Cambodia has been and offered more than I ever expected. This place has taken a piece of my heart.
I remember the first day of ministry like it was yesterday. We began last week on September 18th. Jet lag was almost gone and excitement buzzing. My team would be working as teacher assistants/teachers in a very nice Buddhist school. We saw an image of what we’d be doing there, some incognito Christians teaching love and salvation to children behind teacher’s backs.
We do not do that.
In preparing for this trip, I always knew that my greatest fear was teaching English. As much as the Lord has laid it on my heart to be a teacher, I felt unqualified and scared. Additionally, my deeper fear within that was that the children wouldn’t understand me, that i couldn’t communicate with them because they speak another language. They could be starting a rebellion, and I would think they would be talking about block. It sound silly to type out, but this one ministry was the one I was the most afraid of. And its the one I got first. The Lord doesn’t make mistakes my friends.
I have three classes that I teach- a morning class, an afternoon class, and an evening class. I teach the morning and afternoon classes Monday through Friday (five days a week), and I teach the evening class on only Mondays and Fridays (two days a week). Each day my team bikes to school for morning class, bikes home for lunch, bikes back for afternoon class (and evening class on Mondays and Fridays), and then bike home. Its a lot of biking each day, the bikes are a little janky and the seat aren’t comfy, but I like it. Through school I have learned how to maneuver through the streets of Battambang, bike one handed (with a long skirt), and have really seen the Cambodian people.
Walking into my morning class was a scary moment. I have a preschool class in the morning, children aging from two to four. Each one is adorable, each one is a picture of God, and each one is a little stinker. There is one teacher and two teacher assistants in my classroom, and that really intimidated me the first day. With so many hands on deck, I was afraid that I had little to offer. There was a moment where I was standing in the middle of the classroom, surrounded by a bunch of children screaming Khmer, and I had no idea what to do. This was my worst fear.
Then, I just started playing with the kids. I grabbed a book and told them what they were in English. They began handing me books, so I would read them and teach the kids. Sometimes we play blocks, sometimes we dance to “Baby Shark” or other silly songs, sometimes we color and trace, sometimes the teacher has me teach. The extent of my teaching is counting to ten, colors, and sometimes shapes, but I don’t care. I do what the kids do, and its awesome.
During my afternoon class, I sit in with five to six year-olds. Usually I begin by reading to them out of a storybook or sing. The teacher asked me to sing a song on the first day. Caught unprepared, I stuttered into “I Have a Car thats Made of Tin”. My motions were wrong, but the kids kinda got it. The teacher hasn’t asked me to sing that song since, but thats okay.
For the first few days of afternoon class, the teacher asked me to draw animals on paper for the classroom. I have drawn a monkey, an octopus, and other such animals. On the first day, the teacher said that she was going to laminate the pictures so that the class could remember me forever. I almost cried.
I have only done one evening class so far (last Monday was a holiday). In this one i was teamed up with my teammate Jaci to teach “Conversation Communication”. We walked into a classroom of over twenty middle-school aged children. The teacher gave us the floor, telling us to teach. We spent a good twenty minutes fumbling through teaching hellos and manners. It was cringy, it was messy, and it bonded Jaci and I for life.
Eventually, the teacher asked us to just sit down and talk individually with the kids. I sat down with a couple boys, but they kept laughing and talking with each other in Khmer. However, another boy sitting nearby began to ask me questions. We struck up a great conversation about the zoo, American geography, and how beautiful New York must look during the sunset. He was such a gem.
Eventually some other boys nearby began to ask me questions about sports. I don’t know much about sports, but it was a bonding experience. We ended the day by taking a class picture and exchanging Facebooks. I don’t know if it was a good idea to become Facebook friends with some twelve year-old boys, but here we are.
I thought the ministry in this school would be focused on the children. After all, I’m going in as a children’s teacher. It made sense. However, as much as I am a walking testimony of love to these kids, I think the Lord called me here for the teachers. Some of the teachers have told me that they are Christians, some of them are just searching for answers. Some are just curious about this white American girl named Cindy, and I use that opportunity for Jesus.
Most of my teachers know I am a Christian, so I have to be a living example in and out of the classroom all the time. I don’t hide my faith, but I step out in boldness and gentleness to reach all who come near. Please pray for continual energy and health as I continue to minister to these wonderful people!!!
~CLS
