Month 6: Sisophon, Cambodia (small town)
Dates: February 2, 2016 – March 1, 2016
Team: Machaceh
Local Currency: Riel 4000 riel = $1
Local Language: Khmer
Ministry Partner: TDSP/Apple Knowledge Schools
Ministry Partner Contacts: Dara Hean, Sao Thy
Team Machaceh with Dara, our host
What ministry looked like: Ministry for the first two weeks of the month consisted of visiting area school and doing door-to-door ministry. At the schools, we taught English, hygiene, and did Gospel presentations. For the second half of the month, we were partnered with Apple Knowledge Schools. We helped in the preschool classes in the morning and afternoon, and we taught English lessons for teenagers in the evenings. We also got to reach out to kids playing in the park.
On-the-spot English lesson
The Chhan children
Sometimes…preschool.
Living situation: There were two buildings on the property, our host’s office and a very small one-room cabin. Kris and James had their own air-conditioned room in the office building, and the rest of us slept in our tents in the cabin (where it was hot). We had a toilet and a shower in the office building and a squatty potty in an outhouse out back. There was also a gazebo where we set up our hammocks. Our meals were prepared for us by Sena, and they were amazing! This was my favorite food on the Race up to this point. We had rice, a meat (pork, chicken, beef), and vegetables for most meals.
Adventures: Visiting the temple ruins at Angkor Wat, going to the night market in Siem Reap (fish pedicure, fried ice cream)
(from Kris Fraser)
This is one of those experiences I have no desire to repeat!
One word to sum up this month: Rest
Read more:
Month 7: Bangkok, Thailand (city)
Dates: March 2, 2016 – March 25, 2016
Team: Talitha Kuom (Manistry Month 1 Team) (Jocelyn Medina, Carson Shock, Julia Still, Gabrielle LaGross, Mardie Shanahan, Taylor Brantley, Lupita Hernandez)
Local Currency: Bhat 35 bhat = $1
Local Language: Hmong, Thai
Ministry Partner Contacts: Dwight, Mr. H
Our team with Mr. H and his family
What ministry looked like: During the weekdays, we taught preschool in the mornings for local refugee children from Vietnam. We taught the alphabet, Phys Ed, and had an art project. A couple days a week, we taught English in the evenings to the teenagers from the refugee families. On other evenings, we visited the families in their homes. With help from our 15-year-old translator, we got to hear their stories of persecution and faithfulness. On Saturdays, we helped with Saturday School, where teenagers would come to learn English and to cook a big meal for lunch.
Some of the preschoolers/elementary school kids that we worked with!
Ww for watermelon!
English lessons with the teenagers!
Living situation: We lived in the community center, which was a gathering place for the refugee families in the neighborhood. While most were from Vietnam, we also met families from Sudan and Sri Lanka. The community center was “shophouse style” and had 4 floors. Our host family lived on the top floor. Mr. and Mrs. H had 5 children – 3 boys (ages 18, 15, and 13) and 2 girls (around 9 and 4). We lived on the floor underneath them. We had a squatty potty and shower. We also had access to a “kitchen” (a sink and refrigerator) and a sitting room with two armchairs. The 8 of us slept in two rooms which normally served as classrooms. We slept on our sleeping pads. It was difficult to get a good night’s sleep this month because of the heat. We had two fans in our room to help with the heat, but still spent each night sweating. The next floor down was a larger open area with a whiteboard where we had Saturday School and some of our preschool activities, along with a storage room for all the school supplies. On the first floor, there was an open area where the men often gathered, a cooking area, and a bathroom and shower. We did our own cooking this month or (more often) bought food from the many street vendors in the area.
Our bedroom/classroom!
Adventures: We went to JJ Market, one of the largest markets in the world, and also went to the movies to see “Allegient.” A few of us tried to take some of the teens to a pool, but found out that none of us could get in without ID, so we played on the playground equipment and took them out for ice cream instead. Our biggest adventure of the month was spending debrief in Phuket, one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. While there, we took a boat tour of the Phi Phi islands that included snorkeling and swimming in a lagoon!
One word to sum up this month: Faithfulness
Read more:
The Bible in the Forest and Other Stories of Persecuted Believers
Month 8: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (city)
Dates: April 1, 2016 – April 27, 2016
Team: Team USA (United Saints of Adventure) (James and Kris Fraser, Shannon Connolley, Alex Gwidt, Dylan Ledford)
Local Currency: Ringitt 4 rigitt = $1
Local Language: Bahasa (Malay)
Ministry Partner: Dignity for Children School
Ministry Partner Contacts: Priscilla, Beant, and Huey Lin
Team USA’s day of unintentional matching – Dylan, Kris, Alex, James, me, Shannon
What ministry looked like: This month was an 8-to-4 job type month in a Montessori school that served impoverished children in the city of Kuala Lumpur. Each morning, our team met with Beant, the secretary/knower of all things, to pray for the school. Then we went to our assigned classrooms to help the teachers. Kris and I were in the Lower Primary room for 7-9 year olds. We had a morning class, lunch, and then an afternoon class. We helped the teacher, Rolitha, by working one-on-one with students, reading to them, and helping to maintain the peace.
Kris, Shannon, and I with the wonderful teachers we worked with
Kris and I with our afternoon class. It was a very diverse group. Many of the children were refugees.
Living situation: We lived on the top floor of the Lower Primary building. It was a hallway with several rooms that housed other teachers and Dignity staff. We had two of the rooms, one for Shannon and I and the other for Kris/James, Alex, and Dylan. Shannon and I slept on mattresses on the floor and the other room had two bunk beds. Praise the Lord, we had air conditioning in our rooms! There was a small sitting area, a refrigerator, and two bathrooms with Western toilets and showers. We also had access to the roof, which provided a spectacular view of the city. Lunch was provided for us by the school. In the evenings, we ate out. There was a KFC and a Pizza Hut nearby, but even better were the awesome Chinese restaurants. We also sometimes ate at the school’s cafe, Project B.
The view from our rooftop. I used to stand up here and “shoot prayer arrows” at people.
Adventures: Petronas Towers, musical fountain, chaperoned a field trip to see a musical (in Chinese), went to a huge mall with an amusement park inside, went to a craft museum with the Lower Primary teachers and did batik painting, and tried to escape from an Escape Room (we were so close!!)
Batu Caves
Shannon, Kris, and I in front of the Petronas Towers (which were lit up blue for autism awareness)
One word to sum up this month: Perseverance
Read more:
Same Same But Different: When the World Race Looks a Lot Like Your Actual Life
