Days 37-40: Performances at Hope and Langley + Aldor Acres fun

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An incredibly stubborn creature. Oh, there is also a donkey.

After having breakfast and relaxing for a bit at Camp Kawkawa, we made the short drive to Northwest Harvest Church in Hope. This would be the last church that we would be spending the night in, so we unpacked everything (overnight items, performance clothes, marketplace items) into the church. We were interested to find out that the church doubles as a food donation center/homeless kitchen, meaning that there was a chance we could have a surprise visitor during our time there. We knew that there would be no malicious behavior, but we made sure the kids knew to not approach strangers, which is tricky when the kids are very touchy-feely with people they just meet.

The performance at Northwest Harvest Church was a major highlight of the tour for everyone. Despite a relatively small turnout, the audience was the most vocal group we had performed for all tour! This had the kids fired up more than usual, meaning we did not have to remind them to smile when on stage. Once the performance was over, and everyone had given their donations and made their marketplace purchases, the kids got in their pajamas and settled down in the sanctuary to watch a Khmer-dubbed film. While I initially disliked staying overnight at churches for this tour, I found myself actually feeling sad that there would be no more, as they had felt like giant sleepovers.

After bidding farewell to Northwest Harvest Church, we made the drive to Mountainview Alliance Church in Langley. Along the way, we stopped at a park for lunch and a hike. I found it humorous how the kids handle hikes, as they usually complain of being tired towards the end. Considering that they are almost constantly outdoors back at Rescue, it does seem odd that hikes would exhaust them so. After the hike, we swung by a Wal-Mart for the adults to do some shopping for things to bring back to Cambodia.

Once the detours were complete, we arrived at Northwest Harvest Church. The church fed us a spaghetti supper, which has become the most common dish for all of us this tour. I would not be surprised if the kids think that spaghetti is something that all Canadians eat daily. I was greatly impressed by the kids' performance at Langley, for when I went up to do my speech, I realized that the lights at Northwest Harvest were so bright that I could not see most of the audience's faces. The kids would have had the same issue, which they handled with ease.

The next day saw us attend the Sunday service at Northwest Harvest, where the kids performed a dance and visited the Sunday school. Once we were finished, we went to a guest lounge at the neighborhood of the Tjosvolds, the couple who have known my parents for decades. The team was immediately drawn to the pool table, as they are apparently rarely seen in Cambodia. The team then had devotions and worship, which was fun to watch as an outsider, as it gave me a glimpse into how worship is done back at Rescue. The team then went for another hike, which Sarah told me again resulted in the kids complaining of being tired.

For supper, we went to the home of one of the billets for a hot dog and marshmallow roast. I was surprised to learn that the kids had never done this before, so while everyone roasted hot dogs, only a few decided to try making smores; I'm just glad that nobody got poked in the eye. I'm just glad that nobody got poked in the eye. There were several lawn games available for the kids to play, with Cornhole proving to be a big hit. After a fun night at the homes of various billets, we met back at the guest lounge for a crepe breakfast. The kids were big fans of this one, as all of them had multiple servings.

After breakfast, we took the team to Aldor Acres, a family farm just outside of Langley. Numerous farm animals were present for us to pet and feed, which led to some amusing moments. I thought it would be a good idea to feed an emu from my bare hand, which led to the children laughing when the stupid creature made me jump by pecking my hand. Aside from the obstinate emus, we encountered cows with their calves, a large bull, numerous goats, barn cats, a very large horse, a donkey, and several pigs/piglets. The highlight of the visit was our wagon ride around the property which ended in a pumpkin patch where everyone got to grab one for themselves. Once we were finished up at Aldor Acres, we went back to Crossroads Restaurant in Abbotsford for another free meal (we were treated to one there at the start of the tour). After a delicious pasta meal (no spaghetti this time), we left to go with our billets for the night.