Well, another country is finished. We just ended our last week of ministry in Cambodia. After returning from Vietnam last week, we jumped back into ministry on the weekend. We taught our classes again on Saturday. Then received a text message from our contact saying, “You go to province tomorrow at 6:30am” So, on Sunday, we went to another province with some of the HEC students. It took us about 2 hours to get there. We attended church at a place where students take computer courses. We were able share testimonies and present the gospel. Due to some miscommunication (which is VERY common), our contact informed us that they would not need us Monday-Wednesday. Good to know then, of course, after we were just gone for Vietnam for four days. On those days, Morgan, Annie, and I chose to return to the Love House orphanage. It was fun! The children remembered us, talked to us, and loved on us! There is something different about the children at this orphanage. They are SO easy to love and are in desparate need of love. They just hang on you and hug you and you just get to love them back and tell them how beautiful they are. On Thursday, I sat next to this little guy and he looked sad so I pulled him on my lap and there he sat for the whole two hours. He was precious and I had fallen in love with his brother the day before. I walked away with a sweat-marked shirt and skirt from him sitting on me, but it was worth it. I am so thankful that I got to be a part of this orphanage ministry as well!
This little guy is my favorite! Isn’t he precious!
The boy in the red shirt is his brother, the one that sat on my lap the whole time. We couldn’t get him to smile.
Thursday was our last night at HEC and wanted to have a fun time with the students. We played “I have never…” I usually am not a big fan of that game, but it was entertaining doing it cross-culturally. In all other cultures we’ve been to when you play games and have lost 3 times, you have to do a “punishment,” which is something embarrassing. They always love to catch the foreigners on the 3rd time. We played some other games and had brought fruit for the group. Then, our contact led us in a few songs of worship and then gave a shor t message. If you read Candice’s blog (http://candicehill.theworldrace.org/) the other day, you might have noticed some of the things that people say to us that isn’t rude in their culture, but is in ours. When our contact started his message, he used us as an example of leaving comfortable zones and he said, “Look at them, they’re jobless, they’re not handsome, they’re not pretty…” He proceeded to say that despite those things we currently know God’s call on our lives. It was pretty humorous, but I think he lost us there. I was distracted by the cockroaches flying around Candice and the Kelly Clarkson music playing in the boys’ dorm. It ended well though. They had students thank each one of us and presented us with a card and a coconut shell key-chain. It was a nice gesture of them.
HEC students
Pilot, one of our students, who introduced us to one of our favorite coffee shops in Phnom Penh, Jars of Clay Coffee Shop.
So when I look back on Cambodia, I have to say it was a month of mixed feelings. I rated it a 6.5 on a 1-10 scale. It was more good than bad, but wasn’t spectacular. Coming off of Thailand and loving it, I assumed Cambodia to be very similar…not so much! It took a lot of adjusting and changing my mindset. It was a blessing to have our apartment and have a “safe haven” to escape from the busyness, chaos, dirtiness, and confusion of Phnom Penh. Although I enjoyed our ministry, it was hard as we only did “ministry” for a short time each day. Having a short ministry commitment did allow us to dabble in other ministries such as the orphanage and Joy Club and I enjoyed both of these experiences. We were also able to learn more about programs and organizations in the greater Phnom Penh area. It’s also kind of an odd time on the trip as we want to cherish and enjoy the last two months of the race, but look forward to the end and what’s in store for each of us after the race.
We took a 7 hour bus ride on Friday to Siem Reap, a city in the northern part of Cambodia. It is the home of the famous Angkor Wat temples and a temple that was in TombRaider. We went there today and it was impressive! We will be leaving Cambodia tomorrow to return to Bangkok for two days before flying to Hong Kong for our final leg of the race!
