An overnight double-decker bus ride. A walk through a border crossing. Another three hour bus ride. This is how my squad got from Chiang Mai, Thailand to Siem Reap, Cambodia last weekend. I must say crossing a border is not near as intimidating as I had expected. Our training camp border crossing had scared me just a little with our frantic attempts to get across before it closed; however, our actual experience was smooth and seeing the culture shift in a matter of minutes is something I will not soon forget.
Our first two days in Cambodia were spent in Siem Reap. We were blessed with a nice guest house where I was able to eat a delicious meal of spaghetti and a banana smoothie for under $3! Our only full day there was spent riding a tuk tuk to Angkor Wat and exploring the incredible structures there. These massive stone buildings comprise the largest religious monument in the world and will take your breath away with their magnificence. This temple still stands after nearly 1,000 years and should definitely be on everyone’s bucket list to see.?
Our last stop was at the main wat where some of our squad came across a small film crew. One of the men, Leon Logothetis, asked if he could interview them. After a few minutes of chatting, they learned that he is filming a National Geographic documentary called “Kindness One” on his experiences traveling the world with no money while relying only on the kindness of strangers for food and lodging. Obviously, our trip lies right in his area of interest. As he asked more questions, one of my squadmates, Cabe, even got to share the Gospel on camera! After chatting for a while, our new friend had to leave to head to Vietnam, but not before we were all filmed. Be on the lookout for some World Racers coming to a theater near you!
The next day, my team and I traveled by bus to the capital city of Phnom Penh where we are living for the month. We are working with a children’s home called Bykota House. Everyday my teammate, Linsey, and I teach preschool to the four youngest children from 8:00 am – 11:00 am. Our afternoons are filled with Christmas craft projects, running errands for the home, and cooking projects. We are also responsible for leading their Tuesday night worship service while we are here. I was the lucky person to lead the first night, so with a little over 24 hour notice, I had to pick a topic, prepare a 20 minute talk (that could be translated easily) plus a group activity, and spoke to a room of 40-ish people. Though a little nervous at first due to having never seen their structure or set up, I soon relaxed and actually quite enjoyed my time teaching.
We are living in a small 2 bedroom apartment adjacent to the home of the Bykota House directors. They have seven children adopted from Cambodia ages 3-14, so I am sure there will be little to no dull moments this month! A gated doorway leads from their hallway to our kitchen, so we have had many little visitors during meal times. A full kitchen all to ourselves allows us to cook most of our own meals this month. I think we are all excited about the possibility of more American eating!
Cambodia looks like it will be an eventful month full of all the fun associated with living in a large family. Be on the lookout for more info regarding Bykota House and the ministry here in the coming weeks!
