We headed out for ministry at 8:30 am. We waited in front of
the pastor’s house for our transportation for the 14 of us. We met our
translator for the day, Eunis, a 26 year old. Then she showed us what we’d be
driven in for the day. A ramah (something like that), which is pictured below.
16 people were supposed to fit on that thing, 14 Racers and two translators. It
was pulled by a small moto with the engine the size of one for a chainsaw.
We were not expecting to be able to fit, but we did. We
didn’t go very fast, but we move and cheered the ramah on as we chugged up
hills. We were headed to two villages, then the Killing Fields, then lunch.
We stopped in the first village and saw the houses that Rock
Foundation built for the people. They’re up on high stilts for flood season and
were small huts. They were constructed and put together really well, so it was
a nice home for the people. Not many of the villagers were around, Eunis said
they were out working and supporting their family. So, we really had nothing to
do and wondered why we would have come so early.
One of the homes Rock Foundation Built
There wasn’t anyone to share with, but a two people to pray
over. One was a woman who was struggling to support her family and another was
a young boy with Down Syndrome. Other than that, we just took pictures and
walked through the village.
The little boy with Down Syndrome we prayed over
Then we went to another village. This was a dirt road off of
the main road and trash was everywhere. Eunis told us these people had no homes
and they lived here, where the trash was. The Rock Foundation wants to build
homes for them, but can’t because the government doesn’t want them to live
there and hasn’t kicked them out yet. These people sorted trash for money.
First we saw a little boy sitting with hug trash baskets bigger than him. He
had one dumped on its side and was sorting out trash, recyclables and things he
could use. The rest of his family was collecting trash. He was dirty and had a
small, filthy pair of shorts on.
We continued to walk and saw other people hanging around the
area. Kids were climbing high into the tree tops to get berrys, others were
sitting in the dirt outside their shacks. Their homes are made of woven wood
and roofs are of tarps. They’re all lined up alongside the dirty river. Unis
said she had come to the village many times but has been unable to share the
gospel because people say they’re too busy and need to work.
One families hut
As we were walking though, we saw several people doing
nothing. So, some of the girls and I walked up to two women braiding hair. We
brought Eunis over with us to translate and just talk to them. Then Eunis said,
“Okay, you can share now.� Which was out of the blue, but Shelley began asking
if they knew about God and what they knew. One of the girls believed in God but
did not know much about Jesus. So Shelley shared the gospel with them.
We were encouraged because afterward she said she trusted God
and prayed to Him. She asked for Him to provide for her and her family and He
did. There was a missionary who would come and share Christ with them and bring
them food. We don’t know if she knew about the relationship side of God, but
there was a sign of promise in her heart.
Other teammates found elderly people to talk to and enjoyed
shining light into their lives.
The Trash Village Huts
We left after those two villages for the Killing Fields. I
couldn’t help but feel like I just been a tourist in Cambodia. After all, we
walked through two villages and took pictures, nothing else. It was so
unsatisfying. This isn’t the point of us being in Cambodia, we aren’t here to
be tourists. We want to get dirty, to do life with these people and to share
Christ.
Next time we’re hoping to be able to split into two teams, go
when people are back from work, and spend a longer time in each.
Later we found out the reason why we went so early was
because Tephen (our ministry contact/pastor) didn’t think we’d want to go in the afternoon because it’s so
hot…
