We have safely arrived in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Travel went very smoothly. We did have one hiccup at the bus station in
Cambodia, but after only a couple of hours our amazing squad leader Sage and
one of our logistics guys Steven were able to work it out, and we were able to
get on our bus. We met up with our whole
squad minus one team at the border so we were able to charter our own bus to
get us to Siem Reap. It was great to see
everyone again and begin sharing our experiences with each other. We will be staying together as a squad for a
couple of days at an amazing hotel in Siem Reap. We will spend time debriefing our first month
as well as just spending quality time together as a squad before beginning
month 2 of ministry. Everyone will be
leaving Siem Reap on Monday to head to their new ministry locations. My team as well as team Wrecking Ball will be
staying in Siem Reap. We will be
traveling to our ministry location and be working with the University of
Nations Siem Reap most likely teaching English.
I’m excited to get to know another team on our squad. It is hard to part with team Lit2Blaze
though. We felt like we were all one big
team and have gotten really close this last month. It’s hard to see them go, but I know we’ll
find great friendship, fun, and fellowship with team Wrecking Ball.
Driving on the bus from the border to Siem Reap, it became
obvious to me pretty quickly how different Thailand and Cambodia are. Just to be clear Thailand and Cambodia are
not BFFs. In fact within one hour of
being in Cambodia, I had a Cambodian man in the bus station talking to me about
how they were not friends at all. In
Thailand, we would drive between cities and there would be some smaller cities
in between. There would be settled
communities pretty much everywhere you looked.
There was not much unsettled land
except for on the borders in the jungles of Thailand. But in Cambodia as we drove into Siem Reap,
all I saw was either nothingness or poverty.
There weren’t really any cities along the way. Just some houses or straw huts on the side of
the road. There were also just empty
fields for miles and miles. It just has
a very different feel than the Americanized Thailand I came from. I realize Thailand has poverty and many of my
squadmates got to experience it firsthand.
I didn’t really see it or experience it there though. Here I feel like it’s everywhere you
look. It’s just different. I’m not exactly sure how to describe it. You can see it even in the city of Siem
Reap. It’s just a totally different
atmosphere than month 1.
As I was looking out
the window experiencing Cambodia for the first time, God filled me with love
for this country and these people. I’m
excited to learn more about this culture and get started on ministry this month! Thanks for all the prayers, support, and encouragement!
