When
I decided to come to Cambodia I planned to stay here for three months. I did
not want to book a return flight, however, just in case I found the work too
difficult and wanted to come home earlier. I mentioned this to someone who had
been here and they told me that it would be much more likely that once I was
here I wouldn’t want to leave. I couldn’t believe how quickly this was proved
to be right.
I
have now been living at the Phnom Penh BEC for almost two months and have already
extended my stay to a total of five months. If it were not for other
commitments back home I would easily stay even longer, Cambodia is a truly
incredible place. So far, my experience has been dramatically more amazing than
I ever expected and it is difficult to fully explain the effect this country
and the work here has had on me.
There
is always so much happening here at the BEC. We have been running a baptism
class with a group of boys from the dorms and we are confident that some of
those boys will be getting baptised very soon, hopefully during this month. We
also currently have two girl students who intend to get baptised in a week’s
time. Although they are not my students they quickly became good friends of
mine when I first arrived here and it is so exciting for me to see them taking
this step! The whole of the Phnom Penh BEC staff (and a few students) are
planning to take a bus down to Sihanoukville next weekend for the baptism,
which is something I am eagerly awaiting! It will be great to visit the BEC
there, help out with outreach, gain some new sisters and, of course, spend some
time at the beach.
Besides
the baptism classes everyone is very busy. We currently have four long-term
fieldworkers staying at the BEC and one fieldworker visiting for three weeks. We
are all teaching classes at the BEC six days a week as well as running weekly
seminars on Saturday evenings at the dorms.
We
are currently in the middle of planning a six-week grammar course set to begin
at the beginning of next month. There will be three classes run twice daily
every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday over six weeks. I am sure it is going to
be a lot of work- each fieldworker must plan 18 1-hour lessons in advance- but
we are anticipating an influx of new students to the BEC whom we hope will wish
to continue studying here once their six-week course is complete.
I
came over here with no idea what the teaching would be like but it has turned
out to be unexpectedly enjoyable. The students are so eager to learn and gladly
stay long after their lesson is over to either learn more by joining other
people’s classes or just to spend time playing games with us. Even though we
have to get up early in the morning and teach for most of the day I find I
never get tired of it- the enthusiasm of the students genuinely rubs off on you
and almost every lesson is a blast. Not only are they great as students, always
engaged and often asking insightful questions, but the people who come here
have quickly become my good friends. They have shown me around their
workplaces, taken me to watch their friends perform khmer singing, shared with
me the best spots for cheap, delicious street food, taught me many khmer words
and join me when
I go
dancing in the evenings. Being so close to your students makes it even more
exciting as you watch them develop from English students to Bible enthusiasts.
I
want to finish this post with a specific story about one of these students. In
the two months I have been here his development has been easily one of the best
parts of my time in Cambodia. When I first arrived here I took on a class of
four fairly low-level English students. Their lesson goes for three hours daily
and when I began teaching them they requested that we study Bible for two hours
and practice conversation for the last hour of each lesson. I was happy with
this plan and that is what we began to do. After about three weeks I was
teaching their class and after two hours had passed I said to them, “Should we
stop this story there and start conversation now?” One of the boys replied and
his answer is one of the highlights of my trip here.
“No,
I think I just want to do three hours Bible from now on, I think it is more
important.”
Since
then it has been crazy watching his development. He is a super hard worker and
has never missed a lesson- he is here for three hours, 6 days a week! He writes
down everything I teach and studies it overnight, coming back the next day with
the entire story memorized and the deeper meanings of the story understood. I
have watched his English improve dramatically and his interest in the Bible
grow the more he learns. He spent two hours writing a page long letter to the
BEC, which said things like: “before I don’t know about God but now I know
about God I will follow God” and “I want to explain next generation and people
in Cambodia know about God.” I am genuinely so excited to teach him every day
and I can’t wait to see his further improvements over the next three months of
my stay!
Overall,
the past two months I have spent here at the BEC have been an experience like
no other. You often hear people rave about their experiences doing fieldwork
but it wasn’t until I actually experienced it for myself that I realised how
incredibly fulfilling it is. The BEC is a busy hub of hard working people and
the students really love coming here. I am excited to see how the current
students develop in the upcoming few months and interested to see how effective
our new advertising strategies are.
Ashleigh
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