As you could tell, Cambodia changed my perspective in so many ways. The Lord anointed our steps to meet amazing overcomers and people of faith. This blog – the last for now on Cambodia – is no different. In only a few hours, my heart was touched – I hope yours will be too.
Through Water of Life, we learned of a ministry to a rock quarry/squatter village called Phnom Baset every Friday. The last Friday in Cambodia our entire team loaded up in a rusty yellow tuk-tuk to head out of town, down dusty bumpy roads to a rock quarry. At times, everyone on the right side of the tuk-tuk would jump into the laps of those on the left so we didn’t tip over down the slanted, hole-filled roads (not to mention, we Americans were a little heavier than the light weight Asians the brave little tuk-tuk was used to transporting).
The women in this village haul large rocks to a station to then squat and hammer the rocks into pieces. I sat down to take over a station for a few minutes. Boredom and blisters set in only after a few minutes. Imagine doing this all day for a meager $7 – to SPLIT between the other participating families only when a truck is filled with bits of rock.
We spent the morning and early afternoon meeting with the children and women and watching as Water of Life men and women led the children in bible lessons and songs. Brett, in charge of the mission to the rock quarry, prepared lunch and the crowd grew as serving time approached.
There was a little girl who caught my eye. She was so skinny. Her little dress hung on her, far too large. She was scared to look at me and buried her face into her mother’s side. A disabled young man kept trying to talk to me, and with a translator I learned that he was her father, and the little girl had a hole in her heart. He found out I was American and said there were doctors in America who could give his little girl surgery. Did I know one? Before leaving, he found a tiny slip of paper and scribbled his phone number on it… maybe there was hope with this American girl for his daughter. My heart broke at how much a father wanted his little girl to be healed, and I didn’t know how to help him.
Who are we to have the luxury of jobs that earn a decent income? That engage the mind and give you life? Who are we to have accessibility to doctors, surgeries and health care? Why did God choose us?
The following photos will hopefully take you ‘there.’
Please also take a few minutes to read my teammate Christy’s account of her experience at the rock quarry as well.
