I hope that everyone had a very Merry Christmas and has a Happy New Year! I’m hearing the cows mooing here in the village as I type this haha. I had a really nice Christmas in Cambodia. There aren’t a lot of Christians in Cambodia, but the village we’re staying in has a Christian ministry ran by a Cambodian man, and there’s a lot of Christians here. It was special because this village has only celebrated Christmas for three years now, and we got to help plan the Christmas celebration. On Christmas Eve we had communion and got everyone candles and sang “Silent Night”. I was really glad that we were able to get candles and do that because that’s a tradition I like from home. We also were able to get the ministry 20 new red chairs for Christmas because their chairs were so old, dirty, and broken. Our ministry contact was very appreciative. They had been stacking two to four broken chairs on top of each other so that you could sit on one. After the service, my team and I made hot chocolate and puppy chow. We stayed up until midnight because one of the girls has a family tradition of staying up until midnight and opening up presents. We gave each other snacks/candy that we had put into stockings that we had made. We were going to have a Christmas celebration on Christmas Day for the whole village, but it got postponed to the 26th because we were told that it might rain. On Christmas Day We all were able to talk to our families back home in America, and we had another worship service and we gave all the kids bags of candies/snacks for Christmas (about 30-40 kids came). Then, the Christmas celebration for the village was great! I was in charge of planning it with one other teammate and I was stressing out about it a little throughout the week because we were first told that around 70 people would come and then we were told over 100 would come. I got a lot less stressed out when I realized that the village was helping with the party too, and it wasn’t just on us. I was in charge of planning the Christmas play part of the celebration, and it was just hard to make a play in a different language. When I told one of the Cambodian guys about the play, he really took control of planning it for me, so I was a lot less stressed out. He was our ministry contacts brother- he’s so nice, animated, and loves the Lord. I realized that in the end, all you need for a great Christmas party is Jesus. The guys here made a Christmas tree outside with sticks and branches and someone had lights and it was such an impressive tree! We decorated outside with paper and balloons and had a sign that said Merry Christmas in English and Cami (the language here). Around 100 kids came, and it was all kids. I thought that it was going to be more adults and families, but later I realized that they only invited the kids. We had them do a star and candy cane craft with Bible verses and play some relay games. Then, we fed the kids curry and bread which was provided by the people of the village. Then, we presented gifts to the volunteers who help us translate our English classes, and John (a guy who was here with a team a few months ago, but now came back again for 1 month) gave a sermon. Then, the kids did the play, and they had little costumes and props, and it reminded me of a Christmas story play that you see at home. They sang a Christmas song in Cami at the end. It was just hard though because during the sermon and the play the kids kept talking and you could barely hear what was being said, but I think some people still were able to hear. After that we had a dance party and a bonfire. The village provided some speakers and got the bonfire going. We danced to some Cami songs and to some English songs. When we danced to the Cami songs, we went in a circle around the bonfire and moved our wrists and hands at the same time as someone. We gave them some cake for dessert, and John had some presents for the kids too. A lot of the kids got me some small gifts, and it is just so great how generous they are. Our ministry contact came back with Snicker bars for all for all of us one night, and it was so great because they’re hard to get here.
The week before Christmas we did some working in the rice fields and mixing the food for the pigs. One day, I took a moped with my team leader and our ministry contact to Phnom Penh the capital city to bring something. It was about an hour and a half ride. So many people in Cambodia have mopeds, and we’ve gotten to ride on them a lot this month, they’re so fun. My team was given fried crickets to try, so I tried one since everyone else was doing it haha. And it actually wasn’t that bad! But I wouldn’t eat it again. I never thought I’d eat a cricket in my life. I was really missing my family, friends, and home a lot the week before Christmas. It was pretty hard. We listened to a lot of Christmas music, did Christmas devotionals, and watched some Christmas movies the week before Christmas. It was interesting for it to not be cold or snowy on Christmas. I got to lead a Bible study about the Gospel and the different types of books in the Bible which I was glad I got to do. My team and I also got some diarrhea last week, and yesterday I actually threw up. I think it was something I ate because it happened really fast and then I felt better right away. That was actually the first time I’ve thrown up on the Race so far, so that’s good! The food we get in the village is good, but our dishes aren’t washed in the most sanitary way. Also, my back has been hurting a lot because I have a history of back problems, and we’ve been sleeping and sitting on our sleeping pads on concrete and taking really bumpy moped rides. Last week, a guy named John (that I mentioned above) came here. He’s 20, and he was here in Sept. or Oct. with a team, and then decided to come back for 1 month on his own. His family is Mennonite which I think is kinda like a liberal form of Amish, I’m not quite sure though. But anyway, he is so nice and sweet and I really like his deep southern accent.
Random cultural things: I noticed that many of the young women here have really long hair- it’s really pretty. When you call people over, you need to do it with your palm facing down- if you do it with your palm facing up like we do in America, it’s rude because they only do that to animals. I’ve heard some super weird animal noises here that I haven’t heard before like one being this prolonged beating noise that sounds like the game Catchphrase, and it’s actually a bird! Another is this loud noise that happens like 5 times at a time, and it sounds like something is being blown up and then suctioned, and it’s actually a lizard! There’s mostly only Asians here, so when my team and I goes to the market many people stare and say “Hello!” and laugh. Each night you see a lot of crowded carriages with people coming home from working at the jean factory here.
Yesterday we had our last day of English classes and Bible study. My class was interesting because I had some men in their 20s that came and also some 10-12 year old kids. It was kinda awkward because one of the guys ended up liking me I think and gave me a necklace and asked me to dance at the Christmas party, but it’s just funny because he doesn’t speak hardly any English yet. One thing that was special was that I was able to give an extra Bible I had to a boy who came to our conversational class who we shared the Gospel with and is learning English. This month I’ve been working through remembering that my thoughts, ideas, feelings, and words are valid and important, releasing control to God and to others, and knowing that things don’t have to be perfect, that my worth isn’t in my performance, and receiving my affirmation first from God and not people. I realized a lot of this while being in charge of the Christmas celebration. I wanted to plan a lot and do everything myself and have it a certain way and be perfect. Also because I realized that I haven’t been chosen to do any leadership/jobs for the squad yet and just remembering to not find my identity in that and to be happy to follow others.
We had an amazing dinner of fried chicken, potatoes, and French fries our last night which was wonderful because we hadn’t eaten that a lot this month. We got to go to Ankor Wat in Siem Reap on our last day which I thought was a wonder of the world, but it actually isn’t, but I’m glad I was able to see it. It was about a 7 hour very bumpy drive there and back. My back had been hurting a lot, and some of our group was sick the night before. We stayed at a hotel for the night. Ankor Wat was made in the 12th century as a Hindu and Buddhist temple. It was a beautiful scene because we arrived at sunrise and it overlooks water. There was also monkeys there, and we saw a monkey eat a banana that someone gave it. The city had a lot of beautiful Christmas lights.
We’re going to Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam next week. It will be really different from this month because we will be in a big city instead of a small village, and we’re going to be near other teams and not just by ourselves like this month. I feel like this has been my favorite month so far, but I feel like I always feel like each month was my favorite month haha. I just really love how genuine, friendly, and humble everyone is in Cambodia. I’ve been able to build some good relationships in this village, and this village has some really awesome people in it. The village is just so beautiful and peaceful with the rice fields, palm trees, ponds, and cows. And it is just so peaceful even with all the little kids making noise while playing. They have some 2-3 year olds here that are so precious. Here’s to month 7!
