Angkor Wat and some bumps in the road

We visited Angkor Wat. This area is actually a very large area.  There are over 200 temples in the area and archeologist are still discovering temples in the jungle itself. These temple were built a very long time ago and show us so much about our past.

Another picture of Angkor Wat with the reflection on the water! We wished we could have jumped in the water it was so hot outside.

Here our group is in front of another temple. This is a smaller temple that was left with some trees in and around the temple. They did this to show the tourist how the temples looked before the were restored. This also was the temple used in shooting Tomb Raider.

This is our entire group in front of a temple. This temple was made after Angkor Wat and had different religious symbols/faces on it.

We also visited a potential Garuna Kids school site. The building is currently used for Sunday School and after school care. We had to go on very small dirt roads to get to this school. The road was extremely bumpy.

The children were so excited to see all of us when we arrived at the school. The even sang a song to us.

We taught the children to sing many songs. They loved the actions so much. We had lots of fun together.

Cambodia Continued

We first visited Tuol Saleng Prison. In this museum, we  learned about the genocide that took place in the country of Cambodia. (this only happened around 30 years ago!) There were many true stories and pictures for us to see in this prison.

While at the Tuol Saleng Prison Museum we met a man that survived this prison! He was one of 2 men that survived this prison. He wrote a story about his experience in the prison and how hard it was to live in those conditions. He stated he only survived because he could fix the broken items around the camp. He signed a book that we bought and took a picture with us.

We next visited the Garuna Fund office. We met all the employes and they explained their mission as an organization to us all.

We ate lunch together after visiting the Garuna Fund office. Someone even ordered cow tongue and ants for lunch. (gross)

We left for Siem Reap. We took a very small airplane and the flight was only 45 minutes, just enough time for a little cat nap.

When we arrived in Siem Reap we attended a cultural show with lots of dancing. It was lots of fun.

In the Middle of Nowhere

So most of today was spent inside of a van driving throughout the Cambodian countryside. Our group wanted to go visit some of the churches in Cambodia, which are located in more remote areas accessible only by dirt roads and river ferries—another adventure for us! The exciting thing about these churches was that some of the children there are Garuna Kids.

Garuna Kids is an organization that helps children who cannot afford to go to school. Under the Garuna Foundation, Garuna Kids connects donors in the States (and hopefully globally soon!) with children in Southeast Asia. For $30 a month, these children can attend school, buy uniforms, purchase school supplies, and get the books that they need. Right now, 50 children that we visited at the two local village churches are Garuna Kids! Praise God. Check out the pictures below to see how beautiful they are. Maybe the Holy Spirit will tug at your heart to sponsor one of these children as well. For more information contact Jeff Ehlers at j_ehlers@yahoo.com. (Start at the BOTTOM of the pictures to go in order...they were uploaded backwards.)

The children were adorable and so eager to learn about us.

We all worked together on the same ABC connect the dot project. They had so much fun!

The kids led us up into their community room where they have their Sunday school class.

They were entranced by Karen's I-Phone. Apple would've paid BIG bucks for their reaction as they watched a video Karen had taken of them singing "Jesus Loves Me." They thought it was hilarious to watch themselves sing!

After another 1 and a half hour drive, we ended up at our second church destination. There were about 30+ kids here to meet and greet us.

This was the WHOLE group at the first church that we visited. They were wonderful. It was sad to leave.

Tracy (and her helpers) taught the kids "Jesus Loves Me" in sign language. They caught on quickly! The teacher asked Tracy to write the song down so that they can keep practicing it in English.

20 of us were packed into these 2 vans. Thank goodness for air conditioning. 6 hours of driving today!

After some singing, we all worked on an ABC connect the dots projects together. Fun bonding time.

We handed out school supplies while we were there. The kids were SO EXCITED to receive some paper, colored pencils, and a pencil. They were even more excited about the cookies.

We had to use this river ferry to cross the Mekong River to get to these churches. People as well as cars use the ferry. They tried to sell us things as we rode across.

This was the first church we visited in the village. There were 100 kids there to see us! Some parents came as well.

Amy and I were especially excited to meet these children because our school, Zion Lutheran School in San Francisco will be sponsoring Garuna Kids (and the Garuna Foundation) for our chapel offering. Christ Lutheran School in Phoenix Arizona sponsored the organization last year and was able to support 30 kids! They started a school in Cambodia!

On to Cambodia!

Ending our day of travels with a tasty dinner at the Titanic Restaurant in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. We had fish cakes, stir fry veggies, curried fish, chicken curry, and tons of rice.

Dad and Mark met some friends.

The Pastor of the church in Chiang Rai's house--right next to the church building.

Pastor describing all of the awesome ministries that the Chiang Rai church is up to. He was explaining how important an education is to the people, but how none can really afford to go to school. How can we help?

We took a boat across the Mekong River from Chiang Rai to Laos.

The Golden Triangle, where Laos, Thailand, and Burma meet.

We were so close to Burma (Myanmar), but didn't cross the river that created the border between Thailand and Burma.

A tasty, spicy dinner in Chiang Rai after our meeting with the churches there. This was our last evening in Chiang Rai.

A typical Asian toilet for the ladies. Thankfully, they've had a bunch of "regular" Western toilets too!

We were out in the hill tribes to see this beautiful church--totally different from the crazy-busyness of Thailand!

One of the Lutheran churches we visited in Chiang Rai with an attendance of about 20 each Sunday. Please keep them in your prayers as the congregation tries to raise money for a permanent concrete structure--This could take them awhile since they make about $1 per day as day laborers (mainly in rice fields).

Exploring Chiang Rai (Northern Thailand)

We visited the Chiang Rai Lutheran Church! It was a tiny hut that fit about 20 village tribe Christians for Sunday services. We talked with the pastor and were so moved by his message and ministry that we decided to help the congregation purchase the land that they were renting. It was an amazing experience to hear about God's work in that village. The people are on fire with the Holy Spirit.

At the airport for one of our MANY flights all over Asia. Our group of 17 stayed organized and on time....so far!

Inside the hut in Chiang Rai listening to the pastor talk about his ministry.

Some hilltribe children that we met from the Karen tribe.

The Golden Triangle where Burma, Laos, and Thailand meet! We were in 3 countries that day.

The Lutheran Church in Chiang Rai. They have an attendance of 60 each Sunday. This church was WAY up in the hills. The ride up and down was crazier than a Disneyland roller coaster.

Spending the Day in Thailand (and some extras from day 1)

Drinking our Thai tea drinks outside of the Temple of the Dawn after our boat ride tour of the slums. We had a JAM-packed itinerary!

Amy and I led an English vocabulary BINGO game with the Thai students at CGM English Center.

The group at the Lutheran Hour Ministries (which hosts Christian radio programs and other special events) and Journey Into Light center.

Many of the people who attended the Sunday worship service at Thailand Concordia Lutheran Church. It reminded us of the book of Acts when we were singing songs in English and Thai at the same time. We met a friend named Faith, who was from Kenya (pictured with us), at our hotel that morning before leaving for the church service. Faith told us that she had just arrived from Kenya two days ago. She had been praying for some fellowship with Christians before heading off to attend a Thai university away from her family for two years. We invited her to join us for church. She told us we were an answer to her prayers, and we all had a fabulous day together. God is answering prayers all over the world at every morning--just ask--He'll answer!

These were some 16-year-old monks who have been practicing monkhood for four years. They were eager to practice their English with us and to take a picture with us. We just had to be careful to "not touch" them at all.

This was at the temple of the reclining Buddha. He is about the length of a football field.

The remains of many Thai kings rest in these beautiful structures.

We were trying to figure out who these "gangs" would be?? 

Amy drank from a coconut that a women was selling on the street while we were waiting for our boat taxi.

Amy and Megan on the boat taxi. We had watch out for monitors (or large lizards) in the water....gross

We stopped to check out the Ehlers old house when they lived in Thailand 10 years ago. Their neighbors were there and came out to say hi! So much fun. (Day 1)

We had the honor of being invited into the temple monk's chambers. He has been the head monk of the monastery for 60 years. He even gave us souvenirs! (Day 1)

These were some of the Thai students that we got to play English games with! (Day 1)