Time has been flying by way faster than I would like it to, but it’s made me enjoy each moment more than the last. This past couple weeks have been so busy, but so amazing at the same time. While raising money for orphanage renovations, my team and I decided that if we were to raise any extra money, we would use it to take the kids out of the orphanage and into the city for the day. We definitely didn’t know what to expect when we planned to ask for donations, but our families and friends were all incredibly generous, so thank you so much to everyone who donated! With the extra funds we raised, we surprised the kids by taking them to a trampoline park in Phnom Penh.
With about 40 people going, we had to rent vans. Our drivers spoke very minimal English, so trying to give directions was an experience itself — a two hour drive turned into about three hours, but it was full of singing a mix of English and Khmer songs. We spent a couple hours at the trampoline park, which was so fun to see the kids experience that for the first time. We jumped, played basketball, went on a velcro wall, rock climbed, and did basically anything that would drench us in sweat. On the way home, we stopped at a bakery to get dinner on the road. We were told we were having sweetened condensed milk on loaves of bread for dinner, and I was extremely skeptical at first. However, I now have a new favorite meal. The van was silent with sleeping kids on the way home which gave me a lot of time to reflect. Staring at the beautiful stars and lights of Phnom Penh while feeling the warm Cambodian breeze for three hours made me extremely sentimental. I’ve been reflecting a lot on even just the small moments because I’ve come to realize I’m never going to get any of these moments back. I will most definitely have pictures and memories, but I have no idea when I’ll be surrounded by all my favorite kiddos and God-fearing women again, which makes every day here just a little bit sweeter.
On Thursday this past week, we decided to throw a special Valentine’s party for the girls at the orphanage. We cancelled English class, and told the girls to come over at night. During the two days leading up to Valentine’s Day, my team and I scrubbed the floors, made loads of handmade decorations, and set up different stations to help love on the girls. When they came over, they were all so excited. We had stations for them to do crafts, get their makeup and hair done (or do ours), and we even had a photo booth for them. Our goal was to make these girls feel loved and seen, but more importantly remind them how much their Heavenly Father loves them. The girls are normally a little shy, so seeing them unapologetically have fun being kids was so refreshing.
Over this past weekend, my team and I went in Phnom Penh to learn more about the history of this country we have all come to love. We learned a lot about the tragic genocide that occurred here in the 70s. We first went to the killing fields, which was the place where thousands of men, women, and children were blindfolded and brought to in trucks and executed by their own people. There was a spot that specifically hit me, which was called “The Killing Tree”. At this tree, babies and children were beaten against it and then thrown into a mass grave. With all the kids I’ve come to love here, I had a very difficult time wrapping my mind around that. Following that, we went to the S-21 museum, which was the prisons where the victims were brought to, tortured, and then killed. This was especially hard for me to get through. We got to walk through the cells where the victims stayed and suffered brutal torturing. We saw photos of many of the victims, including smiling children who had no idea what was happening. We also got to see the specific torture tactics that were used on too many innocent people. The day was dark and heavy, no doubt, but also an endearing reminder of why God brought my team and I here. This country needs so much more Jesus and love, and I am forever grateful that God chose this group to help do that.
