Days 41-44: Performances at Chilliwack and Abbotsford + Science Center fun

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Daro and Reaksa see dinosaurs all the time in Cambodia, so they are not interested.

The day after our visit to Aldor Acres saw us perform at Chilliwack Alliance Church. Instead of our usual 7:00 PM start for a performance, our show at Chilliwack began at 2:00 PM, meaning that we had to get to the church in the morning to set up and rehearse. As expected with an earlier start time, the audience was mostly, if not entirely, made up of senior citizens. I actually enjoy having older audiences, as I find that they are generally more invested in the testimonies and stories told. The entire team did very well, showing that a different start time made no difference to the the performance.

After our performance at Chilliwack Alliance, we went to the home of Darrell and Leslie Gladman to have a hot dog BBQ supper. It was a rather brisk afternoon and evening, so the kids were constantly shivering, but the volleyball net, small playground, and strawberry patch enticed them to stay outside without complaint. There were two cases of hot dogs falling off plates because of boys running around, which resulted in what I assume were some rude Khmer words being thrown around much to my amusement. When the sun began to set and the temperature dropped further, the team rallied around a fire to sing various songs of praise and worship. After a few cases of "one more song", we departed back to our billets from the night before for rest.

The next morning saw us visit the Fraser Valley Gleaners Society where the kids would perform two dances before being given a tour of the facility. The kids did not need to get into their outfits for the dances, but there was one wardrobe mixup that definitely made the dances a little painful: every kid was wearing Crocs, which were not permitted for dances due to how easily they could fly off, meaning the kids had to perform barefoot. While the kids normally perform barefoot, the two dances were done outdoors on asphalt. The kids were thankfully able to do the Coconut Dance and Stick Dance without issue. After the dances, one of the volunteers explained what the Gleaners do. It was very inspiring to see such an impressive volunteer organization prepare food (vegetarian soup mix) to be shipped out to countries around the world that dearly need it. Even pariah-states such as North Korea were included! The kids were impressed by the machinery and the workforce size, but the most memorable moment was when they were shown the walk-in freezer. The freezer's temperature was -34.0°C, which the children were horrified to learn is about how cold many parts of Canada become during winter, with other areas being even colder. After the tour was finished, we bid farewell to the workforce with our usual songs.

Since we still had time to kill before our arriving at Sevenoaks Alliance Church in Abbotsford, we took the team to the Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve in Chilliwack for lunch and a hike. While we were there, we got to see salmon making their journey upstream for spawning, which the kids were fascinated by. The hike portion saw many of the kids become tired, resulting in several deciding to rest at a clearing while others continued on. After the hike was finished, we stopped by the information center to look at the taxidermied animals of the region.

We arrived at Sevenoaks Alliance Church with a different energy: we would perform that evening and the next morning, and then there would be no more full performances. The kids cheered when they were notified of this information, showing that they were clearly ready for the tour to be finished.

The evening performance at Sevenoaks became interesting very quickly, as members of Bikers Against Child Abuse attended with their motorbikes parked directly in front of the church. The kids noticed this quickly and began asking questions, and were thankfully allowed to take some pictures on the bikes after the performance. The performance itself was another success, with multiple donations and marketplace purchases being made afterwards.

The next morning saw us put on our final performance with a 10:30 AM start time. This performance was promoted as a senior's event, but many staff members of the Great Commission Foundation showed up, making the event extra special. For those unaware, the Great Commission Foundation is Rescue Cambodia's parent organization that oversees the funds allocated to all three Rescue locations. It was wonderful to have some of their staff attend our final performance. Once the performance was done, the kids were estatic, as it meant that the hardest part of the tour was now over.

note: the photos and videos from the two performances at Sevenoaks were all clumped together on my computer, hence the abnormally large gallery.

After our final performance, we spent a large amount of time at the apartment complex that Bill and Karolyn Koop, a couple that had gone on the most recent Rescue Vision Trip. We relaxed in the guest lounge for lunch and supper, with the kids hiking and using the apartment's pool in between meals. Bill had also set up several fun parlor games for the kids, which, as usual, resulted in lots of yelling between the kids (I still cannot tell when the kids are actually mad at each other or just playing). A pool table was available, which th he adults were once again drawn to, with the men staying behind from the hike to continue playing. After having supper, we said our goodbyes and left for our billets.

Oh, Sarah and I did go to watch Brit Floyd (the best Pink Floyd cover band in the world) that night, but that is neither here nor there.

The day after our final full performance saw us be treated by Alison and James Stack to a morning of fun at Science World in Vancouver. I was greatly impressed by the exhibits displayed, which ranged from giant robotic animals with explanations of the real animals' biology, to an interactive history of video games. As usual for science centers, there were several interactive exhibits, which saw the most attention from the kids. Since everyone split up, I was unable to see which exhibits were the most popular, but photos from the adults suggest anything involving strenuous physical activity was highly engaged with.

One of the funniest moments of the entire tour occurred in the area dedicated to the human body. A warning sign at the front of the area warned adults that some of the subject matter dealt with reproduction and that discretion/supervision was advised. Sure enough, there was a tucked away monitor in a booth at the back of the area that showed videos about reproduction and human sexuality, with a large disclaimer explaining the contents of the videos placed in front of the exhibit. As I was in the area, I saw the two boys that Thawin was watching, Reet and Daro, run into the booth where the monitor was. Thawin approached and read the sign beside the booth, her eyes quickly widening in horror. She immediately started telling the boys to get out of the booth, which they did with great confusion. I stood by laughing the whole time.

Once our time at Science World was over, we went to the Capilano Suspension Bridge. Upon our arrival, the kids all proclaimed that they had to use the bathroom, resulting in a lengthy period of waiting. We then made our way across the bridge, which the kids were in awe of. We made a trek down to the river, where some of the kids lost their footing and got a little wet. Leena took a rather nasty spill that surprisingly resulted in no tears. After the river walk, we went higher up to do a small scavenger hunt that James had set up: the kids would walk part of the trail looking for post-it notes that James had placed along the path, with each note being good for one small candy. Reet sprinted ahead of everyone to get as many notes as he could, leading to a rather disproportionate amount of notes among the kids. We made sure they would share.

We then made our way back to the Stack's residence, where we would be treated to, you guessed it, another spaghetti meal. There was also beef bulgogi, but the amount of spaghetti meals provided to these kids had surpassed comical levels. We put on the live-action Scooby-Doo movie from 2002 for the kids, and it was just as bad as I remembered, not that the kids cared. The adults were all feeling a little burnt out, so many took the time to recline and browse their phones, as the last few days had seen very little down time (no long bus rides). We finished the evening with a song before departing back to our billets.