Water Festival Holiday

This weekend is a mjaor holiday, celebrating the harvest, in Cambodia. Everything has quitened down a bit in the town, and there are great celebrations on rivers and lakes, with the most amazing boat races, which rather put Oxford and Cambridge to shame. I will post some pictiures of these soon.

Nevertheless on Saturday, we had the opportunity to spend most of the morning at the Safe Haven school, and all thirty-five children were present. We shared prayer and worship with the children, did some bible teaching, and had fun together playing games and blowing bubbles. One of the things which is very striking is the way in which the children behave in such a dignified way. When we gave out sweets, noone clamoured for them. Each child waited for us to give them a sweet and n that gracious Camblodian way said thank you with their hands held together.

We heard too some of the stores of children who had literally been sold into slavery, and brought back again to the safety of this place. Some of the children sold for work are made to beg on the streets. We even heard of some who are injected with polio, so that they were disfigued and disabled, and could therefore earn more as beggars. Others are sold for work and others for the sex trade, often by their parents who are cross if they come back. It is a shocking darkness, and the light of the Safe Haven burns ever more brightly in contrdistinction.

The afternoon was time off at the Water Festival. The colours and the boats were amazing. we were ushered into front row seats, and Chomno had a VIP bagde to get in. We were seated in fromt of a row of Buddhist monks in their robes. Then the TV cameras were upon us, and we were probably the only foreigners there, and I was interviewed for Cambodian national TV. The food stalls were amazing, with all sorts of food on sale, including deep fried frogs and anakes, and a variety of insects including beetles. It was just like a set for I'm a Celebrity, but none of us tried anything other than popcorn!

There is so much going round in my mind at he moment that it is hard to tell it all, but I will try to sift it, oredr it and tell it in blogs to come.