Hello from Battambang, Cambodia! I am nearing the end of month 4 on the race, and that means that it’s about time to head to Africa. Before we get ahead of ourselves I want to tell you about what our ministry and living in Cambodia has looked like this month.
The main religion in Cambodia is Buddhism at a whopping 97% of the population. Just less than 1% of the population is Christian. The genocide in the 70’s killed about 2 million Cambodians, that’s 25% of their population. The adults here in Cambodia were children during this time. That means that this tragedy is still so close to the hearts of everyone in this country.
This month my team lived in a high school dorm that houses about 20 teenagers at a ministry called Lighthouse Battambang. Our host is a Swiss man that has lived in Cambodia for 10 years and started a family here. He started Lighthouse because he saw a need for housing teenagers so they could successfully attend high school. He does not require for the students to be Christians in order to live there because he doesn’t want to give the students the mindset of “if I say I’m Christian then I will receive favor and gifts.” However, he shares his faith with them by holding Bible studies led by house parents. Lighthouse Battambang is an amazing community, and we have been very lucky to be a part of it.
Here’s what a typical day in Cambodia has looked like for us:
5am-5:30am Student workout. We will rotate who attends this so the same people don’t wake up before the sun everyday.
6am Workout. Some of my teammates and I have committed to running a half marathon in March, which means we have had TONS of morning runs around the city of Battambang. We also found a local crossfit gym that we attend regularly to mix it up and provide entertainment. Even though it’s “winter” here the temperature has been in the high 80s and low 90s everyday. That means the earlier we wake up to work out the more bearable the run is.
7am-11:30am Free time. During this time we will eat breakfast, have quiet time, grocery shop with house parents, have team time, and occasionally go into town for coffee and free wifi.
11:30am-12pm Bible study with the students. We have been going through the book of John while we’ve been here.
12pm-1pm Lunch. The students, house parents, staff, volunteers, and my team all eat lunch together at the same table like one giant family. I love it so much. We eat rice literally everyday for lunch (which makes 2 months in a row of eating right everyday, fun fun).
Our team splits up in the afternoon/evening.
1pm-2pm Some of us will team beginners English to some of the students that live in the dorms.
1pm-4pm/5pm The other half of us help with construction and manual labor around the dorms. We have done things like shoveling gravel to avoid flooding, building shading for cars, and building walls/new rooms in the dorms. We have been working with a Swiss volunteer that is here for 2 months.
5pm-6pm Dinner. Our food budget has been $1 per person per day. It sounds crazy, but it’s totally doable. That just means we have been eating veggie/noodle stir fry. Every single day.
6pm-8pm More English classes. We teach more advanced English to students that live in the dorms. For example, one of the students asked us to explain past perfect, present perfect, and future perfect verbs. I just laughed because I don’t even know what that is.
8pm-whenever We hang out with the girls as they study. We will help them with homework, paint our nails, read the Bible, play guitar, watch movies, etc. It’s just a relaxed time that we get to continue building relationships with them before going to bed each night.
There’s a YWAM base in Battambang, and on Wednesdays we will sometimes attend a community night service with a few of the students and house parents. The service has hundreds of people there, and it’s in Khmer and English.
On Fridays we have “family night” with everyone that lives in the dorms. We usually just play games and spend time together with everyone. During our first family time we celebrated 2 students’ birthdays, and it quickly turned into a cake fight. During our last family time we took part in a Cambodian tradition that includes hitting floating clay pots filled with candy, just like a piñata. One catch is that they fill the pots with coconut oil or baby powder for added entertainment.
On Sunday evenings we attend a church service with all the students. At these services we will sing or perform a skit for them.
Going into this month we all suspected that it would be the last as a team. Team changes are a part of the World Race, and we thought we would be having one before heading to Africa. However, we were wrong! I’ll be continuing to do life with these weirdos, and I’m excited to see how we continue to grow as a family.
Fundraising update:
Thanks to all of you, I am now about 96% funded. WHAT!!!! I am just $727 away from being FULLY FUNDED. If you would like to help me reach my final goal, click the “Support me” link to the left. All donations are tax deductible.
