So last week was interesting. A dog died within the first couple days and that got me thinking about a couple things. So I did what I always do when I have some questions; I started researching.
The shocking reality of a dog getting trampled by a moto bike and dying is scarring to say the least. When the kids saw the unforgettable sight they laughed as I just sat under the mango tree, horrified. You all need to know, people don’t have pets in Cambodia and dogs are no exception. Dogs are for protection of a person’s house or for food. In this case, the poor dog ended up being the latter. The dog didn’t die right away he ran off and eventually lied down in the shade and didn’t die until that night when we were all sleeping. In the morning when our host told us he had died, he just chuckled to himself and called him a “crazy dog.”
After the traumatic experience I started thinking about death in general. None of the kids or people in this town seem phased by death or loss in anyway and it’s quite sad. I say all of this in such blunt detail because I’m painting an image of these people’s daily lives.
There was actually a massive genocide in Cambodia from 1975-1979. A communist group called the Khmer Rouge Party attempted to centralize the peasant farming society, in as short a time as possible. (I’m honestly not really sure what all that means but that’s what happened.) During this time almost 2 million people suffered and died. That was around 25% of the population of Cambodia at the time. One of the most well known quotes used during this time was, “To spare you is no profit, to destroy you is no loss.” When I read that for the first time I was a little shaken up. It seems like that quote still lives on in some parts of this poverty stricken country.
Most of the older generation in Cambodia actually lived through the genocide and it’s clear they are all still recovering from it. I can see the hopelessness in their eyes and it breaks my heart. Even though this is so hard to see and hear, I am so thankful that I am here to witness it. It has opened my eyes to the cruelty of the world and how much control satan has over God’s people.
Everyday I strive to spread Jesus’s love to the kids at the orphanage and surrounding village. I love these beautiful people and I am so thankful that God has given me the opportunity to be here.
