Hope you enjoy! This was definitely one of my favorite months on the race. The Khmer(Cambodian) people are resilient, beautiful and full of joy and smiles!
Our month started with an assumption that we were going to be staying in the YWAM base in Phnom Penh. Rumor was they even had a pool. Our expectations were quickly squashed when we arrived at our humble abode about an hour outside the city.
Turns out it did have a "pool", though…
There was no fridge at our house so we walked a mile to the market almost daily to buy fresh fruits and veggies to eat. You can buy ANYthing at this market!
Many days were spent building relationships with the guys that our pastor Thyvenn was discipling and also playing with all the kids that lived next door ot us
This is our sweet little friend "mychieng" He would make silly faces at us and give us kisses everyday.
On Wednesdays we traveled to 2 different villages where we would have a kids program led by our wonderful friend Eunice. She has such a gift for working with the children here!
On Fridays we would travel to another village just to spend time with the people there. The Rock Foundation is in the process of building homes for these wonderful people. I met this woman, Srey Tu and her daughter there and they stole my heart.
I also had the opportunity to meet these 3 awesome women at that same village. After sharing scripture with them we asked what we could pray about for them and they said "that this would be a good village and that the others would come to know God" I was blown away, that although living in these conditions they wouldn't ask for anything for themselves but for the people of their village. The picture above them is what they are currently living in after being forced to leave their land by the government.
We also spent one weekend in the province of Kampong Cham, where we taught English and played with the street kids
Our team was blessed to be able to spend Thanksgiving Day in the city of Phnom Penh. We had brunch at a bakery called the Blue Pumpkin where we could have semi-American food and we had dinner at a Mexican restuarant.
And we were also blessed to take a short trip to Siem Reap to see Angkor Wat. The sunrise there was amazing.
At the end of the month, our contacts had a coconut bonfire for us, cooked us a delicious meal and then washed our feet as a sign of love and service. It was such a wonderful night and an awesome way to end our month of ministry!
Some random things from the month…
This picture was taken on our way to a Khmer funeral. Our pastor invited us to go and when I turned down his invite he said "why don't you want to go?" So, i decided to go, guessing that Khmer funerals are not like American ones. That statement couldn't be more true! They we tons of people, decorations and a feast. Turns out day 7 after the death is a celebration and we were honored guests at this celebration. It was quite the experience.
Thyvenn gave us painting lessons!
We were also able to visit the zoo one day… everyone should visit a zoo in a third world country! Its not that often that you get to go inside the cage.
I love Cambodia and the Khmer people and I hope to come back here one day!
