Its 8:33
AM on Monday the 11th. I am
currently at 35000 ft over Ontario Canada and have about 2 hours left of the
journey. It has been a very long day
indeed starting more than 22 hours ago in Phnom Penh. Our flight out of Cambodia was delayed 2
hours but it really didn’t matter since we had a 4 hour layover. I was so exhausted I sat in my seat and fell
asleep before we took off. I dozed for
the entire flight, never really sleeping as my rear end and knees are pretty
sore. A side affect of having a few
years under my belt I suppose.
Sunday
morning started off with going to the service in Phnom Penh 1 orphanage. It was very nice to get to see the kids one
more time and hear the message. The Pastor Kathy from the US gave the message
which was focused on the fact that we cannot move forward in our lives without
putting God first. As Joshua had to do
to cross the Jordan into the Promised Land, we also need to put God first to
move ahead. Pretty appropriate for
finishing off the trip.
Cruising in a Tok-Tok
After
that, DJ, Sean and I decided to go have lunch by the Mekong on the river
front. This was a very hot day with
temps in the high 90s and humidity about the same. We enjoyed sitting in the open air dining
area and eating. That little girl I gave
the money to earlier in the trip came over and worked Sean for some more stuff
to buy. As I had seen Julius do, I asked
if she had eaten. I was going to get her
some lunch, but she said yes, she had.
She was really interested in where Rachel was. Apparently another street girl had told her
that Rachel told the girl that she (Rachel) would only buy stuff from the 2nd
girl. Well the original girl (I think
her name was Penh) was upset about that. Apparently she had gotten to know the
George’s over a few years of visits and they were very special to her. I told her we would meet Rachel for dinner at
a place across town at 6. She said. “I’ll be there!”
From
lunch we decided to take a Tok Tok – pronounced took-took to a place to buy
pepper and then to the Cambodia history museum.
There was a guy there who was ready to go so we jumped in. I negotiated the ride ahead of time at 7$
total for all three of us. The pepper
place was very neat. We were given
samples of fresh Cambodian pepper corns (black, ripe and pickled) from Koh Kong
where Ms. Paula’s orphanage is from the day before. I ended up buying a bunch as it was fantastic
in taste. The black is for cooking and
the ripe is for the table. Mmmmm
The Museum of Cambodian history
We then
jumped in the tok-tok to go to the museum.
When we arrived the driver asked if he could wait for us and take us to
wherever we wanted to go. I said
sure. The museum was interesting with
many pieces of sculpture from as far back as 600AD. The sad part is that the sculptures are not
protected and people can touch them. That
means in time they will get ruined. I
hope that they fix that.
We
talked about where to go next and decided the Central Market then the Russian
Market. So heading outside I told the
driver those two locations. He
agreed. They have a hit or miss customer
base so a solid customer even with a wait is good business for them. As we boarded the tok-tok he cautioned us in
ok English to watch our stuff.
Apparently he had some moto’s come by in the last few days with two
people on them and snatch stuff then disappear. This was the first inkling to
me that he was probably just a regular guy and honest. I had no reason to feel otherwise, but in a
strange place, one tends to be cautious.
The
central market was like the other markets we had seen but fancy. In the center was an indoor section with
jewelry and electronics. All knock offs
or resale of stolen stuff. The outdoor
part was garments and foods etc. There
was a huge selection of seafood and meats.
The smell still gets me so I had to hold my breath to keep in lunch. I ended up picking up a couple of leather
belts.
Next
stop was the Russian Market. Sean wanted
some paintings. I really didn’t want to
go in so when we arrived I asked the driver if I could stay with him. He said sure. While the guys were shopping I struck up a
conversation. His name was Soroom. (spelling I am sure is wrong). We talked at first about the little street
girl and I told him I knew she had to pay her handler if we bought things so we
preferred to get her food or shoes or just give her some $ so she didn’t have
to report it to the boss man. He said he
didn’t know how people could do that to their child. I now just had a solid feeling that this man
was a good person just trying to make a living.
I had to go to the ATM as I was out of cash and I asked if I could leave
the pepper in the tok-tok. He said
sure. I realized halfway to the ATM that
the pepper was worth 2 days pay to that guy and I thought to myself “well we
shall see if your gut feeling about this guy is correct”. Sure enough he was still there when I got
back. We talked more and we shared
pictures of our families. He was just a
dad trying to get by. He was paying so
his son could go to school. 30$ for 3
months. Apparently the school had
changed hands and upped the tuition to $105 for 3 months so he was having to
move him. He was starting 2nd
grade. He also had a younger
daughter. Very cute kids! We decided next just to have him drive us
around the streets to see the sights and meet back at the hotel with the
George’s at 6 for dinner before the flight.
I asked how much. He looked at me
and said.. “you decide” Phew that makes
it tough!
The guys
got back from the market and off we went wandering. Along the way DJ decided he needed to try
Cambodian baked goods. We told Soroom if
he saw a bakery to stop. About 20 min
later sure enough we pull up to one. DJ
went in to the bakery to get an assortment of things to try and I asked Soroom
to come in with me. We go in and I can
see him looking at these mini pizzas. I
told him to pick out 4. One for him, his
wife and each child and I wanted to buy them dinner. He went from confused to just overcome with
joy. The look on his face was one that
told me, nobody ever did this for him before, they just had him drive. It cost me 3$ total for all four, but for him
this was going to be such a special dinner and one his kids would never get
since he could not afford it. A wonderful
experience and one that proved to me that the love of our God when put into
practice in our lives can have a such an effect on people’s hearts.
The buddhist temple on the hill in the center of the city.
Inside was pretty neat. Lots of offerings for good fortune.
A shop keeper burning money (often fake money) and incense. Check out the offering in the doorway. Completely blocked it with rice and a baked chicken and fruits and drinks etc.
Offering of raw bacon and eggs!
This was a fancy fire pit/stove for burning money and incense and other offerings.
We drove
off in a cloud of dust and ended up at a pretty cool central temple. Today was a very lucky day on the Buddhist
and Chinese Calendars. Along the road a
lot of the shops had these huge spreads laid out as offerings and at the
central temple on the hill they were celebrating and you can see by the
pictures they give food and money with the prayers.
After
that back to the hotel. We settle up
with Soroom and off he goes home for dinner with his family. We ended up giving him 30$ so he could take
some time that night at home. I am glad
we have such an impact.
Penh was
indeed awaiting Rachel at the restaurant.
I guess that situation was very serious to her. She came across town and it is obvious to me
that one little street girl in a sea of them here in Cambodia had found hope
and love in the relationship with Rachel and the Georges. Once when I got up so she could sit next to
Rachel she cringed an cowered and I realized with profound sadness that she was
abused and beaten for sure. I saw that
even though we could do nothing to help this little girl, just acts of kindness
and demonstrations that we cared for her gave her hope. I fear that though she is extraordinarily
bright and her English is flawless, her future is dim. Prostitution, abuse and possibly an early
demise. I hope that somehow she can find
a way out of the street before it’s too late.
We had
dinner with Pastor Sinai and he opened up to me about his testimony. We never finished and I wished we had, but I
learned he had fought the Khmer Rouge at the age of 14. Being shot 10 times, stepping on 2 land
mines, seeing all his friends shot and killed and barely escaping death by slipping
(after being shot and playing dead) into a rice paddy under the water to
escape. I guess they were rapidly
organized by the old government to fight but not trained and the leaders all
dies or ran leaving the unit of children to fight. Wow.
So here
I am, now an hour from landing in DC. So
many thoughts and memories in my mind from the last 10 days. I am grateful for the trip, so grateful that
I have been blessed by this experience.
These things change me a bit each time and for the better. If you recall I said earlier that when you see
yourself reflected in the tears of an Orphan on the other side of the world,
you see a different person than you see in the mirror at home. It’s true, but it’s not a different person
than what is inside of you already. You
see these experiences bring out the good that is already there, it’s just
covered up by our busy materialistic lives.
It is too easy to lose that part of us that demonstrates what God told
us, love thy neighbor. There is a reason
why it is a commandment. When you give a
shoe to a desperately poor child in the slums, When you tell an orphan you love
them and really mean it, when you share a hug, play on the beach, provide a
pizza meal to a stranger’s family, be kind to a street girl to give her hope
and when you share tears with children from a far away land while holding each
other for comfort then you get a sense of what is waiting for us in heaven and
it peels away the dark parts of you to expose something beautiful. Love thy neighbor ~ sounds easy enough…. so
why don’t we always do that?
I hope
that you have enjoyed the blog and the journey.
I still have work to do to fix the water situation in Kampot and with
the help of Shawn and her donation we will get the kitchen stove so that they
don’t have to cook outside under the tarp.
We will also be able to get the PCs we promised so that the children can
learn. I’d ask you to take a look at the
next time you fill up your car at the pump.
For less than one tank of gas a month you can sponsor one of the
orphans. It’s not some strange
organization that wastes your money. I
know these people, and I know the kids.
50$. Its less than a meal out,
give it some thought. Its a worthy cause.
If interested:
http://www.nhoasia.org/
http://www.seapc.org/how-we-serve/raising-kids/new-hope-childrens-homes-nho/
feel free to ask me anything you may wish to know about them and the organization. SEAPC is the US organization that collects and moves the $ to NHO. They are two separate groups.
