The sights.The smells.
The beauty.The people.The heat.
I will never forget morning runs and Chiso villagers
flocking the street to take a gander at the white girl running for leisure. Running in these parts means you are either
chasing something (cow) or being chased by something (angry chickens). I’ll never forget the most common four letter
word: rice. It is served three times a
day and the main ingredient in some desserts.
I’ll never eat it again. Who am I
kidding? I already have a reservation at
Harry & Sons for sushi the minute the landing gear disengages in Atlanta!
I will never forget eating fresh mangos right off the
tree. When a little boy climbs a tree,
cliff hangs out to the end of a branch to pick one for you and gleefully fires
it at your head, you eat it. Even if
it’s the 13th one of the day.
The sweetest smoothie lady that knows me by name and has the brightest
smile, I’ll never forget her. The things
you see & smell deep inside of a Cambodian market, ouf, I couldn’t forget
them even if I wanted. Vegetarianism is
sounding better and better. I think it
is only the beginning of the trend this year, but I’ll never forget sweating
while showering.
I’ll never forget making the Teen Challenge boys an
all-American meal complete with hamburgers, French fries and fruit salad and
then laughing because they put the ketchup and mustard on top of the bun. Awesome. I’ll also never forget the hunk of meat that
we transformed into ground beef to make those burgers. No exaggeration, it was as big as two
basketballs. It was me, the meat and a
butcher knife…for over an hour and a half…but you should see my one bicep. Lack of left arm coordination=a very tired
yet totally jacked right arm. If Fed-Ex
delivered, there would already be a meat grinder on its way.
Teaching the little boys ridiculous American phrases such
as “holla back, yo”, “you bumped yo head”, “what up dawg?”, “awww snap!” and
“see, what had happened was”, are moments that I will never forget. Stay tuned for video footage of said
phrases. Hilarity. It was pure joy the day I brought out my
Atlanta Braves foam finger and taught them the Tomahawk Chop and “Go
Braves!” I really should score some
tickets for that! Regardless, the Braves
family is global and ever growing thanks to its four newest Cambodian fan
recruits. Hooray! No way could I forget any of that.
They are the spawn of Satan and I will NEVER EVER EVER
forget the dreaded roosters that start crowing LONG before the sun even thinks
about rising (I’ve considered torching the coop but I fear we’d have to dip
into our shower cistern to extinguish the flames, and friends, those bucket
showers are a must). One night there
was a chicken heist and the thief also swiped a skirt from the clothesline. In most places (except Blake’s in Midtown)
you’d suspect a girl. You can’t be so
quick to make that assumption here as the men like to wear short wrap skirts
right after a shower…so the disappearing skirt could go either way. That being said, I would have paid the robber
a million Riel to haul off every last rooster in the village. Need your daily Coop Scoop? Easy enough: Roosters suck.
Pants are optional and I’ll never forget that. I get it.
It’s hot. I just want to wear a
tank top in the village, so I can relate.
But, it makes me laugh when I see kids running around with only a shirt
on. I really need to get to the
bottom(less) reasoning regarding this trend.
If sunburns are the issue, goodness, wouldn’t you think pants would be top
priority? They aren’t. Just a bunch of pantless kids hanging out
with fannies flashing free as birds. Many
of which sport shoes as well. They’d fit
right in in those American establishments (predominantly in the south) that
kindly remind you that “shirts and shoes are required”. Not pants though. The great news? Baby bottoms are the cutest thing ever!
I will never forget the tears that have fallen while
listening to painful stories of addiction and the smiles that cover the faces
of young men who have risen above the grips of that bondage. I will never forget the joy that has filled
my heart because of the hope that God has brought each of their lives. It has been amazing to watch the
transformation of spirits within the newest arrivals at Teen Challenge. Last week one of the guys was going through
withdrawals complete with shakes, sweats and chills. A couple days later he made a failed attempt
to run away. Yesterday, he took active
part in morning worship with a huge smile on his face. 180⁰ difference from last week. I will
never forget that.
Aleab. They are the four little boys
that Misty and I have worked with the duration of our stay. We have led them in Bible study, taught them
English and fallen absolutely in love with each of them. Today we will say goodbye. Today stinks.
On the left in red is Phaeo (pronounced Pow). Phaeo has a fantastic smile, loves art and
his favorite phrase is “I dunno
teacha.” He will fit in my
bag. In the back is Phaero
(Pair-o). If I could clone him, I would. His voice is a little bit higher and he is
precious. He cut his finger one day
peeling a mango for me and I fixed his boo boo.
We bonded that day and have been inseparable since. He shouts “Kah-seeeeeeeey” as soon as he sees
me. We hold hands a lot and I tell him I
love him as often as possible. I’ve
already measured. He will fit perfectly
in my bag. On the right is Phaerong
(Pay-eh-rong). He is Phaero’s
brother. He’s the oldest of the four and
very smart. He’s hungry to learn English
and aspires to be a man of God when he grows up. He asked us to pray that he would be healed
from all of the pain that sniffing glue has caused his body. He wants to be loved and cared about. He has a giddy giggle that is music to my
ears. Yep, you guessed it. He will fit in there too. Lastly, in the middle making a silly face is
Aleab (Uh-leap). This little boy reminds
me of my own brother…or at least the stories I’ve heard about his
childhood. He is all boy! He is bad but that is why he’s so stinkin’
cute. He’s stubborn and wildly mischievous. It’s a miracle he’s alive. Years ago he was in a terrible auto
accident. He has scars on his chest and
neck. He also has an under-developed
left hand but neither the handicap nor the scars has slowed him down even an
ounce. He’s a monkey, a jokester and
pretty much THE BOSS. He demands
perfection from himself and gets frustrated when his drawings are not what he
considers “the best”. Hearing him say
slang English phrases is just about the funniest thing I’ve ever heard in my life. His “you bumped ya head” is a sour hour bad
day cure all. Promise. To top it off, he has the most amazing smile
I have ever seen. It would light up even
the darkest corners of earth. Yes, of
course, he too will fit in my bag! I’ll
never forget wondering “could they possibly breathe in there while traveling?”…because
there is no doubt my gigantic bag could meet the challenge of hauling them all.
Yesterday, Misty and I took the four boys as well as
Sopal (TC’s deaf student) on an English adventure outside of the center. We went on a scavenger hunt. They had to practice their ABC’s while
finding objects that started with each letter.
Our adventure took us to the smoothie/iced coffee lady (our hot spot
that we frequent at least twice every day) at the center of the village. When we turned the corner and they saw her
table of fruits and desserts their eyes lit up like stars. Precious.
We sat around the table and each ordered their own smoothie and
dessert. They never stopped
smiling. When they finished eating they
sat back and patted their round tummies.
They were so full! I loved every
minute of it. Adventure over? Heck no.
Next stop: the store (the village isn’t a shopping mecca so this
seemingly vague description is actually rather informative. The only alternate answer would be: the other
store). At the store, the boys picked
out a shirt, belt, flip-flops and bedazzled trucker hats like the big boys at
Teen Challenge wear. They were so
excited they put on their new stuff right there in the street! There was a dance party on Cloud 9…and we
were all there. I will never forget that.
Today we say goodbye to the young men and boys of Teen
Challenge. I am sad to bid farewell but
know that God is working miracles in the lives of the 20+ students at the
center. Each one is nestled deep in my
heart and will not ever be forgotten.
Put your reading glasses on, pop some corn and grab a
drink. I have so much to blog about this
month.
Peace & love,
kcb
