This is an excerpt from a journal entry I wrote our first
day in Cambodia:
“I have told myself that a good goal is to journal every
day. So, it’s the beginning of a New Year, and the start of a new month, so I
want to write. This is my introduction to Cambodia:
CAMBODIA: DAY ONE (1/4/2012)
I have been reminded lately to not let unfamiliarity or discomfort breed fear,
but to see it as a chance to grow and be challenged in patience. I met our
host, Umong, and he picked up my pack and carried it to the van for me. He is
28-years-old, and recently married. He has worked in the YWAM base in Phnom
Penh and his English is quite good. He
has a very patient, peaceful demeanor, and seems light-hearted and willing to
laugh. We drove on dirty, dusty roads for what felt like about two hours,
passing homes and shacks built on stilts, farmers herding cattle, and very few
‘businesses,’ mostly small, open-air shacks selling sodas, gasoline in bottles
(or oil), bananas, and some other misc things.
We finally arrived at our home for the month. It is like a little bungalow in the midst of
the the sugar cane fields. The sugar cane grows about as high as corn in rural
USA, and it even looks similar, so I am brought back to memories up north by
the cabin, surrounded by corn fields. The surroundings are quite picturesque,
especially in the midst of the chaos that is Cambodia. Oh, before I lose this
thought – we had a cute moment inside the van where we waved at a little girl
walking down the dusty street. She smiled, and then it took her a minute to
register, but it was like the realization that white people were inside clicked
on and she let out a scream and started running after the van.
Okay, back to our country bungalow. It is at least fifteen
feet off the ground and the ladder is steep. I’m hoping this will deter any
strange animals from entering! We met a little boy named Narath who is part of
the English school (by the way, we will be teaching English classes this month
for about six hours a day, every day), and he motioned for me to follow him to
a little pond with a few fish swimming behind the house. There is clean water
supplied in a small reservoir that is provided by a private company. It is
quite primitive, but I like it. We will
be living with Umong and his beautiful wife Nari. There’s a mango and banana
tree, along with bean plants outside the house. We look out to an incredible
view of sugar cane fields, as far as the eye can see, with a few palm trees
sticking out of the horizon here and there.
Nari cooked us lunch – it was a delicious cabbage and
lettuce stir-fry salad with fried tofu, breaded and fried pork with white rice
and spicy red chili sauce (which I have fallen in love with this month), and
many new fruits: mangosteen (a fruit that tastes similar to the rhambatan we
had in Malaysia – it has a shell the color of eggplant and is as big as an
apple or orange, but once you peel the skin, it is a slippery white fruit that
is sweet and flavorful), we also have had Dragonfruit (this has magenta skin
and the meat is bright white with hundreds of little black seeds), and lots of
pineapple. We spoke with Umong and Nari
about their families – Umong grew up in a Buddhist family, and became a follow
of Jesus later in his life. Nari’s father became a Christian when she was
7-years-old, and the two of them met through YWAM. Nari is incredibly sweet and
hospitable. It seems she’s a little shy with her English, but I think she
speaks very well. We will be meeting our first English class at 3pm today, they
come here to do their studies.
After lunch, Nari brewed us a cup of 3-in-1 coffee, which I
enthusiastically accepted. The house is divided, with Umong and Nari sleeping
on one side and us on the other. There are a lot of windows, and it feels cool
when the breeze comes through. I hear some kind of music playing in the
distance, but otherwise it is the quite whir of the two fans above our heads, a
bird chirping or a rooster crowing. I feel like this is going to be a peaceful
month. For the first time, I am away from the constant stir of the big city.
The rest of the girls are asleep taking naps. We have a real sit-up toilet, but
they don’t use toilet paper here, so that has been interesting. I think we will
be doing bucket showers for the month which is fine by me. Nari will be cooking
our meals for us – I am excited for authentic Cambodian food! She cooks our
meals in a little corrugated steel shack behind the house – it has a bamboo
pallet floor and a small propane stove. They have a meager water distribution
system set up – a few plastic pipes going to a small water filtration system
that supposedly will give us clean water to drink.
We have a back porch that I foresee is going to be a
peaceful place to read, study, think, and pray. This will be a month of little
to no electricity or internet, so I am excited about the opportunity to take a
break from those things and experience the Lord in this country. I know this
month in Cambodia is going to change me. But I pray that now, in this moment,
that the things God has planned would be great, and I would allow for
incredible, miraculous things to happen through me.
