Cambodia Visit! Day 3

Preah Vihear

I think this was the quietest day of my visit. About mid-morning, I went over to Joel's house, he is the other member of the World Team mission's team in this area. I had placed an order for coconut jewelry and he wanted me to check it out! The coconut jewelry is made by some of the young men in the church. It is made to help supplement their income for freedom to minister.

After visiting with Joel for the morning, Carolyn and I went to the Plas Prai to visit the girls. The Plas Prai is a dorm center set up for young ladies in the surrounding villages to attend school. Most of these families can not afford to send their children to school or if they can the family has to choose which child will go. If a family has to chose between children it is usually the boy that will go. The boys do not have much expected of them. They can do as they please. The girls on the other hand must be responsible. They care for their younger siblings and their home. Therefore in the Cambodian eyes the girls have no need of school. So, a church in Australia has built this dorm facility and pays for the girls to go to school and have tutors. They would not have a chance at school with out this opportunity. When I asked what the girls wanted to study and why, the majority said to be teachers, a couple said doctors and nurses. Their goal is to go back to their villages and help there people. I was able to spend a little time with the girls. It was a fun time. We shared about ourselves, played a few games, and then they attempted to teach me to dance Cambodia style. Lots of laughter and smiles. I became their older sister!

These are the beautiful young ladies. There are about 36 of them total, average age 18-22 and 6 to a room. School age in Cambodia doesn't matter. Most of them start really late, or have to quite for a while. In addition to paying to attend school, one must also pay the teachers to pass you. If there is not enough money sometimes it takes longer to finish school. Notice that most of them are in long sleeves? It was very hot, but they do not want to get any darker. There is a prejudice against the darker skin. It is a sign/symbol or being poor, having to work in the fields, and spending a lot of time in the sun. Satan's deception is so amazing! Never being content with how God made you!It is in every culture!

That afternoon, I was able to sit down with the missionary team that I was visiting. It was a great time of learning and sharing. They taught me about the history of the mission work in the area, their current plans and projects, and future hopes, desires, and dreams. We even talked about how I would fit in to the puzzle. One way would be to work with the Plas Prai girls. They are attending the mission church and some are Christians, but there is no discipleship. I would be mentoring, discipling and sharing the love of Christ with the others. This is just one of the many opportunities for me there and I am excited to see how God leads!

Cambodia Visit! Day 2

Heading up to Preah Vihear!

I was suppose to meet my taxi at the designated pick up spot between 8 - 8:30 am. By 9:30 I am on the phone with the family that I am going to visit. Jim (the Dad) said that Cambodians run on their own time and the the taxi driver no doubt made sure that his car was full of passenger before we left. Unsure of why such a delay happened, Jim called the driver and he was there within 10 mins. The taxi pulled up and was already full of people. It was a Toyota Camry, it had the driver and a passenger in the front and 4 people in the back. Jim assured me that I was ok, that he had reserved 2 seats for me! I felt like a selfish American, but was explained that Westerners are generally a bigger people and have personal space. Unsure of what would happen, I just watched. The man that was sitting in the front, was about my size or bigger, and he stood to the side watching as well. The taxi driver opened the trunk and it was full too. He did quite a bit of rearranging and unpacking of peoples belonging to make it all fit. Now how to make the people fit. Opening the back door, he spoke to 2 young men and they got out of the car. These guys were the usual size, a very thin stick person. One of the thin guys got back in and the man that was waiting squished in the back too. So, it was 4 packed tight in the back. The driver smiled and let me in the front. He slid into the driver's seat to the edge of the seat and the other thin guy sat beside him in the driver's seat. So the taxi driver drove like this almost the whole way. The guy in the driver's sear was dropped off about an hour from the main destination! We arrived to our destination in about 4 1/2 hours with a 30 minute lunch break. It was suppose to take us 5-6 hours! But we did start late, I guess he was just making up time. ;)

I arrived to the home of the amazing Gabriels family!

This is Jim and Carolyn with the fabulous Sam, Meghan, and Jacob!

They welcomed me like a long awaited family member! Their house is a very traditional style house for the northern provinces.

Here you go. The houses are built on stilts because of the rainy season! Also they spend most of their day beneath the house because it is cooler. This where the kitchen is too.

View of the main living area. This is a really open compared to the Cambodians. The cold months are December and January and it gets to 50 at night for the coldest. For the Cambodians this is extremely cold so they have their houses more closed it, but it is crazy hot the rest of the year!

This is Meghan's bedroom! She was gracious to allow me to use her room during my stay. Most every house and sleeping area I saw had mosquito nets. 

This is a hospital across the street from the front of the house. This is the only hospital in the area. It is based on  bribery. When you come in, you will not be allowed to leave until you have paid enough. The doctors do not tell you what is wrong with you. They will just give you unmarked medicines and tell you to take them. If you ask any questions, the doctors will get angry and yell at you and might even tell you to never come back. How dare you question them! They are the ones with the education, the patient is just a poor farmer! It is an extremely sad situation! 

These are some of the family members of the patients at the hospital. As a patient the really is no care for you. If you need something then a family member must do it. If you want to eat, then food must be brought to you! This is where the families spend their time. The Gabriels have had the Cambodians ask if they were scared to live there because people die and what about all the spirits. This opens an amazing opportunity for the Gospel!!

There were more visitors than me for the week. God is so amazingly creative! These ants have glued the leaves together to make their home. I did not test them, but was told that they are extremely protective and aggressive when threatened.

Somehow they can make a chain to reach something and then they will wrench it back to the beginning spot and glue it to make a bridge. Crazy!!

After settling in, it was time for church. An hour before church starts every week, the young people get together and have a time of worship, sharing and games!

The young men lead the worship time!

This is Meghan and Socat. Socat gave her testimony of the Lord Jesus that evening after the worship time!

Some of the young ladies singing!

Time for games! A banana game.

There are two people and one holds the banana. The other is to peel it.

Eat it!

The whole thing, with no hands!

Ready? Set? They look so serious!

Only the boys were serious! Most of the girls would not play. I think that it may be a little awkward for them. In Cambodia, the guys and girls do not really have anything to do with each other, except for Cambodian New Year. This celebration lasts for a few weeks and this is the time that is intended for social intermingle and exchange!

This is church, one room. People sit around the edge of the room and then out of the porch area.

About half of the church a girls from a school dorm in the town. I will explain about these lovely ladies in the next post!

The men leading worship again and the foreigner is Joel Stewart. On this specific team it is just him and the Gabriels family.

This is one of the leaders in training of the church. He, Joel and 2 other men take turns teaching on Sundays!

This concludes the day. It was a good first day of travel and meeting people. 

Cambodia Visit! Day 1

Thanks for all the prayers! The Lord really blessed the trip! I didn't get sick and all details went really smooth!

The purpose of the visit was to meet the World Team Cambodia Mission's Teams. I met most of them! I arrived on Saturday, April 28th, Angela (a World Team member who teaches at a Christian school in Phnom Pehn) picked me up at the airport in Phnom Pehn. Sorry there aren't really any pictures. I guess I was more absorbing the first day. We took a Tuk Tuk (below) to her house.

This is a very easy, normal and cheap form of transportation.

We settled into her home and I emailed home to let them know I had arrived safely and my Father had sent me a blessing for the trip. So grateful for God fearing and loving parents!

The we were off on her moto for the day!

This is about 125 cc. It reminds me of a cross between a dirt bike and a moped. This is the most affordable way to travel, instead of owning a car. I saw at least 4 people on one at one time.

Throughout the day I feel like we toured the whole city. First she took me to the school where she teaches. It is a really nice Christian school. It is mostly for the Khmer (Cambodian people), but some of the missionary children attend as well. The students level of English amazed me. It was strange for my brain to recognize that they were speaking English. From there we went and had lunch at a cafe called Jars of Clay. This is a cafe for women who have been rescued from slavery (human trafficking). They do a fantastic job.

Next was the Russian market. It is an enclosed market that the Russian tourist from back in the day used to visit! It is quite large with very small walkways between the stalls/booths. More shopping and looking around at the shops whose products are all made by people who have aids or were rescued. We ended up at a really cool place called Daughters (but there are a few guys who work there, they were rescued as well. It is becoming more common for guys as well.) Here we had a lime soda and I got a shoulder massage and we both got pedicures. They also sell some pretty cool things. Next was dinner at a Khmer place. Really yummy food with an amazing atmosphere.

This is the outside of the restaurant! 

Our table was perfect! It was on a little island. Gotta love atmosphere.

Beautiful flowers. They were floating in a large ceramic pot.

Love the sound of water!

We met Angela's roommate and friend at the night market. It is very similar to most night markets that I have been to, maybe this one was a little cleaner and more organized.

This is the view when you walk in. It is like a horseshoe shape. This is the side and in the middle back of the horseshoe is a very large stage. They usually have people singing and telling jokes.

 

This is the typical booths in the front! The more touristy stuff. There are also booths with clothes, jewelry, baskets, trinkets, pretty much everything. The rule is bargain, bargain, bargain. 

 This is the dinning area. The food vendors are surrounding them. In Cambodia they always sit on the floor. If someone owns furniture, it says they have saved and sacrificed for it.

 A favorite dish, baked bird.

Enjoying a meal.

When we left here, we walked along the riverfront to get some ice cream. On the way back we passed a convenience store with fish out front.

These are the lovely fish. You sit of the side of the tank and put you feet in there with these fishies. They will nibble off  dead skin while you enjoy a refreshing cool drink. I guess it is a natural pedicure. No, I did not.

This was the end of the day. Thanks for Angela for blessing me!