Prek Eng 4

Entry 7: Central Market and PE 4

For some reason we seem to be starting a little slower each day. Maybe it’s getting a little easier to sleep on our Asian style beds, making we are just getting a little more tired each day.  We weren’t up and out until nearly 11 and the first stop was Jared and Chris’s apartment. It was a really nice, secure looking building and I guarantee that their unit was one of the  most secure.  What thief in his right mind would want to walk up five flights of stairs? But there was a superb view of the city from the large balcony and the rest of the place was new and modern and very neat, especially for two bachelors

I didn’t mention it but this was our day to ride in tuk tuks, or Cambodian taxis. Jared had made friends with a particular driver who came when he called and all 8 of us got into two tuk tuks and went on to find our lunch.  Tuk tuks are everywhere, waiting for passengers. They are carts, like mini stagecoaches, that attach to motorcycles. When you travel in them you are really seeing the city up close and personal. We stopped first at a furniture shop. Jared and Chris have been exploring possibilities for an import/export business for themselves and this vendor had some unusual and good quality furniture that they were considering. I took pictures of several of the creative pieces I liked. Not many things there would fit in my suitcase though. 

Back in the tuk tuks. We were actually looking for hamburgers, of all things, and the first place we wanted to go was closed. Sorya Mall was the next stop and it had anything the American stomach could desire… pizza, burgers, ice cream, all in a modern, commercial setting.  They didn’t have western bathrooms – I’ve already gone into what that means.

The Soya Mall is a block away from Central Market and that was the next stop after burgers and fries.  It was a little more open, and a lot less claustrophobic than the Russian market but many of the same types of items for sale. Again, I wanted to watch Trish and Allysa bargain and buy, but I was starting to get the resale fever and trying to think of what I could get to earn my next trip. Trish got a lot of cute jewelry, and visited some of her favorite merchants and I actually did get a bunch of cashmere scarves and some cotton ones too. I got a good silver bracelet. Lots of low prices, lots of temptation.

Fortunately we had limited time there and by 3:30 were heading back to Samaritan house in our tuk tuks.. Our van driver was ready at 4 to take us to PE 4 for dinner with the kids. On the way we stopped to look over a house that was the next potential orphanage for the group at PE 4. It was in need of some repair and cleaning but was large, sturdy, with a big yard and several fruit trees. It didn’t really sink in how great the need was for this new house until we arrived at PE 4 a few minutes later.  There are also 20 kids in this little family and they are in a space so small – it could be considered sacrificial living. Of the two houses that Hunsaders support, this one has the older kids. They are still small people but many are teenaged and there are four adults living there as well. Three small bedrooms and an open porch area are their sleeping places.

The cooking was done outdoors on a couple of charcoal cookers and one portable gas burner. It was like a camping kitchen – with no sink, or food prep areas, or conveniences. Much of what they were doing was done down low in a squat position.  This is where my friend Sulang works – she is the cook for PE 4. She and I have the distinction of being elders in this crowd. She is 56 and I am 60. She is very flexible and can dance like a 20 year old but I still wonder if her joints ache when she has to get down on the ground and scrub pots and pans…

Girls table, mealtime prayer



The kids gave us a tour, the dinner table was set up, we all sat down to our meal. The pattern here is that the children have already eaten or have their meal in a different area. We are seated together and are served special dishes that they don’t all get to eat. Their meals are quite plain and simple, always some rice and maybe a little meat, sometimes egg and vegetables mixed in the rice, lots of fruit. They all look healthy, slim and well nourished. For us this meal was fried rice with vegetables and shrimp mixed in, spaghetti noodles with ground beef and a wonderful tomato sauce (I had three helpings of this), fried chicken, pork ribs, fried eggplant, carrots, apples and fish.  We got to sample milkfruit., For dessert we had a fruit shake made from coconut milk, milkfruit, and banana. It was really good.



Lina and Chanra (center) at PE4



Again we had an evening of crafts and fun with the kids. Everyone (even boys) got their fingernails painted, they all made bead necklaces, we all got massages and the evening ended with the children singing and performing to several of the songs they liked. They all get along so well. God has really made them to be one family when they had no family at all.  We ended with the usual half hour of hugs and goodbyes.

I have come to know both sets of houseparents for Mike and Trish’s houses and they are wonderful couples with such love for the kids and for each other. An and Smie (I’m going phonetically here because I’m not sure how they spell their names) and Ravi and Rie are close friends and the women are always laughing and  smiling about something and appear tireless to me. The men seem to know more English so they talk to us more but all four of them are very communicative and outgoing. They are very easy to love.