Dear Cambodia,
I applaud you. You survived a great tragedy, and not a lot of people know about it. I don’t remember ever hearing about the genocide that so recently happened in your country. It was wildly successful because it was so quiet, so I hope that the word gets out. I hope that the world knows the terrors you went through. I hope that one good thing that comes from social media is that genocides like that cannot happen again. That the word gets out, and help comes for those effected sooner. But do you know something, walking through Phnom Penh I did not see the scars of war. I saw a thriving city. So good job, way to rebuild and get your major cities running in such a short time. Kudos to you for having such strength and diligence to rebuild, but to also remember. We went to one of the killing fields and saw the scars, we saw the pictures, we read about the tree used to smash babies on, we saw the mass graves, we hear the music that was played to mask the sound of screaming. I applaud you for not pretending it never happened, but for using the scars to teach lessons, and to bring growth.
You are a beautiful country, who knew the beaches of Cambodia were so beautiful? I sure did not, but when we had Easter weekend to relax on the sand and enjoy the beautiful blue water I knew I was in paradise. The people are beautiful too, we didn’t spend very much time with locals, we were working with Vietnamese people in Cambodia, but the locals that I did interact with were kind and friendly. So thank you for being a welcoming country with so much depth and history to share. Thank you for not judging me for my ignorance, but for opening my eyes wider and for teaching me what happened.
As month four on The World Race you were unique. We had a short ministry month, but then we had The Awakening, and then debrief. All very different seasons, but all beneficial. Ministry was so, so good. Most of my team got to really pour into our amazing hosts and help them by painting and building. The Awakening was encouraging and exciting to be able to meet up with two squads that are further along in their race and receive wisdom from them. Then debrief was restful as always, but exciting as it brought TEAM CHANGES! So thank you for taking month 4 and mixing it up while bringing rest and refreshment. Thank you for being a country who has so much to share, and so much to receive. Thank you for being a country that isn’t talked about very much, but also houses one of the 7 wonders of the world!
Thank you, Cambodia
-M
