Hey Everyone,
Our contact this month is pretty legit and so impressive that I figured I would share about the ministry I am helping with this month. Yeah, thats him right below. We are just going to call him Pastor because his name is pretty long and super difficult to pronounce.
Pastor started an English school in Cambodia for the children of the village. Most of the students who attend come from families who are really poor and cannot afford to send their children to the private schools. Currently, there are about 150 students who attend the school for approximately seventy-five cents to a dollar a month whereas most of the other schools cost a minimum of five dollars. Pastor uses a room in his house as classrooms and he built two additional classrooms next to his house. He once mentioned that for two hundred dollars a month he could run the generator, pay the teachers and afford to have 200 students attend for free. All that to say, I help teach two to three classes a day and it has been such a joy to work with these students. The first day I taught I tried to picture a five year old version of myself going to school each day for one hour just to learn English. It made me wonder what the purpose was for learning only English. What about Math, Science, History, the Arts? I later found out that most of these children have little opportunity’s and knowing English can help them get a better job in the future rather than having to stay in the cycle of poverty. His goal is to not only teach the students English but to also teach them about Jesus which isn't exactly the easiest task in Cambodia. Most people in Cambodia have never even heard the name of Jesus which almost seems unimaginable. Last night, I was speaking to one of my students elder sister and she started to ask me why I was in Cambodia. Now, as a "seasoned" missionary…I have learned the word missionary does not translate very well. 🙂 So, I replied with my usual response of; I travel around the world to share Jesus's love with the people of the world. What I didnt expect was for her to ask if Jesus was an American who is running for President. I don't think I have ever really encountered anyone who has never at least heard of the name of Jesus but, it gave me a great opening to share Jesus with her. The great part is that she wants to know more and I am able to see her for a little bit everyday after classes end. Anyways, I have really enjoyed working at this English school.
-Rebecca
