Blast from the Past - belated thoughts on Cambodia - Explore Archived World Race Alumni Blogs

*This PSA (Public Service Apology) is brought to you by a humbled and somewhat ashamed World Racer*

I’ve been told by others (in an edifying way) that I’m quick to listen and slow to speak…. I never expected to also be so slow to blog. In realizing that a month in Cambodia has passed without any blogs, my apologies to all who have been waiting on updates. I don’t know why putting down words to describe my thoughts and experiences has been difficult.. perhaps I’ve been distracted by being engaged in all Asia has to offer, and the reflecting has taken a backseat. I’ve suffered serious writer’s block and done a disservice to all my faithful supporters because of it. So please bear with me as I throw down a few blogs to catch you up! Also, I’m thankful for teammates who have had no trouble blogging to keep you guys informed that I am indeed alive (and well).

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So after a refreshing layover in LA, where I last updated and attempted to post some Haiti pics at LAX (failed cuz connection was too slow), our squad arrived in Cambodia’s capital of Phnom Penh. Check out Di Dinnis’ fun travel day video of our loooong journey from Caribbean to Miami to LA to Japan to Thailand and then finally to Cambodia!

Our first Sunday in Phnom Penh (3/8), we toured the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, the Killing Fields of Choeng Ek, Wat Phnom, and the wallet emptying Russian Market. The genocide portion of the tour was grim and tough to swallow, especially since it is SUCH a recent slice of Cambodia’s history. The Khmer Rouge happened only 30 years ago, so any Cambodian you meet over 30 probably has a personal story of survival or atrocity to tell. Ironically, the “genocide trail” is now a big tourist attraction.. While Pol Pot’s regime abolished money, the country has found profit in the aftermath. The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum is a fancy term for the former high school that became a prison camp used to torture and kill. If walls could talk, I could only imagine what they’d say about what went on there. The killing fields of Choeng Ek still had pieces of torn clothing hanging on tree branches or lying in pits where ppl were executed. It almost felt like walking through a movie set with props… until I entered the monument aka tower housing skulls and bones of some of the victims. Wat Phnom was also overwhelming to the senses. Inside the temple, I was greeted with a vast array of Buddha statues and Hindu gods in different sizes, colors, materials (jade, wood, bronze, etc). I saw lots of riel (Cambodian currency) slipped between the inanimate fingers of the gods, oranges sitting on their lifeless laps as offerings. There’s a mega Buddha towering over the rest, and even a swirling circle of rainbow colored lights emitting a sound that made me feel like I’d stepped into an arcade or fun house. I wondered in bewilderment how anyone could take this seriously, but saw locals kneeling and bowing in worship, quite seriously… I realized how lost and in need they are of a Living God, one who will actually answer prayers and heal hearts.

“Why do the nations say ‘Where is their God?’ Our God is in
heaven; he does whatever pleases him. But their idols are silver and
gold, made by the hands of men. They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but they cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but
they cannot smell; they have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but they
cannot walk; nor can they utter a sound with their throats. Those who
make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.” Psalm
115:3-8

This remains my prayer for Cambodia and SE Asia in general… for a country and a region that is predominantly Buddhist, that finds pride in the splendor of its temples and wats… that seeks worth and good favor from spirit houses (adorning most street corners and in most houses and stores), ancestors, Hindu gods, and Buddha.

A month in this country is all I needed to fall in love with the students we taught and in the beauty of a nation that’s still trying to regain, reinvent and recreate what was eradicated in recent oppression.. I had completely overlooked this hidden gem of SE Asia. Cambodia may be known for and have identity in Angkor Wat and its killing fields, but I have grown to love the people as God does, and to see them in His identity. Please pray that this nation will cry out, that at the name of Jesus, they would bow, and every tongue confess that HE and He alone is Lord. God, give them ears to hear, eyes to see, a nose to smell, and hands to feel Your presence; lips to sing You praise; feet to carry the good news!