WE MADE IT TO CAMBODIA!! (Pictures at the end!!!)
When we got off the plane in Siem Reap I was bouncing off the walls with excitement for the fact that we were finally HERE. The place I’ve been waiting for since last November, is now my new home. The place where I will grow and share Jesus with the people around me. To be honest traveling for that long wasn’t hard for me at all, in fact, I found it super fun. It was an adventure!
(Shoutout to my fam bam because those travel days were nothin’ compared to road-trips with all of them… being in the very back of our very full car and not being able to move for several hours at a time and learning how to hold my pee. Who knew all of those trips were preparing me for my future as a missionary!!).
We took a 5 hour bus ride from the airport to Battambang (pronounced Bottombong) where we will be staying for the next month. On the way, I got to sit and look out into Cambodia for the first time. God broke my heart for these people on that bus ride. As we drove past people living with hardly nothing, all I wanted to do was give them everything, to share Jesus with these people and love on them with all my heart. That bus ride was exactly what I needed. I sat by myself, and listened to music, totally with God. I haven’t read much of the Bible and I used to be very ashamed of that but we all have to start somewhere, am I right?!
So, I read half of the book of Matthew on that bus ride. I had a lot that stuck out to me but the biggest thing was, “therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life (ME!)? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or sin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass on the field, which is here today and tomorrow more clothes you, you of little faith?
So, do not worry, saying, ‘what shall we eat?’ or ‘what shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all those things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6: 25-34
This message really helped me look at all the little things we humans stress about everyday and how unimportant that is in the grand scheme of things. This was such a big takeaway because it’s such a typical thing to look cute in your “missionary clothing”. At training camp I always had those self-destructive thoughts about how I never looked as cute as the girl next to me but it doesn’t matter at all! We are not here for our own happiness but for the happiness of others. Most of all, this verse really spoke volumes on how much I don’t rely on God, and how I always decide for myself what my day is going to look like when really I should start every morning asking God what HE has in store for me. In fact, my squad mentor told us she starts every morning waking up and asking God what he has in store for her. It’s the first thing she does everyday and it has taken years of training but I believe it will change my mindset completely if I learn to do this as well.
When we arrived at our ministry site I was so exhausted but so happy to finally have made it. Pictures are worth a thousand words so stay tuned for pictures to come.
Some interesting history about where we are staying: the buildings were used for severe torture during the Khmer Rouge. If you’re not familiar with this insane tragedy…. 30 years ago the communist party of Kampuchea overthrew the Cambodian government and began one of the biggest genocides in history. From 1975-1978, 3 million Cambodian lives were taken (which is the equivalence to 25% of the WHOLE population). On top of all that, the people who were killed included, people with connections to former Cambodian governments, the Khmer Republic or the Sangkum, the Khmer Republic military, or foreign governments. Professionals and intellectuals, including almost everyone with an education and people who understood a foreign language. Many artists including musicians, writers, and filmmakers were executed. Ethnic Vietnamese, ethnic Chinese, ethnic Thai, and other minorities in the Eastern Highlands, Cambodian Christians (most of whom were Catholic, and the Catholic Church in general), Muslims, and senior Buddhist monks. The Roman Catholic cathedral of Phnom Penh was razed. The Khmer Rouge forced Muslims to eat pork, which they regard as forbidden. Many of those who refused were killed. Christian clergy and Muslim imams were executed.”Economic saboteurs”: many former urban dwellers were deemed guilty of sabotage due to their lack of agricultural ability. Party cadres who had fallen under political suspicion: the regime tortured and executed thousands of Party members, including senior figures such as Hu Nim.
In Cambodia there are two major religions; Buddhism and Animism. Animism is a religion in which they believe in supernatural spirits. AKA ghosts are VERY VERY real to them. They 100% believe they see ghosts all the time. These spirits/ghosts inhabit mountains, forest, rivers and other natural objects; guardian spirits of houses and animals and fields; ancestral spirits; and malevolent beings, hosts and demons. Some spirits are regarded as helpful but most are regarded as troublemakers who can cause sickness or bad luck especially to those who have engaged in improper behavior.
The interesting part of where we are staying is, a lot of the “apartments” are empty because they carry bad spirits from the time when they held prisoners to all Animists. I think about it often, about the horrors that the same room I sleep in has seen but how incredible our God is that it now holds missionaries. These missionaries aren’t just us, but next door from us is “Ezra Ministries” which is lead by this incredible and faithful family from Australia. Their actions of leaving everything behind and coming here speak so much into who they are as people and as followers of Christ. The father is Stephan and the mother is Sharelle they have three children, Jordie (19), Darcy(18), and Yannick (16). If you got my logistical email you would know all about this amazing ministry but a quick summary is: they hold classes for kids around the neighborhood to speak English and they have a local cafe/library. The biggest thing I’ve observed over these four long days is that it’s very hard to live in Cambodia. It’s hot and it’s humid. There is no air conditioning; you can’t flush toilet paper down the toilet; there is poverty everywhere you look. Yet, they are here, obeying the Lord which is such an example for people like us.
(side note, I will not be doing my logistical emails anymore because it’s causing me to work harder [not smarter] and it’s been taking me away from more important things like playing with kids on the streets or spending time with God).
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1st night in Cambodia:
Kirsten, one of my teammates and I decided we wanted to go for a walk after dinner and talk about how we are doing since there was a lot of emotion going through each of our brains at this time.
We did a loop around the “forest” A.K.A the trees and such in the middle of all the complexes and where all the trash goes from all the buildings.
I just finished reading Kisses for Katie before coming to Launch and something she talks about is how she wasn’t afraid even though she was around danger and disease because God had his hand wrapped around her and she knew she would be okay. She trusted God. As we walked, that was exactly how I felt. I wasn’t nervous that it was dark out and people were out all around us. I simply waved and they waved back. As we rounded the corner we came across a family (I believe) hanging out outside. As soon as they saw us they lit up and started yelling “hello” at us. It took Kirsten and me by surprise because we had never experienced that before, someone being so happy to see us. We ended up talking to them for a little bit and got all of their names, which I remember none of because they were all Cambodian and hard to say, let alone remember.
That encounter was SO encouraging for both me and Kirsten. As we continued to walk we kept talking to everyone we saw. People here are so incredibly nice. Then, we turned another corner and there were a ton of people hanging out. The cutest little boys were running around. They came up to us and were gigging their heads off. I don’t remember their names but I remember their ages, 13, 9, & 4. It hurt inside to hear their ages because they all looked about half their age from lack of nutrition. The 13 yr. old was pretty okay at speaking English and we were able to communicate a couple of sentences and planned to come back and play.
It was such a great way to start ministry off here in Cambodia and it made being here feel even more right.
2nd day in Cambodia (Saturday):
I woke up several times in the middle of the night from the heat. I mean I thought L.A. was bad and then I traveled around the world and found out there are a LOT HOTTER places. My team is in a pretty tiny room which makes for very hot nights, but we’re going through it together which makes it fun. The next morning the leadership team let us sleep in until 9am, WHOOP WHOOP! Right after breakfast almost our whole squad walked a bit down the street and spent the morning at an outdoors cafe. I was able to get some pictures and that is where I met An Nith. She owns the Cafe and is a very sweet Cambodian (who makes really good coffee!). Usually Saturdays are Adventure Days but since we had just arrived we went exploring with my team leader, Rachel. She was here in January of 2018 for her Gap Year trip and knows where all the good cafes are. We went to a place called ‘Cappuccino’ for lunch and went to the store for some essentials. SIDE NOTE: for the whole month we will be traveling places on our BIKES! Yep, we get bikes! I’m super excited and we get to see so much while riding. Although, I’ve never sweated SO MUCH in my life. My clothes are drenched in sweat everyday, no joke.
Sunday:
One of my goals while I’m on the world race gap yr is that I want to run. So, a bunch of us (maybe 20) went running together at 5:30am Sunday morning. It was SO MUCH FUN!!! Usually at home I workout alone or with my family but this was super fun and brought me back to conditioning for basketball or volleyball. I’ve never had so much freedom on a mission trip. You know, to just get up and run or take your bike to the market with a buddy, is very nice. But wow, I didn’t stop sweating all day, even after my shower.
Since it was Sunday, almost the whole squad piled into Tuk Tuk’s and took a 10 minute ride to the local YWAM compound/church. As we pulled up I was very surprised by how big it was. We walked into this huge open warehouse kind of building and worship had already started. There were three different languages on the screens but the worship team was singing in Khymer which is the local Cambodian language. I was taken back by it. It was beautiful watching all these people praising God half way around the world from where I normally do. We all know people worship all around the world at all hours of the day, but experiencing it makes it so much more real.
After we finished our service, the church handed out little books written in Khymer with the story of the gospel and our whole squad was able to take a few, which are perfect tools for sharing the gospel with anyone we meet.
Our group hung around for awhile after and I was drawn immediately to a family with this adorable little boy. I met the mom, some of their friends, the grandmother, and the brothers of the baby. The mother, Monica, spoke excellent English and I was able to talk about what we were doing there. While we were talking I felt God tell me to pray over this family. I asked if I could and the mother immediately asked if I could pray over the Grandmother who was diagnosed with diabetes and was very sick all the time. While I was praying one of my teammates was able to capture a picture of us praying and I will treasure this picture forever.
For the rest of the day I was challenged with the idea of what a Sabbath really looks like. Sundays at home are normally just as or even busier than my everyday life. But here Sabbaths are days we spend with God which is something every follower of Christ should try to do.
I’m definitely learning a lot on this world race gap yr. & I’m excited to bring it all home to my everyday life.
The first weekend in Cambodia was a success and incredible. I can’t wait for many more weekends here.
FUNDRAISER UPDATE:
I am doing a fundraiser called ADOPT A MONTH.
What it is?
Every month I need on the ground expenses of about $100-$150 and that adds up over 9 months. It covers anything you could think of… restocking on toiletries, off-days (where we have to pay for all of our meals on our own), new clothes, restocking on medication, any travel day expenses, gifts for ministry hosts, if anything gets lost electronically… etc.
How can you do it?
If you would like to adopt a month and pay the amount between $100-$150 or more that would be AMAZING! I realize that can be a lot for one person to cover so multiple people or whole families can team up and pay for it together!
The months you can choose from:
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER
DECEMBER
JANAURY
FEBUARY
MARCH
APRIL
MAY
JUNE (may or may not be needed, depends what day I get home)
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Email updates:
I am sending monthly updates about my ministry and logistics on the field. Pretty much everything that happens that I don’t include in my blog. If you aren’t on the list and you want to be please comment your email!!! :)))
If you would like to adopt a month please email me and I can tell you what months are available and we can choose together what payment option works best. THANK YOU!
Ways YOU can Join me on my Journey:
1. Pray. I will need a multitude of prayers ranging from strength, wisdom, clarity, love, joy… The list goes on. Whatever your heart desires and feels right, pray.
2. Donating through this blog!!! When you donate through here it goes directly to World Race and my fund of 15,800 dollars.
UPDATE: ONLY $1,600 AWAY FROM MY $15,800!!!!! (please donate direct to me after I meet my world race goal online because I will lose the money to cover my personal/equipment expenses! So once my goal is met with World Race anything donated to World Race for me will go into a general fund to support other racers.)
3. Cash, Check, or Venmo. Donating to me personally is still much needed because I have to buy all my gear, supplies, vaccines, airfare and I will need money on the ground. (1. Venmo: Marguerite-SanMartino, 2. check: Marguerite San Martino and send to:18101 194th Ave NE, Woodinville, Wa 98077, 3. Cash give to my parents.)
4. SPREAD THE WORD!! Tell everyone about my trip and show them my blog.
5. SUBSCRIBE! When you subscribe you will get all notifications when I post on my blog about my trip and any updates!
