Our team has safely crossed the border into Cambodia and are now nestled into our new home inside a church on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. We’ve been here less than a week but have already found a little store nearby that sells ice cream. It a life-changer in Cambodian heat.
This month, our hosts have various tasks for our team, but we are all working with Vietnamese people, some of whom are refugees. My teammate Jessica and I both work at a school where every day we are greeted by many smiling faces running up for hugs while shouting, “Teacher! Teacher!”.
This month is very different because we get to pray with our kiddos and lead worship with them every morning. I cherish their laughter as we dance and sing silly to “Father Abraham” and “Pharaoh, Pharaoh” at the morning assembly. Even being able to talk with our students about Jesus is a breath of fresh air after living in a creative access country.
We each have our own classes, and I teach grades 2,5,6, and 3. At first, I found myself frustrated that there is no curriculum or structure to any of the classes, but not having a set curriculum has let me use my gift of creativity that I’ve been craving the past few months.
Some days, teaching looks like holding my Surface Pro in front of ten curious little faces as I explain weather vocabulary in English with Prezi (there’s also a cheesy weather song). With my 5th graders, it looks like introducing creative writing by having them dream up characters to play with in their stories. Other times, teaching looks like creating a class cheer at the end of a successful lesson.
It always looks like leaving school surrounded by hugs.
Please be keeping these sweet students in your prayers as we continue our time in Cambodia!
