day two in paradise

We are here in paradise.  it's hot and dry, very nice.  today we are heading into town to find tacos cabeza and some leather goods. 

Ojos Negros 2010

  We are hanging out at the Primera Inglesia Bautista in Ojos Negros, Mexico for a few days to renovate the restroom facilities.  Me and my brother-in-law Andy Smith, Dan & Sandy Stilwell and Hassan Tjio are here with Pastor Speedy and Brother Abraham for a stucco good time.  Us gringos don't have much experience with stucco, but our compadres are masters.  We will also be tiling the shower stalls, adding partitions and fixing the door on the men's side that some one has kicked in.  When you gotta go, you gotta go.
  Pastor Ismael has just turned 80.  He's a spry guy, although very short.  Rosa, his wife, cooks for everybody, all the time.  She makes everything from scratch and Ojos Negros has a lot of it's own fine Queso.  The tamales and pollo crema were awesome.
  Sandy brought a sewing machine and various sundries along.  She made hot pads, aprons for the ladies and a tiny scarf for the chihuahua.
   The play ground equipment that was installed during the summer was uprooted and hurled across the yard in September during an unheard of twister.  Dan, Hassan and Abraham made the needed repairs.
Looking forward the the next time.

Ojos Negros 2010

  At the end of October, I will be traveling to Ojos Negros, Mexico with my brother-in-law Andy and members of Northview Community Church.  We will be repairing and renovating the bathroom facilities at Primera Iglesia Bautista.  Pastor Ismael and his wife Rosa have served here for many years.  Besides the daily work of the church Rosa cooks breakfast for the elementary school kids, all of them, everyday. Pastor Ismael tells them stories of Jesus and sings songs while they eat.

Last year we renovated the dining-meeting hall.  This year we will be improving the sanitary system, water supply and facilities. 
 
  You can be part of this much needed task.  We need your prayers and your financial support in any amount.  Check out the C.R.E.W. website for giving options and to see what we've been up to.

 
Blessings,
matt stone
Founder / President
C.R.E.W.

The finished project

At last the project has been completed. The new facility was put into use on November 19th.

I arrived in Battambang on October 3rd to find materials and laborers on the job. Our first task was to get the foundation out of the mud. The rainy season was just ending and the ground was saturated and stinky. During the first week the footings and foundation were laid, then the rain started. We were ready to pour the platform, but form boards were not available and it was raining, really raining, for a long time. Another group of men from the states were due in on Monday to continue work so I decided to head north with the rest of the group and visit the David Center Orphanage and hang in Seim Reap. With the materials,cash and labor donated by CREW, COTR and others, we were successful and the facility is a much appreciated and welcomed addition to the ladies at the Transformation Center.

Thank you for your prayers and support.
Blessings
Matt Stone
Founder/President
C.R.E.W.

Bonus video

Sunday October 11

Today we are heading out into the country to a small village church.  The church is meeting in a small house off a muddy road.  We start with some songs and prayer, the Pastor says a few words and Curtis gives a short talk translated by Setan.  The majority of us are sitting outside and it starts to rain.  Each of us is praying that it will stop raining until the service is over, the rain is very light until we are done, than it pours and pours and pours.  We all go to lunch at the new market were many stay and shop.  I walk back to the hotel and take a nap.  For dinner, the group decides on something not asian, pizza.  I have BBQ snake, tastes like a dry pork chop.  I didn't see the snake before it was cooked, so I can't say what kind of snake it was, my waiter didn't know either.  I had frog fried rice the week before, it tasted like chicken.  The chicken doesn't taste or look like chicken.  What are we eating?  Did I mention my $2 haircut?
matt

Saturday October 10

Today is tourist day, some are going to see AngkorWat and the rest of us are going to visit the floating city on Tonle Sap lake. The floating villagers are mainly Vietnamese and survive on fishing and fish. However, there are crocodiles, turtles, frogs and lots of birds. We are on a tourist boat, which of course, ends up at a restaurant/giftshop. Everything floats here, houses, church's,

stores, schools and water.  The lake is flooded now, but as the water level goes down the houses will be towed further out into the lake until the monsoon's return.

tŏnˈlā säp [great lake], lake, central Cambodia; largest lake of SE Asia. It occupies the depression of the Cambodian plain and is fed by many streams; the Tônlé Sap River, c.70 mi (110 km) long, drains the lake S into the Mekong River near Phnom Pénh. At low water in the dry season (Nov.–May), the lake covers c.1,100 sq mi (2,850 sq km). During the summer floods, however, the waters of the Mekong back up into Tônlé Sap (which forms a natural reservoir) raising the lake's level c.30 ft (9 m) and more than tripling its area. Approximately 2,500 sq mi (6,475 sq km) of surrounding forest are inundated by the floodwaters and provide a breeding ground for fish. The fisheries of the lake are one of Cambodia's major natural resources. The Tônlé Sap lake and river are also part of an important inland waterway system. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright© 2004, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V. All rights reserved.

Friday October 9

Charlie did not get a hot shower, but he smells better than town. We are having breakfast in the only restaurant in town. Luckily for us they are french trained chefs and the food and bread is awesome. The coffee is the best yet. We are going to spend the whole day at the orphanage.



Charlie did magic tricks and yo-yo tricks. Curtis and Sean made balloon things. we all played games. Everybody had a great time and made new friends. In the afternoon we had a worship service with the kids. The older boys provided the music, Charlie gave a talk and the teams acted out a bible story. We finally said goodby and headed to Seim Reap.


matt