This past month I went to Cambodia for my second time. I thought I would be back there at some point when I left the first time, but I just never knew when or how I would return.
I apologize for not staying on top of the blogging better. I have honestly wrote a few blogs, but I finish writing them and they just don’t say what I want them too. I tell myself I will work on it later with a fresh mind, and you can clearly see how that has gone.
This past month was spent in a number of places for myself. Our first two weeks were spent in a small village. We worked with a young church who has a young pastor, with a congregation who is hungry for the gospel. The pastor is 28, with three kids and is really an incredible man. He is humble and wise, and it was a pleasure and an honor to be able to spend time with him. His name was Sok-nah. He is the pastor of the largest church in the area with a congregation of probably around 75. They have a very nice building where they meet. He is even able to be supported by the church, not well, but even still, to receive a salary as a pastor in most parts of the world is a rare luxury I have come to see.
We worked mainly with different children’s groups while in Cambodia, even when working with the church. We would put on a short program for many kids, play some games, and we even got to bathe many children this past month. I found out the village kids though they rinse off probably every day don’t always have shampoo or soap. Less likely to have shampoo than soap. And so we would bring packets of shampoo in, and the little kids would strip down naked, if they weren’t already naked, and we (and by we I mean Holland, Leslie, and Beks) would scrub them down. It was pretty cute to watch.
We also went to a youth center for the last week. It was hard to connect with anybody here. The kids entertained themselves for the most part when they were around, and we really had a very difficult time with any translating.
My favorite part about the month though was that between these two ministries I had the privelage of visitng the orphanage I went to 2 and half years ago. It was an incredible experience though I was only there for a few hours for church on a Sunday. To see the kids that first planted the idea of international missions in my head. They all got so BIGE!!! What’s that all about. I loved every minute of it though. One girl still has a picture of our group from last time. Pretty much all the kids I knew were there, and the orphanage has about doubled in size.
All in all it was a hott, HOTT month, with probably less than 100 hours of non-sweating the whole month, but Cambodia continues to hold my interest. I left knowing that in all likelihood, that is not my last trip to Cambodia. A couple pictures will come soon I promise, check back tomorrow 6/2.
27 days left – WOW!!!
Lost my debit card – it was really only a matter of time, 10 months though, am proud of myself.
picture 1 is a girl of a girl named Channey who is at the orphanage I visited 2.5 years ago. Her uncle was going to see her as a sex slave but Pastor Sokhum somehow found out about it and saved her. She is holding a picture of our group from 2 years ago.
Picture 2 is at the youth center. When it started to rain naked babies flooded in the gates to play on the slide. It was pretty hysterical….
