Cambodia Fifteen

At this time last year, I was gearing up for my first ever journey across the ocean, my first big mission trip, my first Cambodia experience. My trip lasted from July 13 to August 5, 2011. Right now, I am longing to go back. Aching, actually. Going back this year is not a part of the plan, but a huge part of me wants to be there again. As I think back to all I learned and the many blessings I experienced there, I want to share some of my favorite moments.  These are mostly in the order they happened, not in the order I love them. It would be too hard to pick one above another, so I won’t be doing that.

Phnom Penh, from the airplane

1.       It was a long trip to get from Rochester, Minnesota, to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The total travel time was 32 hours, with 19 of those hours in the air. When we finally got close, the flight from Bangkok to Phnom Penh was delayed a couple hours - but it was worth the wait. Seeing Cambodia from above, and finally arriving there – now that was an exhilarating experience! My travel companion Marti and I took pictures out the little, plane window and conversed with a nice young man who lived in Phnom Penh and worked in Bangkok. I believe he might have thought we were a little silly, getting so excited to see what was familiar to him. But for me, a once-thought-impossible dream was coming true.

2.       The view from the top floor of Tum Nup Tek church in Phnom Penh took my breath away every single day we were there. We could see across much of Phnom Penh, and everything I saw was so different from anything I had seen before. From one side, I saw homes and market places; on the other side, I could watch as a rice farmer worked his fields. What a beautiful “rooftop café” that was!

This is me, on the top floor of the Tum Nup Tek church

3.       On our first Sunday afternoon in Cambodia, we were privileged to get a private tour of Phnom Penh with David Manfred. Six of us crowded in his five-person car. He drove us all around the city. We were stuck together by sweat while we hung on his every word. 

David Manfred, as he took us through a market

4.        I dearly loved our truck rides and truck driver in Phnom Penh. Every trip to the church (and back to the 89 VIP again) was an adventure. Though I enjoyed cramming myself into the back of the truck with 27 other English Camp teachers, getting to ride up front in the truck with our driver was even more fun. It was such a wonderful experience getting to know that dear man, and learning that he had a sister who lived right here in Rochester.

Our truck driver is helping my friend Karen down from his truck.

5.       On our first field trip day, we all piled onto a coach bus. Not knowing exactly what to do or say, I sat next to one of the young ladies from our teaching group. I showed Voleak pictures I had brought from home. She asked me a few questions and I asked her some.  Then, in a quick burst of English, I heard her say, “I like you and I love you.” She held my hand for the rest of that bus ride. Oh, sweet girl, I miss you.

My Group - Voleak is in the red, and MeyMey is right in front of her

6.       I cherish the memory of walking around that oppressively HOT market, sweat dripping off me, with one of our English Camp students (Mey Mey) following me closely with her hand on my elbow. She was guiding me, making sure I stayed upright, and respecting me all in one. I love her. 

7.       It might be hard to believe that a favorite memory from a land as far a way and exotic as Cambodia was weather related. I mean, weather happens everywhere, right? However, when that wonderful, refreshing RAIN fell on us at the zoo, after a very long, very hot day, it was the best feeling ever! 

Rain!!!

My little friend and me

8.       It took some amount of effort to get to Place of Rescue 1. Marti and I wanted to go on our own. We hired a taxi, but had no idea how to communicate to the driver exactly where we wanted to go.  We called David Ens to get his help, and he turned out to be about a block away on his moto. He gave the cab driver directions and Marie’s phone number. The driver called her a couple of times, and we made it to the orphanage with out incident.  Seeing Marie in her element was a true gift. It felt wonderful to give her the crayons and coloring books that my preschoolers had sent with me for the orphans. After she graciously accepted our gift, she gave us a personal tour, letting us spend time with little Sarah and PB. They were so precious! Another highlight was when one of the little girls came up and slipped her hand in mine. She walked with me for about five minutes, looking up and smiling every once in a while. 

9.       Another favorite memory was my first tuk-tuk ride (and every subsequent tuk-tuk ride). The ride home from the market, along the river in Siem Reap was especially wonderful. Having Laura there to share it with me was just frosting on the cake.

Marti and me (and our driver), on my first ever tuk-tuk ride

My gross wetness, next to Laura's clean wetness

10.   This rather unusual favorite moment happened during a downpour. We had just finished our first full day in Siem Reap. David Manfred met us at the church there at the end of the day. He had supper with us, and during supper the skies just opened up. We decided to wait and see if the rain stopped. It did not. When we finally made the call to start our 20-minute walk back to the guesthouse, everything was very wet, and the rain was still falling hard. A little over halfway back, my lead foot slipped out from under me in flowing water. I fell, face first, in the muck of a grassy area. I was drenched already, but the flowing water had “extras” in it that the falling water did not. I was completely unhurt by the fall and decided to appreciate it for the adventure it was. Of course, I showered thoroughly when we got back to the hotel a few minutes later, but it sure has been a great story to tell!

Laura and me (she's the skinny one)

11.   One day in Siem Reap, I mentioned to an English Camp student that the young girl up front leading music was my daughter. I asked him if he thought my daughter Laura and I looked alike. He looked at me and then at her, several times, and then replied, “She’s skinny.” To this day, thinking about that comment makes me laugh. It was so refreshingly honest and 100% true. 

12.   I absolutely loved church in Cambodia. I was there for three Sundays, the first two in Phnom Penh and the final one in Siem Reap. Because much of the service was in Khmer, the language of the Cambodian people, there were definitely parts I did not understand. But the music, the wonderful music – it made my heart swell. I loved hearing every people group sing special music, every Sunday. (The video below is from my second Sunday in Phnom Penh, a selection sung by the adult men in the congregation.) I loved listening to the Cambodian instruments playing along with the singers. I loved being in the congregation while hymns were sung. On our last Sunday there, one hymn was “How Great Thou Art.” To hear a chorus of believers singing this old hymn of faith all around me, in a different language, and then to sing along in my own tongue, well, it gave me a glimpse of heaven. 

13.   After our week of English Camp in Siem Reap, the whole group from Christ Community gathered together for what I’ll call “poolside praise time.” We all sat with our feet dangling in the hotel pool and went around the circle, giving a few moments to each person to say how that person had impacted the rest of us during our time together. To give and receive blessing was a definite highlight for me.

What a delightful group of people!

The kids at Rescue 2, praying for us

14.   I also cherished going to Place of Rescue 2, and hearing that the kids had been praying for us, and then experiencing them praying for us while we were there – oh, and then hearing them sing for us. And meeting our sponsor child was pretty awesome as well, but it all counts as one moment because it all happened in about an hour at Rescue 2.

15.   Cambodia is for Christ! Every time Phearum got up front to lead this particular worship chorus, you knew you were in for a delightful experience. The first time we sang the song, I believe we repeated it eight or nine times. To hear the group of Cambodian believers all around us, lifting their voices to sing this wonderful song with full gusto, honestly brought tears to my eyes. This was the reason I went to Cambodia: because I know Cambodia is for Christ. I know that believing in Christ in Cambodia is no small task. And for a brief moment, I was privileged to be a part of that beautiful movement.

Wild enthusiasm from singers at English Camp

So right now, as other people from other places are getting ready to go to Cambodia and be a part of English Camp (or Field Forum), I praise God for what He will do in their lives. I thank Him for what He did in mine, when for three weeks, He had my complete attention.  And I urge you, if you are a believer, to listen for His voice, calling you out of your comfort zone and into His amazing plan for your life. Listen. Trust. And obey. Your eyes will never see the world in the same way again.