I have been volunteering at a trauma hospital for three weeks in the city of Battambang. Every afternoon I walk around with a trolley full of games to play with the patients. The two favorite games are Jenga and Chinese Checkers. Yesterday after I finished playing an intense game of Jenga with the family of a man whose leg was broken, he next wanted to play Chess. Now, to be honest, I have no idea how to play Chess… I played it a few times back home with my brother (he beat me every time) and since then I have forgotten how to play. I was ready to completely wing it and act like I knew what I was doing. When the game began I soon realized that even though I didn’t know Chess, knowledge of the game would help me in no way to beat this man. I had gotten myself into a game of KHMER CHESS. Once every one around me saw that I did not know what was going on they tried to explain… but we all know that I don’t understand Khmer either. So, as I nodded to all of the chatter, people started to show me different moves I could make which then ended up with them just playing for me. Any time someone would walk by they took my next turn for me, and within a matter of ten minutes there were about five Cambodians playing on my side versus this one man. We played twice and I (and five bystanders) won both times.
Today I walked into the women’s ward to see if anyone wanted to color with worksheets and coloring pencils. I walked around to a few different beds and got denied multiple times. I then walked over to the other side of the room and saw a woman lying down with an IV in and her leg with a cast on propped up on a pillow. I walked up to her and motioned to the coloring sheets. She gave me a soft smile but did not say anything. I sat and pulled out a flower for her to color. I sat in silence for the next hour and a half coloring alongside this woman. There were no words shared and I didn’t even get her name, but just being able to sit and share a moment with her was wonderful.
The hospital is continuing to bless me with these encounters with the Cambodian people, where I am learning of their lovely and gentle culture. It is truly incredible to learn more and more about the different types of societies that make up the kingdom of God.
