2014 Finale. ~ pizza and the bacon offerings.

Its 8:33 AM on Monday the 11^th.  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 2^nd 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 2^nd 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.