To be honest, a lot of us had expectations coming into this month. We were told that we were going to be living at the YWAM base. It was supposed to have AC, a pool, and a weight room. Instead, there are 14 people sharing a two bedroom, one bathroom house. We have 6 hammocks strung up in the common area, and have the privilege of sleeping under a tin roof with a handful of oscillating room fans. The house actually belongs to what I assume to be a Buddhist. There are idols all around the house and places to burn incense as a way to making an offering to their god. It was really strange coming into a home that we know has not been dedicated to Jesus. Along with idols, we found a few other “friends” in the house. Last night, we found our house pet: a lizard about the size of a squirrel. We named him Fred and decided to keep him. We also found a huge spider with only five legs. We decided not to keep him.
Yesterday was our first full day here. After attending a church service in the morning, getting some egg or chicken fried rice for lunch, my heart was set on exploring. The church is located on the second floor of the building right in front of our house. Under it, there are a few small rooms that families call their homes. In the middle of the rooms, there’s an open-air, cement area. I went out there with a few teammates and the Cambodian who had translated the church service was out there with a couple other guys, carving coconuts. But, they weren’t making those little, cheesy coconut people that you find in souvenir shops. They were making really neat coconut keychains. With a small handsaw, they would follow a paper pattern and cut out crosses, sharks, and the country of Cambodia. Once we ventured out to the dirt road in front of the church, we found a small shop. They were selling snow cones! Shaved ice with bubble gum flavored syrup and jellies at the bottom of the cup – this is fancy! We kept wandering after our snack and found a dirt field that we immediately deemed large enough to play ultimate Frisbee in! We walked a little further down the road, and then saw a group of people gathered around a court watching a sand volleyball game.
We then returned from our adventure to stretch in preparation for our Tai Kwan Do class. I’m not kidding. Part of our ministry schedule this month includes attending a Tai Kwan Do class three days a week. It’s not mandatory, but there were a few of us that jumped at the possibility of joining a Cambodian Tai Kwan Do class. Grayson, Alison, and I went down to the cement area where we had seen them making coconut keychains and joined in with a group of about 8 other people our age. We started by jogging around. Once warmed up, we kicked and punched a bag. I felt like I was in a Jackie Chan movie. It was so cool. The class was an hour, and by the end, the three of us felt like sweaty ninjas.
We finished off the day with Jeremy leading a Bible study for the church. It was a really fun first day. We got our ministry schedule, and it looks like a lot of ministry this month is teaching English. We have a lot of down time, so I think we’re going to try and get involved with some games or sports that go on in our village and make some friends that way. We might even get to carve or file some coconuts as ministry.
