The first month of our World Race is over. Our time in Cambodia already ended. This time went by unbelievably fast and yet we went through so many things, saw so many different places and experienced so many beautiful adventures.
We spent the first week in Siem Reap with the whole squad. We stayed at the “Overflow” guesthouse where we got to learn more about the Cambodian culture and started to do different kinds of ministry. After getting more training in Phnom Penh, my team finally arrived at our first ministry in Tok Village, Kampot.
The name of the ministry my team worked with is “Light of hope”. It is being run by Vuthy Nurn and it is a Youth Development Center of YWAM, a place for kids to learn English. Some of the children attend this school additionally to the public school. Others can only attend to that school because they don’t have enough money to get the supplies for the public one.
To get an idea how this looks like you have to know that they don’t have a real building yet. Their classrooms are little huts with a few tables, benches and one board.
Next to the three little huts where they have school in, there is a bigger building, the church. This is where they gather on Sunday mornings to worship the Lord and where the kids from the neighbourhood come together for “Kids Club” on Sunday afternoons. The church is an important part of the ministry Vuthy and his staff run..
Our main ministry was teaching English. I taught one class with about 20 students in the afternoon and another one with about 15 older students in the evening. I either did that together with the teacher the kids usually have or with another teammate. I first struggled with being confident enough to teach. It wasn’t only that I’ve never taught before but also the fact that I had to teach English, a language that I’m still learning myself. Fortunately, it didn’t take me too long to realize that my knowledge of English was totally sufficient to school those little kids. I was able to learn a lot about how to teach a lesson with very limited resources. And it was so amazing to see how their eyes lit up when they finally conceived something or when they reached out their hands to get a high five because they had done a great job. Their “good aftanooon” and their “goodbye teachaa” still make me smile when I think about them..
Almost every morning we went on several home visits. Together with our translater Sophea and our bodyguard(s) we visited different people that live near the school and church. Some of the people we got to meet were members of the church, others weren’t believers but were interested in our faith and wanted to learn more about it. Some of them just wanted to chat with foreigners which was fun too. Personally I liked those home visits a lot. They were kinda weird, especially at the beginning. There were some awkward moments but also many opportunities where we could encourage the people in their faith and the difficulties they are facing in their daily life. We had the opportunity to pray for several of them and they were so thankful for that which also meant a lot to me. Through those home visits we also were able to get to know the culture more. We got to see their generosity and hospitality towards complete strangers. Man, we can all learn so much from that.
These two were our two main ministries. Other than that we went to several soccer games to support Vuthy’s soccer ministry. (One of our highlights was that we got matching jerseys) Every morning we spent time interceding for the needs of the ministry and the visions and dreams they have for it. This was a wondeful way to start our days.. We spent a lot of time playing with the kids too. We either played soccer with them or just hung around with them while sitting in our hammocks.
On Sundays we helped running the church service and the “Kids Club” and during the week we had some bible studies and worship sessions with the staff. The two adventure days that we spent at the beach with most of the staff also were amazing.
The time we spent at Vuthy’s blessed me in so many different ways.
I got to serve along an incredible leader that loves his people and his village so very much. He and his staff welcomed us into their home, shared their vision for that place with us and loved us from the very first day through to the painful goodbye. I am incredibly thankful for this first month on the race with all the people I got to know through it. I thank the staff for showing us how to serve the Lord with everything they are and have. Most of all I thank Vuthy for everything he has done for us – for encouraging and loving us and for letting us be a part of this wonderful ministry. Thank you!
