáter fights (very similar to Peru) and they also have a sort of ball of fabric to hit with in a playful way! In Peru, we call that "matachola" , we played with them, got wet and got attacked with baby powder! and we just enjoyed new Friends and the new culture! after the water, the dancing started! we learned to dance in circles with our hands, and a line cambodian dance! They are very friendly, warm-hearted people! and it has been a true blessing to spend time with them celebrating with them!

It's been so great to do dental clinics, and we hope to do a couple more. The needs of Cambodian people are great physically and spiritually, we have spent time praying for this nation, for their people and is our prayer that their eyes will be open to see what they were made for, that there is hope, and that there is a God that loves them and wants to be part of each of their lives.

Keep praying for my team, in this last two weeks we have had colds, sore throats, body aches. Pray for our safety, the safety for our girls and for God to move in a mighty way among the Cambodians.

We are staying at a guest house, which we found out is kinda in the middle of the slums in Battambang, we see a lot of turists coming and going, pray for that as well, we want to be that city on a hill, we want to shine His light.

Thanks for your constant prayers! if you want to get in touch with us! please feel free to write us! we would love to hear from you!

Luis, Claudia and Maria Claudia Choy

Facebook: LuisyClaudiaChoy

email: choyluis@gmail.com / claudiaagurtoh@gmail.com