Sunday was our last day in Battambong. We visited 2 churches, one of which didn’t have a building so they had their service out in the middle of the field under a tree. I was standing behind the crowd of sitting villagers and at one point during the service, a cow walked up behind me, let out a very low “moooo” and began to pee. Needless to say, I have never experienced a worship service quite like that! All of the village children showed up for the bible story and sat very quietly the entire time, which was a site to behold. Then we taught them how to run a three-legged race which they thoroughly enjoyed. I was trying to take pictures of the children, but they were very share and a little freaked out by the pale, red-headed giant girl. As soon as I snapped the shot, I would turn the camera around to show them their faces on the screen. They were amazed. I doubt any of them has ever seen a camera before, much less own a mirror to see their own faces. After that, i was swarmed with curious, smiling children begging me to take their picture with the magic camera.
In between the two Sunday church visits, Rindo took us out to 1 of the very few dams built in Cambodia. The background story is that Rindo was one of thousands of youth that were separated from their families during the Khmer Rouge, taken to the juvenile workforce camps, and put to work either building roads or the dam. He worked at least 12 hour shifts a day building the dam, and was only fed a small portion of rice. If they wanted more to eat, they would have to find it on their own, which meant that insects were their main source of protein. The damn was built so that the Khmer Rouge could control the stream coming from the mountain and flood the rice fields during the harvest seasons. Now the dam is a tourist spot with huts lined along the top and various food stands. John, Rawee, and me climbed down the damn and played in the shallow water. It was a wonderful relief from the blazing sun and heavy humidity. Afterwards, Bryans, Brenda, John, Ren, Rindo, Phon, Wuti, Rawee, and me went to have lunch under one of the huts. The menu was cooked goose, pidgeon, and rabbit stew. To clarify, the goose and pidgeon were cooked whole–beak, claws, head, all of it still attached. I was quite the little entertainer as I played with one of the cooked pidgeons before I passed it off to Wuti to actually eat the pidgeon. I did, however, try the cooked goose and it was surprisingly delicious. It was a wonderful afternoon experience with a Cambodian history lesson included by Rindo.
After the afternoon church service, John, Ren, Rawee, and I hiked up Phnom Sim Po (which means “mountain that looks like a boat”) At the top were several wats and buddhist shrines all along the way to the top. This was another tiresome, but invigorating climb up several hundred stairs. We were escorted the entire time (not by choice) by several boys fanning us as we walked. Then when we got to the top where the caves were, the boys called out their friends who led us through the caves with their flashlights. At first I was very annoyed and unnerved by their persistant presence, but then I became very grateful and we tipped them for their services. As we passed one of the Wats, we were joined by at least 10 monkeys and their babies who seemed to be a little camera shy. Two of the monkeys began to fight at which point a Cambodian women began to treat them like bickering children. She talked to them like they actually understood her reprimands. She even tried to settle one down by patting him on the head, but he hissed and snapped at her. Apparently, this monkey was a little rebel : )
After we got back to the hotel, I finished packing and got ready for our 4 hour trek back to Batdambang the next day. We had lunch with Mark and Sokah, who are the operations and financial managers for Stop Start (Hagar sold their apparel business last year to this Australian based company. Their name stands for “Stop human trafficking. Stop a new life.”) It was wonderful to hear Mark’s journey and how he came to live in Cambodia for the past 4 years with his wife and all the wonderful work he is doing both at Stop Start and for the other business he created called Cambodia future now, which brings local businesses and pastors together to train on sustainable business practices and sustainable church practices being intertwined. This was such an exciting connection for us all, because we added this stop to the trip itinerary specifically for me because of they are one of Good News Goods’ producers, but then it became very apparent to Bryans and John how badly the Batdambang Baptist Association needed Mark’s skill set and will probably call on him to lead a financial trainging for the pastors next year when they return!
After lunch, Mark and Sokah gave us a tour of the StopStart apparel factory and we set up a time the next morning (when it was cooler) to interview them both as well as one of the women who has worked their for the past 4 years (she came through Hagar’s women’s shelter and was employed by Hagar before StopStart bought out the business). Bryans and John were such wonderful help to me. They both took still shots and video footage of the warehouse and the production stages while I videoed the interview I was taking with Mark, Sokah, and one of the women workers.
Because I understood what the environment would be like, I was not taken back by the poverty of Cambodia, but it was a powerful thing to put a face to an issue, and not just a picture of someone, but having personal interaction with impoverished, but resilient people–touching them, smiling with them, talking to them, and hearing their stories. This experience will forever be lodged into my very core.
My next vision is to use this footage to start working on a video for Good News Goods to be able to show to congregations in the near future.
The last leg of the journey was a day’s worth of flying through three different airports before arriving at midnight in DFW. My dad picked me up and drove me to their home in Ft. Worth where I had a fitful sleep even after staying awake for almost a 24 hour period on the plane rides home. I am now back in Austin and re-living my experience to friends through photos.
Thank you for your prayers, your encouragement, and for taking this journey with me through these last several posts. It’s been a pleasure.
Thanks be to God to rare opportunities such as these. My heart is full and overflowing and my work is never done, but I am encouraged because I witnessed the strong faith of very poor brothers and sisters in Christ who are hopeful for their country and for their small congregations. I am also encouraged by the numerous people in the world like Mark, Sako, Bryans, Brenda, John, Rindo, & Phon who are summoned by their faith to bring not only spiritual, but physical, and emotional healing to broken and hopeless people all over the world. I am truly blessed.
Sooo…let’s see if I can re-cap the last few days in this post.
I was pretty sick all day Wednesday and it took me most of Thursday to get back to normal. Not sure if it was the heat or something I ate, but I threw up several times outside at the vocational training center, which was no fun b/c I was trying (and failing) to be discreet and hide behind a tree as I puked my guts out. Needless to say, there isn’t much privacy in Cambodia. Mid throw up, 2 little boys whom had been playing several feet away from me, inched in closer and closer like they’d never seen someone throw up before. They were bouncing their ball around within inches of me until i shooed them away violently. I was pretty mortified and annoyed. It was miserable, but it only lasted about 24 hours and I’m feeling much better.
There are at least 2 very distinct smells that still make me feel nauseous and both smells can be found mingled with a myriad of others in the market. One is jack fruit (which smells like an extremely strong mango and is usually found next to the dried rotting fish in the market, yum) and the other is a leaf that they cook in their beef soup.
All day Thursday and Friday morning, John and I led youth discipleship training at the vocational training center. There were about 40 youth (again the term is relative and most were college aged students) and 4 group leaders. John directed the two discipleship training sessions on inner and outer worship and I taught them a few songs in English. It was really amazing to hear them sing “Holy is the Lord” with me in English on the last day. I also came up with a few games like “bear, fish, mosquito” (same concept as rock, paper, scissors but with animals) except we changed it to “tiger, fish, mosquito” so they could understand. The youth really enjoyed that game and their laughter was contagious. I also taught them elbow to elbow, both games I learned from working with my church youth group. The next day I taught them musical chairs, which you would think they knew already, but they didn’t. I got some great pictures and videos of that. I loved interacting with the youth, smiling, laughing, trying to learn each other’s language, dancing, worshipping, and playing games together. Plus, as we visit more village churches, we see a lot of the same youth again. We smile and wave frantically at each other and repeat that same process over again several times before we leave the church. We tallied it up and realized that by the end of the trip we will have visited a total of 10 village churches and distributed rice to all of them. All of these pastors and several more were at the pastor training that took place on Monday-Wednesday at the vocational training center.
So after Friday morning’s last youth training session, John and I were picked up and headed to lunch with the rest of the team. Then we drove out to another village church and had a special service in honor of the rice distribution to the church. Many of the villagers came to the service that weren’t already attending the church.
Afterwards, we drove about 40 minutes outside of Battambong to see Aek Phnom Wat, which was build in the 11th century, originally as a Hindu temple, dating it older than the more well known and prestigious Angkor Wat. We then headed to Bononbam Wat, built around the same time, but much bigger. There are exactly 130 steps up a steep incline to get to this set up 5 temples (4 on each corner at the top and one in the center). When we finally reached the top, there was a group of people in the middle of a Buddhist ceremony of sorts. We hired a guide to take us down to the “magical cave” which was in the middle of the Cambodian jungle. It was sunset as we hiked downhill to the cave, which turned out to be much larger than I expected. Once we were down inside, I turned on my flashlight to see a huge cavern at least 50 ft high and wide with a huge hole in the ceiling that let in the last of the sunlight. There were bats flying all above us and Buddhist shrines that lined the wall all around the cavern. We didn’t stay long because the mosquitos were becoming a problem and our Cambodian friends were shooing us out. As we walked back, I learned about a haunting truth. During the Khmer Rhouge, it was common for piles of dead bodies to be thrown inside and all around the Wats (temples) to keep people from worshipping. The bones have been collected within the last decade because of the high volume of tourists visiting the many Wats. Many of these bones have been collected, placed inside glass cases of the around the country (many located in Phnom Penh, the capital, where a large majority of the massacres occurred),and serve as a memorial of the numerous killing fields during the Khmer Rouge. Even more haunting is that I was informed of this disturbing truth by Rindo, who lived through the Khmer Rouge and the devastating aftermath, lost several family members to the massacres, and endured living in 2 different refugee camps for several years before getting sponsored to come to America.
By the time we got back from the hike, we were all drenched with sweat, but it was so invigorating. I had been a little sad that I would not get to visit Angkor Wat because until just recently there was not an interstate running East and West from Battambong to Siem Reap where the famous temple is located, but this was a wonderful experience on its own and allowed me to see another side of Cambodia away from the dirt, bustle, smells, and trash of the city.
Today (Saturday) we visited 2 more village churches, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. We were hosted to a Cambodian style lunch at Raw-wee’s parent’s house right across the street from the first church (she is married to Wuti who is one of the pastors & leaders in the Battambong Baptist Association). In addition to their normal Khmer food, they bring us pitiful Westerners french fries, beef, chicken, french bread, mango, pineapple, and bananas. Ironically, I think I’ve eaten more meat and french fries in Cambodia than I normally do in America. This is also where one of the rice warehouses is located.
It’s been a welcome surprise that at every single church, after the sermon, I have been asked by Wuti to stand up in front of the congregation and speak. Apparently, Bryans and Johns think I should be preaching from now on. Wuti also informs the congregation that I am a good dancer and have a sweet voice. lol
Tomorrow (Sunday) we vist two more churches and distribute rice, one of these churches is Wu ti’s. We will also visit the dam that Rindo helped build when he was put to work by the Khmer Rouge. We may also do some more hiking on a nearby mountain that apparently looks like a big boat. I’ll be sure to wear my chacos this time. I learned my mistake from last time when I wore my crocs, they got sweaty, I slipt down a steep slippery rock, John caught me, I bruised the bottom of my right foot and tore the toe of my right croc, but I think I can sow it back to together. If we have the energy after doing that and visiting a second church in the afternoon, we may visit the evening service held at the vocational training center.
Tomorow is our last day in Battambong then Monday morning we make the 4 hour drive back down to Phnom Penh. We tour Hagar International on Monday afternoon, which I am super excited and a little nervous about.
More to come…
Monday through Wednesday, we have been going out to the vocational training center and working there the majority of the day. John, Bryans, and Rhen (our translator and driver) have been doing discipleship training for the pastors and church leaders (mostly men and a few women). This is the only training that the pastors receive throughout the year! None of them have any kind of seminary training, they are just people called to lead the church. During their benediction yesterday afternoon, they all danced around and sang to what sounded like Cambodian techno. It was awesome! You would never see that at a Baptist meeting in the states. So I showed off my dorky American dance moves and they were very impressed, so much so that Rawee, one of the pastors wives who has been going to breakfast with us and taking me and Brenda to the market every morning, asked me to teach her how to dance!!! lol
Most of the children in Cambodia go to public school for half a day either in the morning or the afternoon, but they are not given English classes unless they go on to secondary school. The children that live around the vocational training center usually come and get a 2 hour English class from a young girl name Sateeya after they get out of school. However, this week they come get a 1 hour English class and then Brenda and I teach them a bible story, a few songs, and play games for the other hour. Sateeya is also one of the 7 college students that live at the vocational training center because they cannot afford to pay dorm fees at the province colleges. To clarify, this is not college how we as Americans understand. Most children are pulled out of school by their parents around grade 5 or 6 to help work for the family. If they are ucky and have the money, some go back to specific skill schools for two years–aka “college”.
Sateeya has one more year of college and then wants to study in the states, but she will need to get an NGO to sponsor her student visa.
The English classes are held outside under a straw hut with sweltering heat, but the children are very attentive and eager to learn. Khmer language and Cambodian culture is very oral based, so they remember everthing and can repeat it back to you with gusto. Yesterday all of the children that normally come to the English class had afternoon school until 4:30 and wouldn’t show up for class until 5:00 at which time, we were leaving the vocational training center and going to see the sewing training center.
The sewing center is run by one of the pastors named Kim, and is located right next to his house in an open hut type of building. There were about 5 young girls and 1 young guy working there yesterday when we visited. They are trained there for about 3 months. They are sewing camo pants for the Thai border patrol and are only provided with the cut pieces of cloth. Each pair takes over an hour and the sewers can make about 5 in an 8 hour day. They are paid $1 per pant, but the sewers only see $0.20 of that $1 b/c the rest is used to buy other materials needed to put the pants together (zippers, buttons, etc), and cover other overhead costs. So each sewer makes about $1 a day, which is not enough to live on, but they are all youth and still living with their families, so they can save this money to go to school or help their families.
All that to say, Brenda and I didn’t get to teach the children yesterday but we did teach the children’s teachers how to teach because basically on Sundays during church the pastors tell the youth (youth
are anyone above the age of 11 who are not married. The average age we were teaching were 20-23) to take the kids outside and teach them, but they have no skills or training on how to teach the children, so
they asked us to train them yesterday on a whim, and to train them again today when we go back to the vocational training center.
I adore the people we’re working with and have to made some great relationships. In fact, Vutee, one of the local pastors and head of the Battambong Baptist province committee, told me he wants me to come back to Cambodia every year. I took a picture with him and had to squat down so I’d be his heighth. It’s amazing the bond and love that happens even though you can barely speak each others languages. Smiles, gestures, and laughs can cross over any language barrier. Plus, I’m picking up on some of the words and we have several translators available to help with conversations and teaching.
The pastoral discipleship training will end today with a banquet for the pastors and wives. The children will sing the songs that I have taught them in English and they have also asked me to sing. I chose Amazing Grace because they know the tune and can sing along in Khmer with me.
Tomorrow and Thursday, John and I will lead the youth day activities, which are basically D-now, a ministry project around the vocational training center, and recreation.
More to come…
Wednesday, April 28-Sunday, May 02, 2010
So after more than a days worth of flying and driving, along with several time changes, we arrived in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Friday.
The flow of traffic is extremely different and nerve-wracking at first, but I’m already used to it. There are stop lights and divisions in the road, but no-one really pays attention to that. They just honk at each other to signal that they’re moving around someone and everyone just yields or swerves around each other. There are more tuk-tuk drivers and motorbikes than their are cars, trucks, or buses, and it’s very typical to see 2-3 people sitting on each motorbike. Pedestrians do NOT have the right of way, but they will at least slow down a little bit for you to dart across before they hit you.
After I got settled in my hotel in Phnom Penh, John, one of my trip mates and I went on excursion around the city. We were actually meaning to find the central market which we later figured out was right around the corner from the hotel, but we went out the wrong door and headed down the wrong street. After about 10 minutes of walking around aimlessly, we called a tuk tuk driver to drive us around the city and he finally dropped us off at Phnom Wat (one of the larger more historical temples in the city). We almost rode an elephant at the temple, but the asking price was pretty steep, probably because they saw Americans and thought they would ask for a much higher price. We declined, but I got some great pictures.
Afterwards, we called another tuk tuk driver to take us back to hotel, where we asked for directions again to the central market and found it about 2 blocks away. The sights and smells were a rude awakening to my senses. From the vendors shouting “madam madam” at me trying to sell me whatever they had at their stands, to the raw fish and beef for sale that had been sitting in the hot Camodian sun all day.
There are so many cultural differences. Some I expected and others I am learning with the help of my trip mates and fellow Baptist Cambodians with whom we are working during this trip. I am also picking up on the language and know about 15 words already. It helps to have Rindo on our team, so I am constantly asking him how to say words in the Khmer language. He is patient and very helpful with a wonderful sense of humor.
On Saturday we drove four hours to Battambong where we will be partnering with the local churches and pastors and working at the Baptist Association’s vocational training center.
On Sunday, we visited three village churches & distributed rice to the first two. To get to the first church, we shoved about 10 of us into a wagon pulled by a tractor and road down a muddy road for about 30 minutes. That was an experience, but it made for good conversation and jokes between my American team mates and the Cambodian pastors.
Before attending the second church services, we were provided lunch at the pastor’s house where we ate Cambodian style, on the tile floor. We were served rice, bread, steak strips, mud fish soup, frog leg curry, and some local fruit that looked like eye balls but tasted like cherries. I was brave and tried everything but the mud fish soup. I also had my first “squatty potty” experience. Needless to say, I’m greatful that I brought kleenex and hand sanitizer with me.
The third church we visited was a last minute plan at the request of the church. Each service was at least an hour and a half long, so it was after 4:30 by the time we got to the last church. They had been waiting for us to arrive and were so gracious and excited when we finally pulled up.
Every church brought forth a new experience with unique faces, but we were treated the same by all congregations, with the utmost respect, love, gentleness, and hospitality. I’m falling in love with the Cambodian people.
Tomorrow (Monday) we begin the pastor training, children’s bible stories, and youth day at the vocational training center.
More to come…
Introduction:
This trip to Cambodia is a first for me. I have never traveled international before and this is no gentle way to start either, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Let me rewind and share the story of how this opportunity came to be.
Back in September, 2009, when I was traveling around Texas networking with churches to market Good News Goods, I met Bryans Fitzhugh, missions minister of University Baptist Church in Fort Worth. There was an immediate connection because of Good News Goods’ partnership with Hagar International in Phnom Penh Cambodia and the church’s on-going relief & development work in Battambong, Cambodia. For the past several years, the church has been instrumental in their co-mission with and to Cambodians through physical and spiritual healing as well as education and vocational training. I was immediately excited by their holistic approach.
And there is one man who has been the key to connecting the church to the needs of Baptist pastors, their churches, and the poor in Cambodia. If you saw him here in America, working as the custodian at University Baptist Church, you would probably pass him by without much of a thought. However, in the Baptist circles of Cambodia, he has been called “The Billy Graham of Cambodia.” His name is Rindo. Because of the Khmer Rouge, he fled Cambodia and was placed in a refugee camp in Thailand where he met his wife and they both became Christians. Eventually, he was granted citizenship in America and has been working at the church for over 10 years. He has a gentle and loving spirit, a wealth of compassion for his people, and a vision for bringing healing and hope to Cambodia through pastor training and discipleship, church plants, rice warehouses, and a vocational training center, among many other future goals.
There are 6 of us total on this trip, and I am the rookie, but I am learning fast and feel very comfortable with my trip mates. It is a beautiful thing to peer into the relationships that have been formed over the years between Christians living in two very different worlds because of their love for Christ and for each other.
More to come…
