11 things I learned in Cambodia
1. The country is still recovering from the genocide
The Khmer Rouge regime, led by Pol Pot, took control over Cambodia in the 70’s. In their attempt to spread communism throughout the country, they decided to eliminate anyone that seemed to be a threat: educated, wealthy, religious, foreigners, etc. Children and babies were not exempt from being labeled as “enemies.” This lead to about 2 million people being tortured and murdered. Let that sink in: a fourth of their population was killed in less than 5 years. Unlike the Holocaust that focused on killing those that were deemed unworthy, Pol Plot focused on killing those that were a threat. He killed those that were going to be the future leaders, inventors, and stars. The ones that would definitely change the country one day. This created a long term effect on the country and their development. The very people that were knowledgeable and skilled enough to help their country rise up from the ashes were killed. This means that the recovery for Cambodians has been a slow and painful process. Since the genocide was less than 50 years ago, the country is still recovering from their devastating past. The adults that are running the country were just children during the time of the genocide. Cambodia has a dark past, but there is so much hope for their future.
2. I can (kinda) be a construction worker
One of our ministries was to help a Swiss volunteer, Joram, with various projects around the dorms. Joram is a motorcycle mechanic, but his projects included things like leveling out the driveway, creating shade structures for cars, and building new rooms inside the dorms. Since none of these projects resembled fixing bikes, we often would get to throw around ideas together about how to tackle the projects. Doing all of these things involved some creativity since we were working with limited materials and very little knowledge on the subject. The funniest part about it was that the previously built walls and provided wood was never straight or even in any way, which made measuring anything pretty difficult. Even though we spent time measuring and mapping out how to cut the wood it would never seem to fit as planned. Frustrating, right? We thought so too at first, but eventually it became a source of laughter for us everyday. Our inexperience and unpredictable resources led to a lot of adjusting on the fly, which I absolutely loved.
3. My team is worth fighting for
Going into month 4 of the race my team expected that this would be our last month together before team changes. We had all these ideas about how we wanted to improve and progress as a team, but it all felt short-term since we only have a few weeks left together. My team is great and we all love each other a ton, but I think we were all excited to see new faces and get to know other squadmates on a deeper level. About half way through the month we got a pretty shocking email that said we would NOT be having team changes at the end of the month. What? We had just made all these short term “fixes” to our team, and now we were going to have to make them a long term process? I can speak for my whole team when I say that we were a little bummed at first. We were excited about the idea of growing from new challenges that would come from a new team, but God had a different plan. We were ready to move on to different people because that’s what we have done in our past, but God is teaching us about the power of sticking with your people even when it gets uncomfortable. So now we are all able to take on a new challenge…even if it is with the same team. Our new team name is Selah, meaning “stop and listen” or “pause and think of that,” stressing the importance of taking a moment to think/praise/meditate on the preceding truth.
4. Rabbits make a pretty sweet pet
At Lighthouse they housed several rabbits in their backyard. It was a joy to look out the window and see them roaming around and scurrying away for our 2 year old friend, Daniel. When we arrived at Lighthouse there was only one rabbit, but by the time we left our host had brought in a total of 6 rabbits to roam around the yard (and occasionally wander into the house). We took it upon ourselves to name each rabbit: Shakespeare, Eponine, Elphaba, Fiyero, Othello, and Sweeney. Our host wasn’t too fond of these names. He said he would stick with calling them “black one, gray one, old brown one, new brown one, etc.” Also, I will confess that I may or may not have joined the 2 year old in chasing the rabbits around the yard.
5. Experience adds weight to revelations
Many times in our life God will reveal a new truth to us that feels like a huge revelation. Now, the truth is never truly ours until we experience it. What do I mean by this? In The Secret of the Stairs it says, “The Word of God is never ours until it has been personalized in our life experience. Only then can we, with authority, witness to its truth and power.” A great Biblical example of this can be found in the Gospels. Jesus was baptized and led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where he was tempted by the devil in several different ways. He overcame each temptation and had defeated Satan. He knew the truth and promises from his Father before he even went into the wilderness, but he was able to come out of the wilderness in the power of the Spirit. Shortly after his time in the wilderness is when Jesus began his ministry. His teachings held much more weight to them since Jesus had personally walked through all the temptations himself and believed that God was still better.
God may lead us through tests shortly after revealing truth to us. He does this because He knows we will find so much more weight in these truths after we have overcome the struggles and temptations of the flesh. I’ve been able to see this so clearly in myself and my teammates over the past month. It’s encouraging to know that as we walk through those challenges we are able to gain so much power in the Spirit through those experiences.
6. You can get in shape anywhere and everywhere
As I was packing for the World Race I decided to leave my nice running shoes and athletic tape behind. My thought behind this was that surely I won’t have the time or desire to be running a lot while I’m overseas…and here I am in month 4 starting to train for a half marathon with my teammates. I’m sporting my Nike Trainers (which have zero support) and a $1 ace bandage wrapped around my knee. Just another expectation of mine that has been wrong on the race. My team has been waking up early to go for runs or frequent the local crossfit gym. It’s been great to get back into running shape, and morning runs have become a really cool way to explore the city.
7. The importance of the table
When we arrived at Lighthouse Battambang our host stressed the importance of making this a safe family environment. Everyday at noon we join all 20 students, our host, the house family, and other volunteers in sitting down and eating lunch together. It was probably the only time during the day that everyone was able to gather together in one location. During the meal we would chat, hear announcements, joke, encourage, and laugh with each other. This time became a great way to get to know the students on a deeper level. My team and I often shared about how thankful we were for the times spent just enjoying life together. Our squad mentor always raves about sitting at the table with community, and now I fully understand what it’s all about.
8. Riding bikes…the more the merrier
The students that we lived with rode bikes everyday to get where they needed, and they were generous enough to let us borrow them when they weren’t in use. I don’t think I’ve ridden a bike that much since I was a kid, and man did I have fun. Often times we were limited to the number of bikes we could use, so Allison and I rode around sharing the same bike. I’m not sure which was more of a workout: being the one in the front and having to pedal the weight of 2 people or being the one on the back and having to balance without a footrest or seat cushion. We were able to get so skilled at this that we would ride all over town and even through the various roundabouts (would not recommend). It was quite funny to see the locals turn and look at us like we were a parade or something.
9. Ministry can happen anywhere
One night we went out with our Swiss friends to eat dinner at one of our favorite cafes. After dinner we found a guitar and decided to have a mini jam session. One of the employees came over and asked if there was a song we all could sing for them to video and post on their Facebook page. It turns out that the only songs that we all could confidently sing were worship songs, figure that. A few other YWAM missionaries joined us and we were all able to worship in the middle of the cafe. We had people from 4 different continents all singing together to the same God. It’s funny how a simple night out to dinner turned into such an amazing opportunity.
10. I will try anything once
I’ve always said that I’m willing to try anything once before I can say that I don’t like it or that it’s gross, and man was that put to the test this month. One of the Swiss volunteers at Lighthouse, Elias, had a desire to try as many different kinds of meat as possible, and the house dad would help him with these endeavors. Every time they would try something new my curiosity would win over and I would try it as well. Now I can say that in one month I ate snake, rat, cockroach, dog, and a tarantula. Here’s a rundown of how each of them went:
Snake- It actually just tasted like fish, but I was weirded out that the skin was still on and it actually still looked like a snake after being cooked. It also had too many bones to make it worth eating.
Rat- These were cooked whole and didn’t really have a lot of meat on them. They were pretty tough and dry, but not that bad.
Cockroach- My teammate, Amanda, and I ate this one together. We both braced ourselves for how gross it was going to be, and then we were pleasantly surprised that it just tasted like roasted sunflower seeds or something.
Dog- I hate to say it, but it tasted pretty good. I tried it in India as well but it was SO spicy that you couldn’t even taste anything. I wouldn’t eat it again…because it’s a dog.
Tarantula- This was the only one I paid for and was definitely the grossest. I ate the whole thing in one bite, and had to take my mind off of what I was doing or else I would gag. My squadmate Joe told me it tasted like a potato skin…he lied.
11. Every day can be an adventure if you choose to say “yes”
While in Cambodia I got the chance to see Angkor Wat, one of the 7 wonders of the world. We left around 4am to ensure that we got there in time for sunrise, and it was so worth it. While we walked around the crowded ancient temple we saw a beautiful trail in the distance. It didn’t seem have an end in sight and casually had a horsing grazing in the grass, so of course we had to go explore. As we walked down the trail we saw another smaller temple next to a lake. We stayed there for probably 30 minutes and didn’t see a single other person. On our way back Hillarie and I decided to climb a tree, which wasn’t as easy as I remember it being. The entire day was amazing, but this was probably one of the highlights of everything.
Fundraising Update
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