We have been in Cambodia now for a couple of weeks. We are working with a ministry called Hope Education Center. Hope Education Center was started by Pastor Chay. He felt God calling him to open up a dorm for people that were in financial need. He now has over 100 students that live in his giant house. Every night of the week there is some sort of opportunity for the students to grow spiritually. A large majority of the students here are not Christians. We have been going in every night of the week and teaching the bible to the different groups. It has been a pleasant experience other than trying to figure out what to teach for an hour and a half every night. One of the best parts is that most of the students speak very good English. This gives us the opportunity to communicate with them without having to go through a translator.
Today we got the opportunity to head out into a rural village and see what life was like. We went to a Christian’s house, the only one in the village we were told. And we shared our testimonies with them and then went for a walk around the village. It was neat to see the different architechture and buildings that are mostly on stilts. Also it was neat to see all of the ground pretty much covered in water with rice growing in it. There are narrow little walking paths all the way through them. The province we were in is also known for its weaving. Almost every house we went to had a huge loom and they were weaving Vietnamese silk for skirts and other things. It was fascinating to see.
Cambodia in a lot of ways is growing, but they are coming out of a tough last 20 or 30 years. They have been absolutely devasted by war and a evil regime the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge is responsible for mass genocide and killing millions of innocent people. We took a tour of one of their prisons and the killing fields. The killing fields still have bones and clothes sticking up out of the ground where they would just throw all of the bodies after they executed them. It is crazy to think all that went on just a few years back.
But the Cambodian people will light up your life. They are always willing to show you a smile or lend a helping hand. It has been a pleasure meeting so many wonderful people here and getting the chance to share Jesus with them.
