I’m in CAMBODIA!!!!
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Traveling here was a huge adventure! And a part of me thinks that that phrase is still an understatement. For most of you, you know that I have never been out of the country, but in 1 day I was in two different countries and obtained 3 passport stamps (two in South Korea and 1 in Cambodia).
My travel day started on October 5th in the Atlanta, Georgia Airport where I spent 4 hours checking in, going through security and waiting to fly out to Chicago. There my squad had a 10 hour layover and waited outside of the check in portion for 6 hours. I think that was the roughest part of the trip for me as there was a lot of waiting time to fill and nothing to really explore.
But it was filled. The time was spent either playing card games, reading, watching a movie or walking around and eventually we were able to check in. After that we hastily found food on the other side of security and waited the last bit till our flight took off for South Korea.
This flight was 14 hours long and in the midst of that we went ahead 14 hours and so Thursday, October 6th did not exist at all. That part kind of feels weird thinking about it. To have lost a whole day… But it happened and so did the 14 hour flight. That flight wasn’t terrible. It was long, but I was fortunate to be able to sleep for the majority of the flight and we arrived at the Incheon airport in South Korea at 3:30 am Friday, October 7th. Because we had a 15 hour layover here, my team decided that we wanted to leave the airport and actually see the city because it might be our only time we’ll ever be in that airport.
Getting out of the airport was refreshing and it honestly didn’t feel like we were even out of America because Seoul is a big city and is becoming similar to New York in some ways. It’s busy and constantly moving. And it’s beautiful. My team was able to explore some of Seoul and we did a lot of walking. We saw City Hall and so many sights and actually explored the Deoksegung Palace! The palace was beautiful and exquisite and totally not what I’d expected for something built in the last 100 years. After our exploration there, we traveled back towards the airport and walked through their Market. It’s here where I noticed more differences in our cultures. Not just the market setting but the poor people and one in particular. He had lost both of his legs and was laying on this 1’x1’ wheeled cart pulling himself around through the market. It hurt to see the pain that was in his eyes and I felt helpless to do anything about it except pray for him and the others in similar situations throughout Seoul.
When we got back to the airport we still had about 4 1/2 hours before our flight and it wasn’t hard to wait as there was a lot of things that we could do. This airport is massive! It has 2 shower locations that actually offer free complimentary showers to those who want one. And the airport has food and stores all over the place. It actually has a theater inside the airport as well. There’s just simply no way to be bored (unless of course you force that upon yourself).
The flight to Cambodia went by really quickly and though I have heard from plenty of squad mates that it was a very rough flight with a lot of turbulence, I don’t remember any of it because I was sound asleep for the entire flight. Going through customs in Cambodia was fairly simple, but it did take a longer time because we had to obtain a visa as well. But eventually we did get through and outside the airport. At this point my squad finally separated and 3 of our teams went on with their ministry hosts who were waiting to pick them up, and my team and 2 others loaded onto a bus to stay at a hotel/hostile that night.
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I know a lot of you are very curious and interested in knowing about my ministry for this month and I’m pretty excited to tell you about it as well. My team originally thought we would be staying in Phnom Penh and working right outside, but as it turns out we are actually living at the school that is our ministry for this month that is an hour away from Phnom Penh. Our ministry is teaching english classes and doing some painting that they need done.
Cambodia is beautiful. I don’t know that it is touristy beautiful, but it is beautiful to me. The roads have so many potholes in them, some massive that it makes it really rocky and bumpy when you’re driving and there is no specific part of the road you are to drive on so it constantly seems like someone is going to run into someone else. And yet, I haven’t seen that happen yet. It amazes me how many cars and motos they have here! But yes, this place is indeed very beautiful.
The school where we are staying and working at this month has 7 class rooms, an office, a library and a back room. They have recently added 3 of the class rooms and we are in the midst of painting them (and are quickly running out of paint!). The school is also located right next to a body of water that is basically a river right now (we’re in the last month of the rainy season). The cambodians actually get in this river and go fishing. They sit in a rubber tube and hold a bucket and that is how they catch fish to sell at the market. But this river also makes a great view when the sun is setting in the evening. It is very peaceful.
Have I mentioned the wildlife yet? So far I have seen a lot of dogs, several cows (one even followed us around), a salamander, a mouse, several geicos (a few live in a small hole inside the office building), a lot of spiders, a snake, several frogs, millions of ants, gnats and mosquitos. I’m wondering what kind of wildlife is next, but I have to say it does keep things interesting.
Our ministry this month is like I said above, to help the teachers with teaching english to the students that come to the school, as well as paint the inside and outside of the new additional class rooms.
They opened the school I think two years ago and have done incredibly well. They now have three sessions: Morning, Afternoon and Evening. Between the three sessions they have roughly 250 students ranging from 4 years of age to 15.
Teaching has been good. It is hard for me because of the language barrier, but the students are eager to learn and they learn quickly. In the morning there are 5 classes and I co-teach the Level 2 class with my teammate Rebekah and their teacher Emily. In the afternoon, there are 7 classes and I get to help teach a Kindergarten 2 class with their Teacher (with whom I’m currently drawing a blank on how to spell her name) and in the evening when two of my other teammates teach the two classes that are held, me and the rest of my teammates use that time to paint. We are usually all up by 6 am and our first class starts at 7:30. We finish our day when the sun sets which is right at 6 pm and then have dinner, and pretty much are in bed and asleep by 7:30/8:15. It’s SO early, but I don’t think our bodies have fully adjusted from the jet lag yet and our days are exhausting.
The children are wonderful. They accepted us immediately and are so quick to give their love. They are constantly wanting to play with us and give us high fives and are constantly just running up to us to say “hello.” I think one of my favorite parts is that they call us “teacher” but they pronounce it “Teachah!” So you’re almost constantly hearing “Teachah! Teachah!” And it’s usually followed by one of our names.
Already, these children have captured my heart. From the little girls who run up and hold my hand (and arm because I ran out of hands) to the little boys who come up to me and say “hello” knowing I’ll say it back and then just repeat anything I say. Let’s not forget the endless high fives and fist bumps that are given each day. These kids are just so precious.
During each session they are given two 15 minute breaks. During these we have already taught the kids several new games and songs and gotten to play with them so much. They are now constantly asking if we’ll play/sing London Bridges or “Down by the Banks.” We’ve also gotten to play some soccer as that is one of the kids common loves.
I think I have two favorite moments/things so far. The first is a relationship I am building with a student named Srey Neang. She is one of the students in my morning class. She’s12 years old, loves curry, rabbits and the color pink. She also is very artistic. She is constantly asking me questions and I love that I am slowly getting to know her better and better. One of the things that has happened to many of my teammates and I is getting notes from students and I got one from her. A hand drawn picture of flowers with the phrase “I love Teacher Kara” underneath.
My second favorite moment has been in my afternoon class. As the teacher was doing a game with them where she would say “Sit down” and they’d sit, or “stand up” and they’d stand (basically doing any action by what she said). One of the actions was dance. Since I was doing the game with the kids, they ended up getting a kick out of me dancing and have constantly come up to me doing the moves since.
One of my teams struggles was finding out how to share the Gospel with these children as the class setting wasn’t particularly set up to allow it. Thankfully, Pastor Andrew (the director of the school here) was able to help us with this and set it up that we could present the Gospel yesterday after each session. We were asked to do at least one skit and then share the Gospel and possibly add a song. So my team and I acted out the story of Jonah as well as when Jesus called the first disciples and made them fishers of men. Afterwards we shared the Gospel. I am so thankful that we had a translator to help with this because I don’t know if the kids would have understood what was said otherwise.
We are thankful that we had this opportunity, and we are hoping that seeds were planted and that students will ask questions. We are also hoping that we are able to do something like this again over the next two weeks.
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The school is such a huge blessing to the students in this area and it can end up having a great impact. However, there are many things that are lacking that the school needs.
– They are in need of more textbook material. Right now they have 2 text books for Kindergarten, and 4 textbooks for the grades above. These textbooks only have about 11-15 lessons in each of them and so they are constantly just repeating the material.
– They need seals on their office door as it lets water in when it rains. Just last night it poured and the office flooded and it was a struggle maintaining the water.
– They also need pens, pencils, colored pencils and notebooks. From my time in the class room this past week I can already see that colored pencils are such a valued treasure. The kids love to color, but many of the classes have to share the pencils that they have.
– They are also in need of new whiteboards because many of theirs are warped.
Prayer Requests:
- Please be praying that God works in these children’s lives and that their hearts come to love Him as quickly as they have come to love us. Though I love these children, I know that God loves them more and wants them to know His love.
- Also be praying that God will continue to open doors for the Gospel to be spread and for these children to understand what is said.
- Pray for the needs of the school and that God will truly bless it. That He will bless the work it is doing and that He will provide in immeasurable ways.
- Pray for my teammates and squadmates who still are in the midst of fundraising even while overseas. I can’t understand the stress that they are under, but it is hard having that weight on their shoulders.
- Pray for myself as I am struggling with the language barrier and it has made communication and understanding hard for me. Also be praying for my heart as I know it is going to be difficult to leave in two weeks.
- Also be praying that I am challenged in new ways and that I am open to the challenges that come. I want to grow spiritually and I know that a great portion of that responsibility is my own. It’s my choice to grow and challenge myself as well as to pour into myself spiritually.
I hope you all are doing well!
Till Next Time,
Kara Faber
P.S. – My title comes from a phrase in the Penguin’s Movie (a prequel/sequel to the animated Madagascar movie). The kids are constantly waving at us when they are leaving and our mantra and phrase that we have constantly said is “Smile and Wave Boys, Smile and Wave.” It fits as we wave as long as they are waving and just keep going until they’re out of site.
