PAY DAY

Isaac was terribly sick all thru the night, but, praise God, he is better this afternoon after sleeping most of the morning & occassionally sipping 7Up & water.

With Isaac laid up I was on my own this morning. What an adventure! The first part sounds like something out of Ripley's Believe It or Not. On the way to the orphanage I noticed something that looked like a US dollar bill in the road. It was $100! It lay near an open gate, so I called in to the people to let them know they dropped a HUGE chunk of money. The woman whom I tried to hand the bill to was either very honest or didn't recognize what I had in my hand because she refused to take it. I looked around to see if anyone else was around. Not a soul. So, I pocketed the money & walked on. I didn't get far before I found another $100 bill. I laughed out loud & said, "Lord, are You kidding me?!" I pocketed it thinking how much help $200 can provide in the slums of Cambodia. I hadn't thought long when I stepped on another $100 bill!

I pocketed it as well & prayed, "Lord, what is this about?" I was reminded how this trip was made possible. People just came to me with money saying something like, "God told me to give you this money," or "We really want to help out on this mission." I didn't ask for anything, it just came to me by God's people. I realized that here in Cambodia there are no believers to come to me in such a way, so God used a different tack to accomplish His desire. Now I think I have an inkling how Peter felt when Jesus provided cash in a fish's mouth.

I've given $100 to Ruth & trust God will show me what to do with the other $200. Please pray with me for clear direction & quick obedience.

Yesterday I noticed the children's hair was quite a mess. They said the comb was lost, so I set about to provide a few combs. I took seven in this morning thinking that would be plenty to share. Truly, it is plenty. However, the children suckered me into getting a new comb for each child. Straightaway I headed for the market & being in a hurry I accepted the first moto offer (motos are the Cambodian answer to taxi cabs-a moped with a large seat) thinking the man spoke some english. I soon found out that all he understood was "market," "English," & "OK." Unfortunately, the market I was referring to was not the market he headed for. Long story short: we were able to get enough combs for every child & after stopping at every store begging, "English? Please, english?" the driver finally gave up & went back to where we started not realizing that's what I'd been trying to tell him for about 30 minutes. Hahahahahahaha!

I also learned to do laundry today, but that's a story that will have to wait until I return because the lesson came mostly in pantomime.