Day 11: Performance at Hinton

Leah is feeling better, meaning she is back to giving the camera attitude. Lin is also giving a bit of attitude, but there is a smirk there.

Also, the girls got to play some basketball at their billets!

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As it was a Sunday, the team attended the church service at Hinton Alliance. The team once again introduced themselves to the congregation, which is always great. As seen in the video, the kids are at different levels when it comes to English, with some having an easier time than others. I was regrettably not filming when Sany, the dance teacher, introduced herself, which was the first time that I had heard her speak any English. I'll make sure to record that for the next team introduction.

This was Leah's first appearance on a stage since getting sick. When I showed this video to the girls, they started giggling when Leah spoke, reaching over and gently poking her. I am confident that they were proud of her.

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The setup portion of the day did not take long, especially since we had assistance from several volunteers. Even some of the church kids helped out! The whole process went much faster than usual. Once finished, Shelly and I worked out finances associated with the tour, while Sarah took the kids to a nearby skatepark. I was kicking myself for not going with them. The kids greatly enjoyed watching the skateboarders, so much so that they requested to watch competition footage once they returned to the church.

We had pizza for lunch, and I was surprised to see how much the kids enjoyed it. They had previously had pizza back at Maple Ridge, but that pizza was rather exotic in hopes of being palatable. The pizza here was the standard western-style pizza, and the kids ate it all up. Shortly after lunch, Moses was taken to see a dentist to ascertain the severity of his toothache and swelling. He has been given antibiotics to take, and we have been assured that he will make a recovery. He is no longer shy about his cheek swelling, so I suggested to him that he tell people that it was the result of a fistfight.

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The performance was special for the team, as it marked Leah's return after two missed shows. Moses performed as well, but we had him sit out of the 'Praying Mantis' dance, as we did not want to risk him hitting his face on the floor when the boys somersault. He was not bothered by this, and he seemed to enjoy getting a chance to see what the dance was like as a spectator.

The dances went perfectly until a rather hilarious blooper happened during the final dance ('Candle Dance'). Poor Minea misjudged how much time he needed to use the washroom, so he was literally caught with his pants down when the music started to play. He sprinted from the washroom and all through the children's wing of the church to rush on stage, where the dance had already started. Seeing him jump on stage with a sheepish grin during a rather somber dance was very funny to the team. We all understood that it was an honest mistake, so we laughed it off.

The attendees for the performance were eager sponsors, as several new sponsorships were signed after the show. I was happy to see how generous the people of Hinton were. The Hinton children were also fun to watch, as they frolicked with the Cambodian kids despite not sharing a language. Children are similar across cultures, it would seem.

God bless & Jesus saves.