Wat Preah Yesu Children's Home

(The front gate)

"Wat" means "temple" and "Preah Yesu" means "Jesus". So instead of a Buddhist temple it's a "Jesus Temple".....and an orphanage, a school, a lay training center, a clinic, and soon-to-be a media training center! It's often referred to as "the orphanage" but there's a lot more going on there than just that.

The directors are an Australian couple who have now lived in Cambodia for 17 years! As a result, they speak the language, they've built up good standing in the community and God has been blessing their work tremendously! They live month-to-month on what God provides them and never ask anyone for a penny. They do the work, God takes care of the financial end of things!

It was really great to spend a few days out there with the kids. We even got to help them celebrate their once-a-year birthday celebration. All the kids got presents and cake! And we played lots of games with them. I was impressed with how well-behaved all the children were; when they sat down to eat they all waited patiently to get their food and nobody started eating until after the blessing was said!

Fun and games...

Such adorable children...
Waiting patiently to be served...

Pizza! What a treat!

Still waiting patiently.... with their pizza, watermelon and birthday cake in front of them.

Andrew hanging out with the kids.

Me with some of the kids who attached themselves to me.... they're all so loving!

The church...

Andrew sharing his testimony during Sabbath School
The dormitory for non-orphan students

One of the 2 school buildings (a 3rd one is currently being built).

The volunteer house where we stayed.

One of 7 duplexes that house the orphan children. In each half of the duplexes there are 2 house parents and 16-18 children!

The clinic

This is Marina. She is such a sweet girl that I got to know and spend time with during my short time at the orphanage. She's one of the boarding students at the school.