Cambodia trip - part Bee

Our trip began at 4:00 Tuesday morning, September 9th.
We left for the airport in Knoxville and arrived at 5:30 only to find out our plane had been delayed by around 2 hours.
Already we were concerned about making connecting flights in Atlanta and Los Angeles.
We checked our luggage through to Bangkok, Thailand and waited for our flight.
Our trip was uneventful until we reached L.A where we literally had to run from the domestic flight area to the international flight area to catch our plane to Seoul, Korea. We made it - just minutes before they were taking off. We even had Asiana Air employees running with us to make sure we would get to the gate.
Since we were so late in getting on board, our previous group seats had been given away and we were scattered throughout the plane sitting by total strangers - mostly Asian.
I ended up beside a Korean lady who spoke no English - we spent lots of time saying "thank you" to each other for various reasons, and smiling :)
On the other side of me - yes, I ended up in a middle seat for the 13 hour flight - was a Vietnamese man who said he was a Christian, but after listening to his conversation and the things that interested him, I doubt he was really a Christian.
I made several trips to the back of the plane (I was near the front) to visit with Katherine and to stretch my legs. I watched two or three movies - there was no sleeping on the plane for me!
What a relief it was to arrive in Seoul, Korea and then to move on to Thailand where we stayed overnight at the Sara Inn - a real bed with some real sleep!
Unfortunately, due to us having to run to catch our flight in LA, our checked luggage didn't make it onto our flight. So we spent the night in Thailand with what each of us had in our carry-on bags, which was not much, but enough to get by on.
We were positive that all of you were praying when we discovered that we would indeed receive our luggage in Phnom Penh, Cambodia the next day and would not have to go without it the entire two weeks.
Two of the men on our team stayed in Phnom Penh to get our luggage while the rest of us got into the back of a pick-up truck to make the 3 hour trip to Kampot. Yes, 3 hours in the back of a pick-up truck... there were bench seats on either side of the truck bed that we sat on - and bounced on. There were times when we literally left our seats with the bumping around on the dirt road. We mostly laughed each time this happened, further evidence of the grace of God with us. We sang songs and prayed and some even slept. Sarah and Katherine were at the very back of the bed and I was afraid they'd both be bounced out when they fell asleep! But we lost no one.
We arrived in Kampot at about 2:00 a.m. Cambodia time - which is 11 hours ahead of Eastern time. We checked into our motel sans luggage and went straight to sleep. The rooms were nice - they had a.c., two double beds, a fan, and a bathroom. The bathroom was unusual. It was a tiled room with a shower head, sink and toilet all combined. There was a drain by the shower head.
Each morning, we were awakened by the Buddhists going to the pagoda next door to make offerings. They chanted as the sun rose.

On our first morning in Kampot, we found a nice restaurant that I mentioned in my previous e-mail - the Coco House. I had pancakes with banana and honey almost every morning. The pancakes were more like thick crepes, but very good.
After breakfast, we headed to Heritage House's new home. The orphanage is housed in the private residence of a widow who agreed to rent to them. When you enter the property by a sliding, decorative, metal gate, you see a beautiful yard with shade trees and flowers. Granted, the yard did require some cleaning up, but was still very nice. The house has a covered front porch, on which we left our shoes as it is impolite to wear shoes in Cambodian homes. The house is huge - and was very dirty. When one first enters, there is a very large living area with two bedrooms off to the left. The first bedroom was prepared as an office, the second was prepared for the head dorm mom. Both bedrooms had their own bathrooms, which were very dirty and had to be scrubbed from top to bottom. After going through the doorway from the living area, one was in a large hall area with a bedroom on either side. The bedroom with bathroom to the left was for another dorm mom. The bedroom to the right was one of the boys' dorm rooms - with no bathroom.
Continuing forward, one came upon the kitchen/dining area, which stretched very wide from left to right. To the right was a door that went out to a tiled area where much of the food prep was done, as well as cleaning of dishes. This was an outdoor area. To the left was plenty of space for the long tables that the children and staff sat at for meals. Straight ahead was another boys' dorm room with bath area.
Continuing left past the dining area were the door to what appeared to be a garage area, and the stairs to the second level. On the second level was a loft area, and two more bedrooms - one with and one without a bathroom. These two rooms were for a dorm mom, and for all the girls. There is also a covered porch area upstairs.
After touring the house, we knew we had lots of work ahead and that we needed to work as quickly as we could to be ready before the children arrived in two days.