Hello from Cambodia! Or should we should Sousdey, that means hello in Khmer. We have been here for 5 weeks and have been so blessed by God’s goodness. We arrived late on Wednesday the 13thand were taken to Younglife center one, our home for the next two months. We have a cozy room with three foam mattresses along with air conditioning, which is much appreciated. All Younglife staff and students warmly welcomed us.
Younglife is an organization that works to bring high school kids to Christ by forming trusting relationships through crazy games and good times. The staff here is incredible at what they do and an inspiration to us. We jumped right into Younglife activities that include games, singing, dancing, skits while sweating profusely. After a week of getting settled in and trying some crazy foods we finally started our teaching positions. Teaching has been a challenge but encouraging because our students are extremely eager to learn the English language. Although we are learning how difficult the English language really is, we try not to take ourselves too seriously. Our classroom is filled with games and a little dose of self humiliation. God has really showed up in our classroom and the relationships we are forming with our students.
In Phnom Penh there are three Younglife centers. Center two is about a twenty minute tuk tuk ride from Center one and Center three is about thirty minutes from center one. A tuk tuk is the main mode of transportation in Cambodia. It is a chariot type thing pulled by a motorbike. Natalie is teaching at center one, Kelli is teaching at center two, and Leah at center three.
A typical day for Natalie looks like rising around 7:30 to exercise to the Insanity videos that we brought. After a good sweat, she takes a cold shower (because taking a hot shower is not an option) and eats a breakfast of a succulent mango. Then she usually sits on the balcony of center one and does lesson planning and a personal devotion. She teaches two English classes each day, with about 7 students (which is surprisingly a lot to handle). She also teaches a class on “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens” one day a week as well as a girl’s bible study one day a week. Most of her day consists of hanging out with 16 to 17 year old kids, riding on motorbikes, eating strange food, and sometimes going to the local high schools to do contact work (which just means inviting kids to the Younglife center). Center one has a lot of crazy kids but also incredible worship and prayer. It is really powerful to be able to praise the Lord in so many different languages. Natalie celebrated her 20th birthday here, which was a sweet experience. Her students surprised her and bought her a cake (which turned into a full on cake fight), a traditional Khmer scarf, and made her feel special all day. God is so good, and has created such a loving home here for us.
Kelli’s day looks a little different than the other girls. She rises a little later around 8 or 9 and the tuk tuk picks her up at ten. Center two is different than the other centers because the students don’t arrive until around 4pm. So the morning is spend tutoring students one on one and with the center director and his wife. When she arrives at 10:20 she spends time doing a personal devotion. Then around noon she tutors an advanced student in conversation. After tutoring a student, she takes a lovely afternoon nap. When she wakes up she enjoys Khmer food made by the center director’s wife. The center director’s wife always makes fish so she is in no shortage of Omega 3s. During the down time, she is lesson planning or just hanging out with the few students that randomly stop by. Around 2 or 3pm the student staff members show up at the center so she hangs out with them. At 3pm, she tutors another advanced student in English and helps her with preparing school presentations. In the evening, she teaches two English classes. Another difference about center two is the size. Her intermediate class (at 5:30pm) is 20 students and her beginner class (at 6:30pm) is 22 students. The class size is a little overwhelming but they are a fun group of kids. At center two Kelli has had the privilege of giving the message at devotion. Devotion at center two happens every Monday at 6:30 and is a time of worship, a message and prayer. In the evenings to get home, Kelli is taken home by one of the students since the tuk tuk is getting Leah at center three. After she arrives home she enjoys a good workout to the Insanity videos and a delicious meal made by our cook.
Leah takes the tuk tuk to Phnom Penh Khmer High School in the suburbs of the city at eight most mornings. There she meets with her center director and his wife to do contact work with the students there. She has met so many hardworking students who are excited to practice English with a foreigner. Center three is working to create another branch near this high school so these relationships can really grow. Around noon they leave the high school to return to center three and eat lunch at a restaurant in the city. If the day is really hot, a nap usually follows lunch or else just hanging with the students at the center playing uno, dancing, or teasing each other. At 4:00pm she teaches an English class and twice a week another at 5:30. Class is followed by devotion on Thursdays and Club on Friday. She returns to center one around 8:00 each evening to eat dinner with the team and converse and pray about our day.
Club at center one happens every Saturday. Club at center two happens every other Saturday and club at center three happens every Friday. Club is a chance for students who don’t normally come to the Younglife center to get a glimpse of what Younglife is. It is a crazy time with a game, some worship songs and a message. But the point of club is to get students to come who have never been before and make them feel welcomed so that they will want to come back and hear more about the good news of Christ.
We all feel extremely blessed to be here. We face challenges and God is continually shaping us but we could not feel better about where we are and where God is taking us. We thank you so much for all your prayers throughout this entire trip. We can’t express how grateful we feel knowing we have a team praying for us back home. Now for some fun facts about Cambodia….
-All meals are eaten with a spoon and a fork is strictly used to get food onto the spoon
-Most adults and kids like to wake up at 4 at 5 to start house chores
-Cambodians do not use toilet paper instead next to the toilet is a mysterious spray hose (like the one we have attached to kitchen sinks)
-Khmer cheese is not actually cheese, it is aged fish. We found this out from experience.
-There are lots of skinny chickens and cows that run around
-We ride in a tuk tuk
-The streets are wild here, there are no rules and street signs are for looks. You drive how you want.
-There is nothing that cannot be transported on a motorbike including live chicken, live ducks, an exercise bike, and boxes piled as tall as people
-Families of four ride on one motorbike together
-Crickets and beetles taste pretty good actually
-Iced coffee is really delicious and made with sweetened condensed milk
-We enjoy smoothies at the market that consists of apple, orange, papaya, strawberry, carrot, and avocado
-We visited the S-21 genocide museum and the killing fields that reminded us of the genocide that happened in the late 70s and still affects many people today, including our students.
-We also visited the royal palace
-Their means of exercising is breaking it down next to the riverside in large outdoor dance groups. We joined in for 1 dollar.
-1 dollar=4,100 riel
-It is extremely hot and humid but since it is the rainy season currently, instant downpours accompanied by theatrical thunder and lightening storms are common.
-Everyone loves playing in the rain
-They LOVE angry bird. Angry birds are on shoes, shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, paper fans, plastic bags, watches, hair clip, cell phone covers, boxers, and painted on Kelli’s toenails at the market.
-We eat a lot of strange fish including their eyes and tails.
Our time here has been filled with laughter, worshipping and most importantly, sweat. We are so excited for the next three weeks to come.
Love,
Kelli, Leah, and Natalie
