Welcome to Cambodia - Explore Archived World Race Alumni Blogs

I don’t even know how many hours it took to get here, but we are here! And because of the time changes and how our flights were set up, we never actually encountered the 10th of September, which for some reason I think is super cool (unless it would have been my birthday). We flew into Phnom Penh and stayed at a hostel Thursday night, then took like a 9 hour bus ride on Friday to Siem Reap, which is where my (wonderful, beautiful, hilarious) team and I will be doing ministry for the month. Apparently my body has a travel mode that kicked in for all of our travel days, because I legit slept for the majority of the time, so it actually wasn’t as bad as I was expecting.

It’s really hard to keep track of the days here. We’ve only been here for like three days, but we see so much and do so much each day, that it kind of seems like a lifetime. Saturday we traveled to a village outside of Siem Reap to visit some of Sophy and Yuwat’s (our hosts) other ministry sites. It is amazing to see a bit into their lives and their vision for the church in Cambodia. In Sophy’s words, “A lot of people focus their ministry only in the city, but if no one goes out into the villages, how are they suppose to hear about the Gospel?” We also got to go to church yesterday, where I was able to give my testimony to everyone, and we got some exercise in by visiting some chicken farms that the church uses as an added ministry. I am beginning to see God from an entirely new perspective, and I am excited to explore that more, not only this month, but in the months to come.

The price of it all isn’t free though… It may get hot in the states, but at least there is some relief from it. I seriously thank God every time there is a breeze, and I even thanked him for creating the person that invented the oscillating fan (I love you, person). I lie in bed at night just waiting for it to turn back my way.

There is also no need to set an alarm in the morning. We live across the bridge from a Buddhist temple, and being that it is festival season, the Buddhist prayer music begins at 3:30AM, then like clockwork, the dog outside my window knows when it is 4:00AM, and begins its bark/howl thing that never stops. And if that isn’t enough, the “motor bikes” begin zooming and honking around 4:45AM. Okay, okay, I’m awake.

We have also eaten pretty much the same thing for every meal, rice and some kind of meat. I am trying to work up the courage to try the pig intestine, but I don’t know if I’ll ever get there.

We are getting a lot of laughs surrounding the attempts at mastering the “squatty potty”. Let’s just say that anytime we get the opportunity to use a “western toilet”, we jump for it.

There is also a crocodile farm in our backyard, so that’s a little weird. We can see the crocs from the roof of the school (which is next to where we are staying), and even though they are kind of far away, it is probably one of the creepiest things I have ever encountered. They sometimes hang out with their mouths open, and I’m convinced it’s because they want to eat me.

I also still jump and scream at any bug/creature thing that comes my way, but I don’t think that is ever going to change.

But despite the fact that pretty much everything we encounter is different than what we are use to, I don’t know if there is anywhere else I’d rather be at the moment, or any other people I’d rather be with. We start teaching English tomorrow, and I pray that it is not only a ministry to those we are teaching, but that we also are an encouragement to the ESL teachers and church people here. I pray for unity between all of us, continued strength and growth of our hosts, and that we may go through whatever it takes to be living examples of the love of Jesus.

This would now be where I would give my fundraising update, but there’s no need for that anymore! But there is always a need to thank all of those praying for not only me, but my team, squad, and all the people we encounter. So thank you all! I love each and every one of you and miss you already!

As for some pictures…

This is our lovely bathroom! The blue bucket is our water for showering, washing our hands, and “flushing” the squatty potty.