This month our team’s ministry has been in the central province of Kampong Chhnang, about 3 hours north of Cambodia’s capital city of Phnom Penh. We are staying and working with a missionary couple named Samuel and Redika McCracken, who have been ministering in Cambodia for about a year. They are part of Teen Missions International (www.teenmissions.org), an organization whose vision is “Training Tomorrow’s Missionary Today” and whose goal is “to awaken teenagers to the needs in missions, acquaint them with the reality of life on the mission field and give them an opportunity to serve the Lord through work projects and evangelism.”
And our home this month has been on their ranch base in the countryside about 30 minutes away from Kampong Chhnang city, where most of our days have been filled with doing manual work and repairs around the property along with some outreach. Here’s a look at what our first full month of ministry and life on The World Race has been like so far!
DAILY LIVING
[Home] Normally in the summer, Teen Missions International holds a boot camp for local Khmer (Cambodian) teens on the ranch property and uses their large, open-air shelter as their worship and meeting space. But during this “winter” month, there is no one else on the property and so this shelter serves as our primary living area. We sleep in tents every night and have our meetings and team times by the bench area. The Cambodian sun can get pretty toasty in the afternoons so we’re very thankful to have this shaded space for our things!
[Food] We have to prepare and cook our own meals everyday. Our kitchen comes fully equipped with two stoves that require a fire to be made for every meal…and that’s about it (the oven doesn’t work). Our water is filtered by pumping well water (more on that later!) into an orange bucket that runs thru a filter hose and into a yellow igloo for consumption (in the background of the third picture above). We also have a dining area with a table and chairs that doubles as our “study hall space” for when we’re working on our laptops. The kitchen space might be small, but it makes for some cozy family meal times!
[Clean] These are our bathrooms. The toilets are at the ends (men on the left, women on the right) and they utilize the latest models in squatty-potty design. The shower is in the middle but the pipe hasn’t been installed yet…so we get to take bucket showers. Honestly, I’ve found the bucket shower to be pretty darn refreshing, especially when you take it at night when the water is nice and cool!
[Water] And then there is the well. Everyday we have to pump and fill at least 10 buckets of water for our showers, toilets and drinking water — even more when we have to do our laundry or water the garden. We try to pump during the early morning and late afternoon times when the temperature is cooler to make it easier for us. And it doesn’t help that the well is a good 80 yards or so from our camp site…but at least we get a great workout by carrying them back and forth everyday!
DAILY MINISTRY
[Barbed Wire Fencing] The biggest work project that our team has had to do is to install/repair the barbed wire fencing around the property. Over time, many of the existing posts had fallen down due to soil erosion or cows running over them. This required that we replace the broken posts by digging new holes in the ground (at least 15 inches deep), placing new cement posts (weighing roughly 70 pounds each) into the holes and then installing/repairing the barbed wires on each post. It may not sound like much…until you realize that the property is about 150 acres in size! We’ve been working on this project for over two weeks now and we’re still not done (but we’re close)!
[Team Clean Sweep] So why the need for so much barbed wire fencing? Because of the herds of cattle that come by the property everyday to feed and ruin the rice fields in the process. But even as we are trying our best to put up the barbed wires as fast as possible, a few cows would still get on the property every once in awhile. So that’s when Team Clean Sweep goes into action and literally chases the cows away. And yes, I have on the same clothes in these work pictures because this is my official Cambodian work uniform that I wear everyday…and it’s the best $7 I ever spent!
[Tiling] There are also many other side projects that we have going on throughout the property each day, one of which is tiling. Our team would tile some of the tabletops and also the stovetops in the kitchen. Teen Missions International is planning to build another complex on the property soon and is hoping to make this property their main base for Cambodia. So while our work this month may not be glamorous or exciting, we know that what we are doing now will help Teen Missions International and their missionaries in the (hopefully near) future!
[Local Kids] While most of our days are filled with manual work, God has still been providing us with ministry opportunities here on the ranch, as some local Khmer kids have been visiting us in the afternoons a few days each week. At first it started with one boy who came and got absorbed with watching movies with us to now four or five boys who come to hang out, whether it be to watch more movies or play some sports. It hasn’t been much, but the Lord has allowed us to use these moments to share our food, time and whatever else as an extension of His love for us and these kids!
SUNDAY MINISTRY
[Church Visits] One cool thing that we’ve been able to do while in Kampong Chhnang is visit some local churches on Sundays. We were fortunate enough to visit one church in Romeas (first three pictures above) on our first Sunday and another church near Krang Ta Mom (last four pictures above) on our second Sunday. Fun side note — both churches are supported by and partnered with Korean churches! How cool!
On both occasions, we had the opportunity to worship with the local church congregation and sing “God is So Good” to them in both English and Khmer. And at the second church, we were also able to interact with the kids and play a few games with them. While our visits were short, we hope and pray that God blessed our time with each church and that ultimately He was glorified thru it all!
