Well I have!!
My new friend that chased me with a paint roller.
Monday through Friday we spend the mornings in a village, either the 42-house village or the Muslim village. The 42 village is where I fell in love with Som. Kids in both villages are in need of love, which they don’t get at home from parents or guardians. The atmosphere is very different at the two villages, at the Muslim village the kids are very aggressive and are constantly beating on one another and us. While at the 42 village, they are rough but not near as violent. All these kids need our love and affection, they receive it but it is harder at the Muslim village. It is harder because they are hitting on one another constantly and there is always a kid crying for some reason. Every single child is in need of Jesus’ love and to understand they need a imitate relationship with Him.
Bathing the children at the 42-house village.
So to explain about being chased with a paint roller. It was Tuesday am and we had ridden bikes to the Muslim village. As we neared the village, we stopped to prepare ourselves to get ready to get bombarded with children. Anytime we arrive at the villages, the children see us and run to us. When they reach us they grab our hands, climb on our backs, get between our legs, climb us like we are jungle gyms, and ultimately just long to have our attention. We all got together and rode into the village together. There is a particular area we always play in and upon arriving to this area this day. All of a sudden my back tire hit a bump and it was a kid chasing me with a paint roller. It was a 6-foot long roller that was used as a toy. They literally just run around with the roller chasing one another or just running around the village. I instantly began to laugh and was amazed at the toy. In America, this would be viewed as trash but the kids here have to use their imaginations to find entertainment. This typically means rummaging through trash or finding anything lying around.
Riding dirty with my new friends in the Muslim village.
There was only laughter for a few moments till my heart broke for these kids and the reality they live in. I am not sure what a typical day looks like for a village kid but I can tell from what I see. They get up in the morning to have nothing to do all day. There may or may not be food to eat for the day, if there is food it is typically something that was grown where they live. Time is spent roaming around all day, wherever they please. Parents don’t keep tabs of where the kids are or what they are doing. Many children are sent into the streets/market places to find trash worth selling. Through this they sometimes are the only source for the family, outside of gambling. This money a lot of the time is misused and not used to support the family. During the day, it is spent playing with other kids in the village. It is a very special day when they have visitors come in to play with them. This is typically foreigners or organizations here that help in the local villages. When they see us, their little faces light up and they know it is time to have fun. Even if this is only for an hour or two, it brings them light to their days. Most of these children have little to no clothes on. They are dirty, smell, and are in need of Jesus’ love to be shared with them.
My new friend in the Muslim village, if you look closely, he has on a shirt that says Greensboro, NC, USA. And if you don't know I am from Charlotte, NC, which only an hour in a half from Greensboro. AND my homeboy Drew, who does logistics for our squad is from Greenboro.
Daro, our awesome translator and YDC staff, with a sleeping baby in the Muslim village. This was too cute not to include!
Update on Som… Wednesday was spent in the 42-house village and Som was radiating when we arrived, she was smiling from ear to ear and showing us all her teeth. We could instantly tell her spirits were up and she was truly happy today. There was such excitement with our arrival and she knew we were coming to just spend time with her. Seeing this new side of her, we can truly see her beginning to understand God's love for her and how much He loves her and that she is NOT forgotten, even by the villagers. This was evident by seeing that her hut had been repaired, she had been fed since we were there on Monday, and she was given a new candle for light at night. My time at the village, along with my teammate Megan, is always spent with Som. This time consists of feeding her, bathing her, loving her, and sharing with her how much Jesus loves her. There was also lots of movement in her body that we have never seen before. Both her legs were moving and her right hand which doesn’t move; it has been clinched up for a year and a half to the point where her skin was growing together. Today she opened her hand and began to sketch out her fingers. What a glorious day with Som!
Som smiling so BIG and wide for us!
We spent the afternoon in the prison; our time was supposed to end on Friday. The fellows on my team had planned to go to near by city on Saturday to pick up 40 Bibles to hand out next week at the prison. The warden Mr. Lynn had said we couldn’t come back next week due to a workshop, so we weren’t sure how this would look or if we would have the opportunity to even give them out. On our way out Mr. Lynn was waiting for us by the gate and he said we could come back Monday afternoon to give the Bibles out. Not only could we come on Monday but also our ENTIRE team could come. We were told that it was unsafe for the whole team to come but great how God is allowing us to do this together.
God has abundantly provided for my team in Cambodia and we still have a week left here. Please continue praying for Team Holla-lujah, Som, Prison ministry, out time in the villages, and pouring into the YDC staff here at the center where we are staying.
We are staying at YDC, a Youth Development Center, where they have students but they are currently on summer vacation. So our ministry has looked a bit different than when teams are normally here. We have had opportunities to do things a bit differently than in the past, this has involved our opportunity to pour into the staff here. Our awesome contact Maricel is running the show here and is backed by 4 others to support here. The other staff includes Kim a 25-year-old young woman, Daro a 23-year-old young man, Sokto a 22-year-old young man, and Rachna an 18-year-old young woman. We have had the privilege of doing Bible study every morning 8-9am with them, do ministry with them, live life with them and hear their stories. It is so incredible what God is doing in each of them and how He is providing for each of their needs. I ask you please be in prayer for the YDC staff.
