Cambodia: the sights

Walking around the streets of Cambodia, I found so many interesting sights...I couldn't put my camera down for a second. Here are some things you might not find in the US:

Chicken cooking on the side of the road...complete with heads and claws attached. These chickens are clearly not injected with growth hormones, nor are they corn fed on an organic ranch out in the country:



I never found out what this food is, but the presentation of it demanded a photograph. It's one of my favorite pictures and I don't even know why.





Fried frog (not just the legs!)



A group of five on a moto (see if you can spot all five heads!):



A father driving his two older sons to school on a moto:



This sight continued to shock me, though I saw it constantly (the danger!):



Street kids...these rough and tumble boys were running barefoot around the streets, obviously not attending school and fending for themselves. My assumption is that they are orphans.



I couldn't help but think of their future as the leader of the group pointed his toy gun at me. When they ran down the street, all I could do was pray for them.



A house boat...these people fish for a living and live on their boat.



Off to work!



These are linens hanging out to dry, used by a catering company:



A woman offering rice to a Buddhist monk: this is a custom of the Khmer culture. (I was thrilled that this shot came out...I took it from a moving vehicle!)




Cambodia: A new day in Kampong Cham:

You know that I have to talk about breakfast. New fruit of the day: rambutan



It was my favorite fruit...it had the texture similar to a pear. It was sweet & refreshing!

It was our fourth day of the trip, and we were heading to the villages to watch the HOPE program in action. A view from the window on our way to the village:



It's a glorious rice paddy. The vivid green was breath taking!

I loved spending time in the villages and seeing the HOPE program, which is this:
a holistic response to the challenges facing the poorest people in Cambodia, starting with the children. Read more about it by clicking here: hope



We sat in a meeting that was attended by the village chief and some community volunteers. Using illustrations, they learned about human trafficking and what a trafficker might say/look like if they came around offering work to children.



They were also told to report this type of activity to their chief and/or local law enforcement. I was intrigued by the chief; he was so focused and visibly cared for his people. I could feel the responsibility that he felt while learning about human trafficking prevention. Here he is, participating in the class:



Here is me, with a HOPE educator. I couldn't pronounce her name or even begin to spell it but she was lovely and told me that her husband is one of her volunteers.



Village people are generally naive and trusting. Many people have never been outside of their village, and some young children were afraid of our white skin...to the point of tears! This is the second child that cried at the sight of me:



Here are some village kids that weren't afraid...they were very curious!









One of the most random things we saw was clothing with English writing on it. Most of the time the phrases didn't make sense...this one did but obviously this young man didn't know what it said:



The Hope Program for kids uses creative songs, drama and puppetry to teach children about preventative health and morality.



This puppet show was teaching kids about hygiene, specifically how to properly clean their fingernails so they don't spread germs to their eyes, nose and mouth. They also learned about the hazards of playing in stagnant water.



They loved it!



The HOPE program has support for children, teens, adults and people infected with HIV AIDS. Seeing the program at work was a fantastic experience and will clearly bring sustainable change to the Khmer people. Many villagers have become Christians and are motivated by their faith to start cell groups--there are currently 350 cell groups reaching out to the community, bringing compassion and hope.

Thank for your reading my continuing story of my journey to Cambodia. I am thrilled to share it with you!

My third and final post, Cambodia: The Conclusion, will post tomorrow. I will post photos from our prostitute party and some of the worst living conditions I've ever seen. Thanks again for reading!

While you wait for Post #2, some of my fav photos:

Cambodia: the whole journey

What a privilege it was to travel to Cambodia with my dear friends, Steve & Jackie. We experienced eight full days of new sights, experiences, food & culture. It was a lot to take in...I have been reflecting a lot on the trip and trying to decide how to write about it. I am going to just walk you through, from beginning to end...I don't want you to miss a thing!

Part One: On Our Way



It was my first time on a two-story plane...I am dying to know what the top floor looks like. For a mere $2000, I could have upgraded to first class and found out for myself. But I didn't.

After a 12 hour flight to Seoul, Korea, we were ready for a refreshing cup of green tea...here is Jackie, ready to enjoy. We thought the tea bag was so fancy.



Only it wasn't what we expected:



Turns out, green tea in Korea = seaweed.
ps. Jackie gave me permission to show her reaction of disgust!

Moving on...next we had a five hour flight to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Here is a shot from the skies above Seoul:



26 hours from beginning to end...we finally made it...and we were thrilled to find that our hotel had a restaurant attached. After a good night's sleep, we had breakfast...not your typical American style:




Rice, chicken, cucumbers, soup, veggies, jasmine tea, and one fried egg. It was actually pretty good!

We took in the sights before heading to the World Relief Office. The thing that I noticed first was all of the garbage. It lines the streets and makes me appreciate garbage day in a whole new way!



This lovely lady is on her way to work...she is a street vendor who makes and sells food on the city streets. As you can see, she is carrying her cooking utensils, etc with her. I just love her bright smile.



Here is a mini "wat," or Buddhist temple, which can be found all over the streets, often with insence burning in them.



Phnom Penh was a bustling city with lots of traffic and no real rules to the road. This stop sign was pretty comical; as you can see, it is totally ignored.



We went to the World Relief Office and met with Joke, who is an inspiration. She is the founder and director of the Hope Program, which began as a child development initiative, and has grown to include cell church planting and AIDS ministry. We were able to see all of this in action, and it was very powerful...providing lots of hope, just like it's name!



Check out the World Relief: Cambodia website by clicking here: World Relief

Next, we traveled to Kampong Cham, where we would stay for the next four days. The journey there was full of interesting sites, like this:



This is a common site...you see, the seats in this taxi are cheaper on the roof.

We saw temple, after temple, after temple:



Part Two: Kampong Cham & Friends Forever

Breakfast in our favorite restaurant, called "Smile." We went there all four days that we were in Kampong Cham.

Some things never change, no matter what developing country you are in:



It was such fun to order the fruit plate each day and find new & exotic fruits to try. Here is our first fruit plate:



A closer look at the longan:



Steve thought it looked like an eyeball:



Steve is one of the funniest guys I know. He is hil-arious.

We set out on the town with our new friends, Martha & Mlis, who both work for World Relief:



From left: Mlis, Martha & Jackie

God opened a door for us to visit a Girls' home at Destiny Rescue, where girls are rescued from abusive situations; some that involve human trafficking. Visitors are not usually permitted there and the locations are undisclosed, so we felt very blessed to be able to spend some time with these precious girls.

Remember the bracelets we made? Here they are, in action:



It was so touching to tie these bracelets on each girl, encouraging them by telling them that someone back in the US was wearing a match to their bracelet and praying for them. When one of the teachers at the home chose her bracelet, I was in tears as I recognized that it was the match to my husband's. Telling her that he was praying for her was a moment that I will cherish forever.

To learn more about Destiny Rescue, click here: Destiny Rescue. To donate specifically to the location we visited, go to ‘General Donations,' and put ‘Kampong Cham Girls’ Homes’ in the comments box. Joel & Chloe, the program directors, will see that your donation makes a difference in the lives of these sweet girls.

Check out some of their artwork:



For obvious reasons, I can't post pictures of the girls we met, but believe me when I tell you that they were sweet, beautiful children and when they hugged me, I did not want to let go. Meeting them was the absolute highlight of my trip.

Next up:
We Invite Prostitutes to a Party!

Our church, Christian Life Fellowship sponsored a party that was put together by World Relief & Destiny Rescue. We were very excited to be a part of this, as it would be the second party to date and last year's party was very successful.

Here is the invitation:



Jackie & I set out to the brothel district, with Mlis & Martha...we went in groups of two so that we could draw interest (with our white skin) and translate (the Khmer language). We were hand in hand, praying the whole way for wisdom and guidance. Here you can see the invitations and bible tracts we passed out in Mlis' hands.



Here are Jackie & Mlis, in front of a brothel. I have blurred out the faces of the prostitutes...in an effort to protect their privacy. These women are human beings, mothers, sisters, with no other means of making a living. Some of them were trafficked & tricked into this trade.



Martha and I found this group of women & children eating. They offered me a seat and a portion of their rice...their generosity astounded me, especially knowing the kind of work they have to do to feed their babies.



Jackie had a special bond with this woman and her daughter. We learned that she ran away from home as a teenager, because she was being abused. She is working to support herself, her child, and her younger siblings. She had never heard the name of Jesus until she came to our party.



All of the women that we invited to the party said they would come, and we were very excited!


Stay tuned for the continuing story. Tomorrow I will post about the sights, the villages we visited, the HOPE program and more.

Thank you for reading!