Thursday, March 08, 2007

Angkor

Once again, I’m not sure where to start. It’s about ten past midnight – I’ll post this tomorrow; right now I’m in bed. We left Siem Reap early this morning.

As I’ve mentioned before, driving in Cambodia is harrowing under the best conditions. Imagine attempting a cross-country drive with a panic-stricken and motion-queasy Jeff grabbing your arm and shrieking at every danger, real or perceived. Miraculously, both our vehicle and our relationship survived the journey intact.

Our time in Siem Reap was amazing. Jeff, who has explored the ancient ruins of Greece and Egypt says that none of them compare to the wonders of Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom. I’ve been to Angkor many times, and I’m still blown away by the majesty of these mysterious stone temples. The scale, the beauty and the craftsmanship are staggering. The main temple alone took nearly 50 years and required thousands of artisans and skilled craftsmen, and countless laborers to complete.

I think that a visit to Angkor is an essential component of any visit to Cambodia. If you miss Angkor, you’d be tempted to think of Cambodia as backwards and pitiful. There are aspects of Cambodia that are backwards, and there are certainly things and people to pity, but Cambodia has a mighty and dignified heritage; Angkor was once one of the most powerful nations in the world.

On Friday evening, we’re doing an outreach with Narin’s church – should be a great time. I’ll be signing some paperwork and doing some more groundwork for the coffee shop. Busy, busy, busy, but good.

On a more depressing note, I miss my children and wife. A lot. More than before, for some reason. Sigh.

I’ll write a bunch more later. For now, I’ve got to go.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the update, your mom and dad miss you too...you know your kids grow up and you still love them as much as when they were little and at home.

We pray for you and your family every day, love you.
MOM

amy paxton said...

Thank you for sharing your journey with us! We're praying for you all, God bless you!

Beth said...

Beautiful pics. We've been greedily looking for them!

We'll be praying for your family homesickness.

So far if our health stuff stays status quo, the boys are coming for the big sleepover tomorrow night!

Mindi Ventola said...

Could not wait to hear from you all again. Allison you look so happy! Still prayin'........Mindi