John's Description of below pics

The children directed us to a row of chairs and commanded us to sit. They all sat down in rows facing us, smiling and giggling with anticipation. “Where are the rest?” I asked. Someone said, “I think this is all of them.” No way. I knew we were missing Srey Pa, Srey Poa, Srey Ka, Meerlia and Soriya. Someone else said, “I think they have a surprise.”

The children stood up and began singing and reciting Bible verses in Khmer and English. We applauded enthusiastically, as the children beamed with pride. When they were finished, the children sat down and glanced back toward the kitchen.

When Soriya emerged, dressed in her hand-made apsara costume, we all gasped. It was like seeing a stunning bride enter the chapel, only more so. She smiled, bowed and read in English from a paper marked in large black letters, ‘Thanksgiving.’ She said something like this:

“Thank you, Daddy Dave, Daddy John and Pastor Jeff. Thank you for providing food and clothing and shelter and medicine for us. We thank God for you and pray for you. God bless you and your church. We will always love you.”

Sophal put the music on the boombox, and out they came: all of the missing girls -- each one more beautiful than the next -- like jeweled butterflies, they danced to traditional Cambodian music. Throughout the performance, they balanced silver platters covered with jasmine blossoms, taking care not to spill a single petal. As the final song reached its crescendoed peak, the girls broke into broad smiles and tossed the petals at us, filling the air with their fragrant blooms. A performance fit for a king, performed in gratitude for the meager sacrifices offered up by our little church in Columbus, Ohio. I’m humbled and moved.

The Girls .....breathtakingly beautiful

Ditto

John's latest blog fom Cambodia.....I am so blessed, even if he forgot this blog entry of his was titled exactly what my entire blg is titled:

"From ashes to beauty"

"Honestly, I don't even know where to start. Each day has been so full, it seems like it's been a week since I last posted. And unfortunately, I don't have nearly enough time right now to give an adequate overview. But here goes nothing.

Yesterday I took the team to Tuol Sleng prison, once a torture and interrogation facility, now a genocide museum. The halls are filled with the grisly artifacts of the Khmer Rouge regime. Most distressing are the thousands of photos -- mugshots of the victims taken upon admittance to this hell on earth some have called the Asian Auschweitz. Men, women, boys, girls -- even babies -- were brutally tortured. Those who survived were taken outside the city to the "killing fields" and clubbed, hacked or shot to death.

To call Tuol Sleng horrific is inadequate. In fact, words escape me. Do a search and you'll find others who have described it better. Perhaps I've even got a post or two about it if you search this blog.

At any rate, we all left Tuol Sleng feeling sad and angry and confused. All of our tidy theological equations that factor in "evil" and "free will" don't seem so satisfying when you've walked on the horrid, hallowed ground of a place like that. Our visit reminded us that evil is real, and that Satan hates mankind and revels in its destruction. Truly Satan succeeded in making a hell on earth.

After lunch, a trip to the market and a short rest, we got to visit heaven. After, that is, an hour in purgatory -- I got lost taking a 'short cut' Dave Atkins recommended and then our car broke down. Lovely.

Okay. Back to heaven.

When we finally arrived at the orphan home, the kids were ecstatic. They mobbed our car and lavished us with the most joyous greetings imaginable. When I opened the back of the truck and pulled out two suitcases, they began to chatter to each other excitedly. They guessed it -- gifts!

I took the suitcases in to the office and revealed the contents to Narun. "Too much for one day," he wisely suggested. We chose one toy for each child and put them in a box, which we carried out to the foyer. I asked the kids to line up -- boys on one side, girls on the other. They scrambled to their places, arranging themselves from youngest to oldest.

Each child received a ball, a doll or a stuffed animal. Each child was thrilled. Just wait til you see the pictures! (It'll be a few days...sorry) It was like Christmas morning, only with less whining.

We played for what seemed like hours, until it was time for the younger kids to get ready for bed. Jeff and Jordan somehow translated Rock-Scissors-Paper into Khmer, and the kids quickly became experts, besting me almost every time.

As we packed our bags and pulled away from the orphan home, I felt like I had just gotten a preview of heaven, God's Kingdom come on earth. Guys, I can't even begin to express my gratitude for all of you -- what a privilege to represent you to these kids. And what a contrast from our morning at Tuol Sleng.

The darkness is truly dark. But the light is coming, it's breaking through, and it's spreading. And the epicenter is a little townhouse on Street 95 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

!!!" ~ John McCullumn