I wanted to do a day in the life this week to show the beautiful and the mundane in Cambodia!
This is the roof!
5:30am – Every morning I wake up at 5:30am. It is a little early but the only time of day when everyone is still sleeping so I get ALONE TIME!! I head up to the roof to shower and I get to listen to the monks chant as the sun rises. Quite possibly my favorite time of day. After I shower, I head back to bed for some Jesus time and time by myself (which means not talking to anyone since I live in a room with 17 girls… to technically it is alone together time:)
The squads shoes pc: Julia Yoder
6:30am- Breakfast! The squad takes turns cooking breakfast for the rest of us. It is served every morning at 6:30am and we all sit to eat while one of the boys do a devotion for us all. It’s eggs every morning but usually coupled with some kind of carb such as bread with condensed milk (bad for you but so good!) or oatmeal and fruit. It has been a learning curve to make breakfast for 30 people or shopping in one of the outdoor markets for food with very VERY limited khmer vocabulary. But it has been a fun challenge!
My team waiting for our tuk tuk to arrive
7:30am- Time to leave for ministry! Our tuk tuk driver, Sam, picks us up in front of our house (pictured above) to take us to Handa Academy. Sam is so sweet and always looking out for us. The ride to ministry passes thru the main part of the city where we see many cows, tractors stacked with hay, and impressive amounts of people crammed on to motos. It takes about 20mins to get there and creates a nice natural AC! It is already about 90 degrees by this time in the morning so the breeze is welcomed.
The kids standing for the Cambodian Anthem
8:00am- School starts! The kids stand in perfect lines as they sing the Anthem. Then they are split up into classes for computers and english classes.
Some of the boys picking an answer for a game in computer class
The kids learn valuable english and computer skills during this time. On top of these regular classes, every day is a different extra curricular. These include ethics class, health and hygiene, dance practice, art and crafts, gardening, and soccer practice.
The kids cleaning after lunch (not sure why it is upside down sorry!)
12:00pm- Lunch time! I love this part of the day because I always get to serve the rice so it is fun to see each of the kids individually. They have the cutest smiles and are so polite. The kids get a meal that includes rice, some kind of liquid such as broth mixed with meat and vegetables. Since most of the kids do not have much food at home or variety, this is crucial for their health that they get this balanced meal at school. They all clean up after themselves and wash everything so well. They are AMAZING.
The kids playing at recess
1:00pm- The first group of children leave and the second group arrives to have lunch and classes. Its so cute to see about 40 kids biking up the path to the school with wide grins ready to tackle you with a lot of hugs. They all love recess and play so well together. This game above includes holding a string high up and one child runs and tries to flip or cartwheel to hit the string with their foot. It is quite impressive actually.
Kiddos watching from inside as I stood in the rain outside
3pm- Time to say goodbye, till tomorrow:) The kids love love LOVE hugs and I get many excited “GOODBYE TEACHAAA!” or gifts of cute drawings and flowers as we walk down the path back to the entrance.
The walk back to the entrance
Being goofy before a wedding:)
The farm is so pretty and we get the privilege to walk through it twice every day. The first photo is the exit as we are leaving and the second is the walk up to the school (we attended a wedding there this weekend hence the outfits:). It is taken care of by two amazing farmers and the kids help plant and maintain it while learning about agriculture.
Being goofy on the tuk tuk ride home pc: Julia Yoder
4:00pm- We are technically “off” for the day but we use this time on Tuesdays to have bibles study at a cafe or sometimes just hang out with local kids. But other days this time includes going to cafes, biking around the city, being lazy at home or tidying up. You know, the stuff you do in off time anywhere:)
The city at night
6:30pm- Dinner time! We come back together as a squad to enjoy dinner that one of us made. We only have a stove top so you have to get creative without any oven or microwave or blender when making dinner for 30. But it is usually delicious.
My team walking out of the village the school is in
8:00pm- After dinner schedules depend on the day. Some days we have “team time” where we give feedback, pray, discuss the day or plan events. Other days we have free until curfew at 9pm to do whatever in the city. On Mondays we have worship night. I am usually asleep by 10pm because these days are so tiring!
So that is what my weekdays look like in Cambodia! Every day varies a little because on the race you learn literally nothing goes how you expect it:) Days can be mundane. Days can be packed. There can be days full of meaningful conversations over hot chocolate (I hate coffee lol). They can be days where you don’t get everything done you were supposed to because you are homesick and tired. Some days are literally playing with kids from the time you wake up to when you fall asleep. Living life missionally looks the same no matter what country you are calling home. It is waking up every day ready to just live and let Jesus work in and through you. It is loving people well and choosing to be invested in whatever your job is in the moment. When Jesus is at the center, it turns mundane living into worship, it turns beautiful interactions into reflections of Him.
