Bats at the Billabong

I am sitting in the transit lounge in Taipei on my way home to Seattle to see my girls, emailing and drinking a Tuk Tuk Boom Boom, see Wades blog. I am sad to leave Cambodia, a place that I love dearly. I was talking to my friend Rachel about it on the way to Taipei. I told her that the one thing that I will not miss is the extreme poverty and the sights of people wounded by land mines and children sitting naked on the sidewalk learning how to walk. The ironic thing about this is that these same things are what keep me coming back to Cambodia and what will bring me back to Cambodia as long as Jesus allows.

I have learned a lot from Cambodia. I have learned about generosity, faith, perseverance, laughter and love. I have seen many committed people who care deeply about the justice of others. I have seen a nation destroyed by genocide come back to make it work in whatever way they can. As my friend Wade Say's, "Cambodia is a punk rock country. If all they have is a coconut tree and a chair they will sit down and sell coconuts. They will not give up."

On another note. Last night I was swimming in the pool at the billabong and saw thing flying around my head and skimming over the pool. It turns out they were bats. It was the coolest thing, yet totally freaky to be swimming in the dark and have bats flying all around your head. Yet another reason I love Cambodia.