So the time has come for month two to end. It is hard to believe that we are finishing up at our ministry site already… feels like it just started. This month we have been working with Jeff Raussuemn and the Wesleyan Church of Cambodia. Jeff is back in the United States for a few months fundraising and letting his family and friends meet his wife (who is Cambodian). While he has been in the US his ministry had to stop unless World Race or other teams came in to run it… so that is why we came in to help.
Here is a recap of the month:
Our first stop in Cambodia was Seim Rep, where we had a debrief on month 1 with our squad. We were only there for a few days before heading out to our ministry site. For the rest of the month we are in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, which is the capital of Cambodia.
On our way to Phnom Penh, we went by a twelve century bridge and a tarantula village. At the tarantula village, I was brave enough to let a live tarantula spider sit on my head. Wow, I am definitely facing fears.
Part of our mission for the month was teaching two English classes at night at the Wesleyan Church. They have beginner English and higher level classes. I was very nervous about teaching English; little did I know I had to re-learn some of the stuff I had to teach. With growing up speaking English you come custom to all the grammar ways and such. You quickly forget what you actually learned in English class in school. One of the lessons the students really wanted to learn more in depth was learning the rules of using “ing� and “ed�. Of course it was on the night Cole and I taught; you never knew the internet would be so helpful. This month teaching English was very rewarding to me, not only being able to help the students learn but realizing how custom it is to us when you speak it every day.
Our last night teaching English we had a “wacky day� were we asked the kids to dressed up tacky. Being a shy culture, done of the kids dressed up, but our team had fun doing it. This night we played Pictionary, musical chairs, taught a few dances, listened to Christian music, and just had conversation with the students. We ended the night with passing out goody bags our team made with sayings written on each bag, such as Good Job, Way to go, and so on. It was a great night.
Beginner Class
Second Level Class
We went with the students for two nights to a Korean Christian Concert where we danced and worshiped to the Lord. After leaving each night you definitely wanted to hear more… Even if you didn’t know what they were talking about we know they were worshiping God.
We also had the privilege of playing Football aka Soccer on Saturday and Sunday with students from the school and church. It was very fun to play with the kids even though they were so good. I learned that if I was ever going to consider playing soccer again I had a lot to learn. Here you play soccer in the sand with no shoes; needless to say I broke a few toes nails… but had a lot of fun.
On Saturday nights after soccer we hosted “English night� or Youth night to our students and church children. We had conversation, played games, worshiped, and so much more.
On Sundays we attended the Wesleyan Church of Cambodia where we brought the message, sang a few songs, danced a little bit and so much more. “Mighty to Save� and “How Great is our God� are the songs we sung. We even where able to participate in communion, here in Cambodia, they do communion with bread and coke…It was an awesome experience. Our last Sunday they had a potluck meal for us with different Cambodian dishes, we brought PB & J sandwiches with us for them to try. The meal was awesome; we were each given a coconut to drink the juice. It was a different experience trying coconut juice out of the actual coconut.
We learned interesting ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day — World Race style. From getting pink toilet paper, eating crickets, small frogs, and embryo duck egg to receiving the true American — chocolate. It was definitely a day I will never forget and of course I tried everything.
A few weekdays we went on home and village ministry with the Pastor of the Wesleyan Church who is Jeff’s father-n-law. This experience opened my eyes to a whole new level. The first village we went to is where my heart fell in love with the kids, being able to tell them they are wonderful children of God, play a clapping game while singing “Jesus Loves Me�, and just seeing their smiles from ear to ear. Praying over each village, home, and families was an amazing experience. God’s light is shining already in Cambodia… He wants more of His light to shine.
With doing ministry at night we wanted to find an outreach for during the day. Our Tuk Tuk (A tuk tuk is a mode of transportation, in fact that is all you take) and now wonderful friend introduced us to Brett who is the Owner of Choice Soup Kitchen. This is an awesome ministry that feed the homeless and less fortunate. They also deliver meals to the AIDS hospital and leftover meals were taken to a Children’s hospital. At the children’s hospital families wait for hours outside to hopefully see a doctor. While at the soup kitchen we helped prepare the rice in to go plates, soup in little bags, and then helped pass out the bags with the meals. They also supplied a container with fresh water for people to get when they come and pick up their meals. This was a humbling experience and makes us realize how good we have it in America.
Here in Cambodia there is a lot of trash on the streets, as a team we did prayer walk and trash pickup around the neighborhood. It was a great experience and we hope we were able to set an example to the community.
One of our English students and Jeff’s sister-n-laws does hair and nails for people. One Saturday morning us girls had “girl time� where we went and had our toe nails and fingernails done. It was a great experience being able to bond more with the team and also spend time with our students.
Our team also did a few fun things this month, we went to a waterpark and roller skating. We dressed up 80’s style for roller skating. It was a lot of fun, other than reenacting someone pushing me, so we could get it on video. When the video was taping of course I fell and busted my behind… the video is coming later so keep in touch… I never knew I would be doing these two things in a foreign country. It was a lot fun and a great team bounding moment.
We also visited two historical sites here in Phnom Penh– the Killing Fields and S-21. These events took place when Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia. These two places where very surreal and humbling. It’s hard to believe things like this took place.
This month has been a great month. I have learned a lot and done the unexpected. God’s light is shining through Cambodia. We are headed now back to Seim Rep for our squads debrief with our squad coach before heading to Australia. While in Seim Rep we are going to be able to visit another historical place — Angkor Wat. I will upload pictures and a video of the month after going there.
Until next time… take care and God Bless
