Left: Sunrise at Anwkor Wat, the largest religious monument in the world. Right: Teammates Holly Swaney, Katia Caylor and I at Ankor Tho temple in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
During month 10 of the Race we found ourselves in Cambodia and it was unlike any other place. It was full of natural and manmade beauty, and while some people in the major cities were unkind and distrustful, we found a home, a neighborhood family, and more love than we could have ever anticipated.
Teammate Katia Caylor and a temple guard fanning each other on a hot day in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
We lived in a small village outside of the Phnom Pehn, the capital city, that was home to clothing and brick factories factories and miles of rice fields that employed the local men, women, and children.
In the village, cows were abundant and the main modes of transportation were bicycles, tuk tuks, and motobikes.
We were blessed to be welcomed into the home of Rah and Noun (pronounced Noon), modern day disciples who risked it all daily and laid their lives on the line for Christ. Rah was a pig farmer and spiritual mentor and leader of his community. He was a very hard working man that still diligently served the Lord through teaching English, math, and the Bible daily to his community in addition to managing 60 pigs and spending time with his family.
Our Cambodian Family (Rah in the middle and his wife Noun and their son to his left.)
We in the United States would consider them to be the “least of these” because they lacked material wealth and constantly labored and struggled to put food on the table. However, in their family and village, they were a beacon of hope and a home of open doors, having taken in and supported several family members. They lead the efforts to share and live the Gospel of Christ in their village.
Little Miss Ya! This girl was both an angel and a hurricane! We could count on her to visit daily and make it clear that she was the one who ran our home.
“MY NAME IS YA!”
Ya was one of the daughters of our next neighbors in Cambodia. The only English words she knew when we met her were, “My name is Ya!” and she would shout these words every time she invited herself into our home and got comfy. She was into everything and demanded our constant attention but we loved her. Ya was so full of life, loving to dance, sing, play games, take pictures, and learn. She loved coloring, being taught the English alphabet, and listening to us read to her. Basically, she loved being loved. Sadly her mom either died or left the family leaving Ya and her siblings to have to fend for themselves. Her father was around and she had a stepmother, but in their culture, stepmothers are not responsible for the care of their husband’s children. We were more than happy to become a house full of mothers for this little girl for the month.
Na Vy (front) and Ni (back) were two awesome students in our Advanced English class but were also our sisters in Christ.
Na Vy was the younger (28 years old) sister of Rah, our host. She had a very strong but gentle spirit that caused me to immediately find peace in her presence. Na Vy is who I pictured when I read Proverbs 31. She was a wife and an incredible mother of two boys, and she also had her own convenience store in the village. She hungered for the Word of God and studied it when business was slow at the store and while her husband was at work. She was so full of wisdom and joy, though life had been very hard. She loved sharing what God was doing in her life with her unbelieving friends who were amazed by her peace throughout life’s trials. She was an instant friend, sister, and inspiration.
Teammate Holly Swaney and Rothana, a man who recently found Christ and always came prepared with questions about the character and Word of God. *Photo taken from Holly Swaney’s Facebook page.
Rothana is an example that short-term missions trips really can make an lasting impact. Each day, while some World Racers were teaching English to a class, others would be have one-on-one conversations with any villager who showed up at the appointed time. We knew that we could always count on Rothana, a.k.a. Ronni to show up. Every weekday afternoon, Holly would sit down with Ronni for 1-2 hours and practice conversational English. Ronni’s favorite topic was the Bible and the character of God. Ronni first began reading and talking about the Bible less that a year earlier when another short-term missions team was staying in the village. Each time a team came, he used his conversations with them as both opportunities to improve his English and talk about the Lord. Ronni greeted me daily with kindness and a big smile but his favorites were definitely Holly and Katia. It was so encouraging to see him graciously receive discipleship and be so eager to implement and share what he learned back in his own household.
Rothana (left) and Rotha (right) were two incredible ladies who were fellow teachers in the village, both of whom were still seeking education for themselves.
This picture makes my heart sing! When I first met Rotha (right) she never smiled! She constantly looked so burdened by life. While daily life for her and her family (and for everyone in our village) was harder than any of us could have imagined, I saw the light of God in her and that He was doing something beautiful in Rotha. So each time I saw her throughout the day, I would smile at her and stare uncomfortably until she couldn’t help but giggle. By the end of the month, I no longer needed to pry smiles out of Rotha because she shared them freely. One of her favorite songs was “Beautiful Things” by Gungor, which talked about how God makes beautiful things out of dust and His people. I pray that any time this song is played anywhere in the world, God reminds Rotha of the beautiful things He is doing in her life.
Our Advanced English Class students. From left to right: Ni, Dai, Linda, Jesse, Kaiulani, Na Vy, Nu, Rotha, Pesath, Paul, Rothana.
These wonderful people were the highlights of my day! These are the students from the Advanced English class we taught every weekday afternoon. Over half of these students had their own classes they taught during the day. Each person in this group had a very different personality from the rest but all brought joy, laughter, and wisdom to my day. I looked forward to seeing them every afternoon and was always sad when our time ended.
I spent the most time with Linda (third from the left) and Rothana (far right). These two ladies do the majority of the teaching when missionaries are not in the village. Both of them have to work so hard for their families and though they are new to Christianity, work to live and spread Jesus’ Gospel in their own community and families and where their parents don’t believe in God. While we were there, both worked 12 hour shifts at night in the factory of an American clothing company, yet each day they were present, full of laughter, ready to teach, learn, and help whenever needed. These two ladies taught me so much and loved me so well. They are my sisters and my friends.
Students in the Intermediate English class that is taught by Linda (far left), in the absence of short-term teams. I taught basic English grammar for the month and Linda translated.
Tortla (front) and his older sister Noun (pronounced Noon) who was our host, in front of their home where we lived for the month.
“Good morning K!”, “Good morning Tortla!” is how my mornings began as I stepped out of the house for breakfast. Tortla and his sister Noun did not speak much English but their intelligence, wisdom, and kindness didn’t need words to be recognized. They lost their mother to cancer a few months before we came, but that did not stop them from blessing us with incredible hospitality. Noun cooked three meals a day for all six of us, her four brothers, Leat (a young relative who was living with the family), her husband, and son every day. She was an AMAZING cook to say the least. She was only 21 years old, yet she was wise and strong beyond her years. I hope and pray that God continues to encourage her in her faith and bless her for all she does as the mother of the community at such a young age. Both Noun and Tortla had very strong but very sweet and humble spirits that blessed us abundantly.
Outside of Agape International Missions (AIM), an organization dedicated to ending child trafficking by providing solutions for the spiritual, cultural, and economic problems that fuel the human trafficking industry. From left to right: Sarah (AIM), Lisa, Rachel, Katia, Holly, Kaiulani, Jesse, Caleb (AIM).
One wonderful evening after class, we sat down to eat the food Noun prepared for us, and to our delight, it included Kraft macaroni and cheese! None of us could figure out how she knew how happy this would make us or how on earth she found mac and cheese, but we praised God for this manna from heaven! During dinner a lovely American woman walked up to us and said, “I heard you guys were in month 10 of your Race so I figured you would appreciate a few things to remind you of home.” She then presented us with Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds (my favorite cereal!!!!!) and Pringles, which we literally counted and divided and were given 17 each, LOL! Sarah (far left) had never done the Race, but had done and led Passport trips and done G42 with Adventures in Missions (the other AIM) and therefore was very familiar with The World Race. She was living in Cambodia and working at Agape, hoping to start her own missions organization in India one day. Sarah continued to visit us on weekends and allowed us to tour the Agape facilities. Work done by Agape was featured in the documentaries Nefarious (Don Brewester, CEO and founder of AIM was interviewed) and the The Pink Room.
Little Miss Nin greeting me one day after English class and a portrait she drew for me one morning in my journal.
This beautiful young lady is Nin, one of Ya’s older sisters. She waved and hugged me each day that I saw her running around the village with her friends. Nin, like Ya, lived a very hard life, without anyone to lovingly care for her each day. Yet, she never hesitated to smile when I saw her and always longed for more love and attention. She was extremely intelligent though I never saw her go to school with the other children. One morning, she sat down next to me, and as I read the Bible she drew several pictures in my journal and drew hearts and wrote inside of them “Nin loves K” and “K loves Nin”. She knew very little English but she clearly knew how to say and write the word that mattered most. I hope and pray that God transforms the hearts of her family and allows them to bless one another with a home filled with His love.
Little Miss Poy, the younger sister of Linda and Rotha, presenting me with a flower during our last weekend in the village.
I can hardly look at this picture without crying. This beautiful angel made me so proud during our month in her village. She was the niece of Rah, our host, and therefore she was frequently in and out of our house like the rest of the children. One day while Poy was running around and playing, my teammate Jesse noticed that Poy’s pinky toe was half-detached from her foot. This is how our close bond with Poy began. As Jesse held Poy to comfort her during the pain, I cleaned her toe each day using the CVS first aid kit left by a previous team, and antibiotic ointment brought by another teammate. We took Poy to the doctor a few times and got her some antibiotics and pain medicine. This little girl was so strong throughout all of it and held her tears even when the rest of us were nearly crying from just watching her. In the beginning, she would run when it was time to take her medicine and would insist that it needed to be crushed because she couldn’t swallow the whole pills. By the end, she would come and get me when it was time to take her medicine and she would bravely take each pill whole, high-fiving me after! Poy gave me so much love which seemed strange to me at the time because I was the one causing her the most pain by cleaning her wound daily and making her take her medicine. Yet right up to the last day, she ran up and jumped on me, giving me the biggest hugs and held my hand as we walked through village. Thank you God for blessing me with Poy.
Cleaning the toe of brave Poy as she was held and consoled by teammate Jesse Thomas and squad leader Lisa Toby.
We were received and loved by many more people during our one month stay in Cambodia. Please pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ in Cambodia. Their lives are physically, economically, and spiritually very very difficult every single day, yet they allow the joy of the Lord to be their strength! I continue to hold each person from our village in my heart as a witnesses to God’s goodness and provision in the lives of all people.
Thanks for listening!
