I am near the end of my second week here in Phnom Penh. It’s hard to believe that in a couple of days, my journey is halfway over. There are so many things to write about and I hope I don’t miss anything. We went to church on Sunday morning and the missionary church at the school that evening. Aaron took us to a place called P-Na BBQ where we assumed it would be like beef or pork….um…no! This place had a grill where you cook your own food at the table. The interesting thing is they bring our squid, shrimp, cow tongue, heart, liver, and bosom. I tried a few things, but could not bear to taste the tongue. A few things were chewy. A couple had some tummy problems the next day because they were so adventurous.
On Monday, we started helping with VBS. The neighborhood children come to the school and play games and learn about Jesus. It was overwhelming at first because there were 100 plus kids and few could speak English. The language barrier made me wonder how we were going to invest in these kids when we couldn’t talk to them and they couldn’t speak to us. Our group is in charge of games, so we played games like “Red Light, Green Light, Four Corners, Freeze Tag, etc.” The kids had such a blast and they were smiling and laughing and would grab our hands and stay real close or wanted to be picked up and twirled! Even though we couldn’t communicate with them with our words, we could connect with them in other ways like physical affection. It still felt just as rewarding and it had to be the best experience I had so far here. Every evening, they are so excited to see us and they run up and hug us or jump on our backs. Several new kids will get attached and it’s such an amazing feelingJ
Deanna(my roommate) and I went for coffee and the little shop a street away from our house. The iced coffee was pretty American and tasted really good! It’s nice to have familiar things when in a place so unfamiliar.
One of my favorite days of this week was Wednesday. Our team visited a place called Daughters of Cambodia. It is a place where women who are involved in the sex industry can choose to be free and be taught a trade to earn money for themselves and their family. They are taught skills like sewing, baking, massage therapy, nail art. You can go DoC and receive a mani or pedi, a massage, enjoy tasty treats in the Sugar n Spice café, or purchase handmade items in the store. I got a neck and shoulder massage, along with some yummy food from the café and found great finds in the shop. Our money goes to help the organization as they seek to help more women who want to set themselves free. The sex industry in Cambodia is unbelievable. I have noticed on our way to different places that there will be rows of seats filled with women outside of locations where men come and “use their services.” I get a huge pit in my stomach every time I see them because for these women they believe it is their only option.
It was strange being overseas this 4th of July. I remember watching fireworks in NYC last year and now I am in a foreign land. After teaching in the morning Deanna, Sybil(another housemate) and I went to the coffee shop again. We also invited our tuk tuk driver, Vibol, to come. I must tell you about Vibol! We met him our first day in Cambodia and he takes us to school and picks us up everyday. Sybil told us a little of his story and that he was a Christian. Every time we get out of the tuk tuk he says, “God Bless You.” So he told us of how he came to know Jesus Christ. He has such a beautiful family that he is raising up in the Lord and gives God all the credit for the blessings he has given his family. He is such a hard worker and amazing person! He finds joy in serving those who are his brothers and sisters in Christ. I am so inspired by him!
We decided to teach the VBS kids some backyard games in celebration of the Fourth of July. We had games like watermelon seed spitting, sack races, and tug-o-war, three-legged races. The kids really enjoyed it.
Afterwards, Aaron took us to Mike’s Burger House. It’s a place that everyone here recommends you go. Mike is Cambodian and lived in California for 30 years. He is very passionate about his burgers! His guarantee is “Two bites, don’t like. Don’t pay.” He has one that is called the Lion Burger with 6 beef patties, eggs, and all the veggies. It is about a foot tall! Crazy! They even had Mountain Dew there, so of course, I had one!
I am now caught up to today. I have to write about our karaoke experience. Our team went to a place where your group gets your own room. It’s really cool because you aren’t looking like a fool in front of a bunch of drunk strangers. We had lots of fun and everyone sang something. I sang a little of some Britney Spears and Taylor Swift.
It was a good week and I look forward to next. I have a few prayer requests. One of my teammates lost an uncle this week. Pray for her and her family during this time of loss. There are a few of us that have cold and allergy symptoms like sore throats, congestion, sneezing, etc.
I love you all! Blessings, B
All your stories are so sweet - love the one about your tuk tuk driver. How neat that you get to see the same person every day and make a relationship with them!
ReplyDeletePraying for your team member who lost their uncle. That is so much harder to be away during a time like that.