Today was our last chance to play with the kids. We did some quick last minute shopping at the Russian market and headed over to see the kids. Sopol made lunch for us...rice with grilled chicken, soup, French fries, and stir fried beef and veggies.

Sopol is amazing! She is the sweetest, most nurturing person I may have ever met. To be mom to 27 children you have to be. She exudes joy and is very quick to laugh. You can tell she really loves her life and cares for each and every child.

We spent a lot of time playing card games, learning new dances, and sitting on the front porch while it rained. It rained super hard and even flooded all of the streets down town. The kids love trying to teach us Khmer words and they find it very amusing when we try to pronounce them. They laugh so hard it hurts. There was an element of sadness today as everyone knew that it as the last chance to see each other before we left for home. The kids got out the puffy paints and made us so many drawings that I'm really not sure how I'm going to get them all home. Most of them say "I love you" with hearts, flowers and their names on them.

When it came time to leave, the hugs and tears started. Sokheng was holding John and crying. Sray pa was having a good cry as well. Sothol and Phay wanted to know when they would see me again and I told them I would do my best to come back next year and bring the family. You should have seen the smiles when they heard that. Phay just put her arms around my waist and buried her head under my arm and held on for several really long hugs. I'm really glad that this wasn't good bye forever but good bye til next year. I made 30 new friends for life on this trip.

Our plane leaves at 11:30 tonight. Narun is picking us up at the hotel at 9. Please pray for a safe trip and for sleep on the flights for all of us.