Josh, James, Jared and I have been only one week in Cambodge and fallen in Love...
To the foreigner, Cambodia is this crazy, vaguely organized chaos! The Golden rule seems to be
the respect they have for others!
Part of their culture is care and respect, especially for people older than you. It shows itself on the
roads amazingly or when you watch people communicate. Neighbors are all family and equally
look out for each others children.
I notice the care and respect most of all in the Phnom Penh ecclesia(PPE). They are so playful
and happy and (like Steve said) ‘it feels like love leaks out their fingers!’
The girls and guys from the PPE are full of life and truly believe in this bible they’re trying to fill
their minds with. The truth isn’t just knowledge its a way of life and they are so keen to search it
out. To them it is real and alive, and inside each person.
In one week I have laughed till it's hurt, played, teased, danced, shared, cried, listened, and loved
the Khmer people.
We've visited the dorms and Loy took us out to the provinces (where the farming happens). The
sweet farming families showed us around their houses, offered to cook us food and let us use
their squat toilets (or their neighbors if it was nicer).
One older farmer was watching Jared try to sneak up on a buffalo; he was laughing at us and
eventually with a huge grin on his face helped Jared attempt to ride it... They went swimming with
us in water that buffalo sat in, and showed us the local swimming hole hang out.
Just a few of the things we’ve done this week have been doubling up on moto’s or taking a tuk-
tuk. We’ve taught English lessons and Bible lessons at a school and for small groups at the
dorms or the bec. We’ve shared bread and wine three times already this week!
All of us have had essential hammock time, been taken out for dinner by Lynne, Steve, Dave and
Anna and taken to the night markets, the Russian markets, Central markets, Orussey markets... (I
love markets).
Steve took us to the tailors and the shoe makers, and we used our little imaginations to describe
what we wanted while they sketched and listened.
We’ve cooked Khmer dinner, the Khmer way, which means everyone on a mat on the floor
artistically chopping carrots, beans, garlic, ginger, broccoli, pineapple. Mixing spices, squeezing
limes and grating green mangoes, or peeling, ripping, cleaning and chopping chicken and
prawns... I almost lost my stomach. But the food in Cambodia is the best I've ever tasted!
I can now count up to 25 very slowly in Khmer, say hello, goodbye, how are you, how much, stop,
left, right, handsome, pretty.. All the essentials.
And I have never said thank you as much as I have here in the last 7 days.
‘Arkoon’
Love Sarah!
To the foreigner, Cambodia is this crazy, vaguely organized chaos! The Golden rule seems to be
the respect they have for others!
Part of their culture is care and respect, especially for people older than you. It shows itself on the
roads amazingly or when you watch people communicate. Neighbors are all family and equally
look out for each others children.
I notice the care and respect most of all in the Phnom Penh ecclesia(PPE). They are so playful
and happy and (like Steve said) ‘it feels like love leaks out their fingers!’
The girls and guys from the PPE are full of life and truly believe in this bible they’re trying to fill
their minds with. The truth isn’t just knowledge its a way of life and they are so keen to search it
out. To them it is real and alive, and inside each person.
In one week I have laughed till it's hurt, played, teased, danced, shared, cried, listened, and loved
the Khmer people.
We've visited the dorms and Loy took us out to the provinces (where the farming happens). The
sweet farming families showed us around their houses, offered to cook us food and let us use
their squat toilets (or their neighbors if it was nicer).
One older farmer was watching Jared try to sneak up on a buffalo; he was laughing at us and
eventually with a huge grin on his face helped Jared attempt to ride it... They went swimming with
us in water that buffalo sat in, and showed us the local swimming hole hang out.
Just a few of the things we’ve done this week have been doubling up on moto’s or taking a tuk-
tuk. We’ve taught English lessons and Bible lessons at a school and for small groups at the
dorms or the bec. We’ve shared bread and wine three times already this week!
All of us have had essential hammock time, been taken out for dinner by Lynne, Steve, Dave and
Anna and taken to the night markets, the Russian markets, Central markets, Orussey markets... (I
love markets).
Steve took us to the tailors and the shoe makers, and we used our little imaginations to describe
what we wanted while they sketched and listened.
We’ve cooked Khmer dinner, the Khmer way, which means everyone on a mat on the floor
artistically chopping carrots, beans, garlic, ginger, broccoli, pineapple. Mixing spices, squeezing
limes and grating green mangoes, or peeling, ripping, cleaning and chopping chicken and
prawns... I almost lost my stomach. But the food in Cambodia is the best I've ever tasted!
I can now count up to 25 very slowly in Khmer, say hello, goodbye, how are you, how much, stop,
left, right, handsome, pretty.. All the essentials.
And I have never said thank you as much as I have here in the last 7 days.
‘Arkoon’
Love Sarah!
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