Hope Village Prey Veng

"That's Chong Chit. Oh, and that's Songha, Vitmol, Vanet, Sopheap....", my fingers busy pointing as the list goes on. Why was I so excited about these children on television? I realise one thing: Perhaps I do miss them. Though I only spent about 3 months with them, the last month being the one where I really got to know them better, I think there was a kind of bond which you will only realise after you have left. I miss those smiles, the laughter, the time spent playing games together, speaking simple English and Khmer to each other, being a 'big brother' to them and just simply hanging out. Maybe it is Cambodia. Maybe it is the children. Maybe it is the vision I received years ago. or maybe it is just something God has deposited in my heart. I will visit them again someday, God willing.

Old Self & Timely Wisdom

If you think Primary 1 children are adorable, you are right and sometimes, it is hard to imagine what little monsters they can be. Two very interesting thing happened to me a week ago and I am once again reminded of 2 things. No.1 - I am reminded of how human I am and how my very own human nature behaves. No.2 - When there's a right action to take, just do it. The wisdom to handle it will come from God.

Here's the story. We had a computer class for the P1 and one of the boys was punished by my colleague. He was stopped from using the computer until he behaves himself but he didn't and continued disturbing the girl next to him. I hit his hands but he still tried to mess up the girl's typing so I raised my voice at him and grabbed him, intending to make him stand in front of the class. He began talking away(it sounded more like a defence than a protest) and he held on to the pillar. I took his hands and legs off the pillar but the little fella kept talking and held on to the pillar again for dear life. Ok, I thought there must be something in those words and asked for translation. It turned out that all he wanted was to sit in another PC because he dislike the girl, and that is why he refused to do his work and disturb the other girl.

I was stunned by this 'bizzare' reason and situation and I didn't know what to do. So my very unrighteous human nature took over and I asked my colleague what he'll do. "So how? What do you think?", pretending to know-it-all and make him feel that I am testing him in classroom management. He looked at me uneasily and you know that he does not know what to do. The old-self-me asked him a second time, hoping that I can get away with this sticky situation but his reaction is still the same. Come to think of it, if I were him, I would expect the "smarter" foreigner(who's supposed to teach me "everything") to make the right decision.

So the chips fall back to me - should I allow the boy to sit on another PC as requested or not? Time is ticking away and I can't be staring blankly back at my colleague, can I? In a split second, as if given instructions by another person to relay a message, I told the boy that if he wants to sit on another PC, he must behave himself and not talk. These words also came out, "If you're nice to us, then we will also be nice to you. But if you're naughty, then you are not nice to us and we will also not be nice to you. You understand?" He nodded his head and said yes to everything but I wondered whether he really agreed or just conveniently said 'yes' to get out of the situation. He was also angry and upset at the same time. Anyway, I think that he really understood it all when he said goodbye and thankyou to me in the Khmer way(both hands clasp together like when we're praying) at the end of the class. (Not many from his class did that) And by the way, the word 'nice' is used because it is easiest for them to understand and good for 'children talk'.

After lunch, I saw the boy again and he was all smiles to me, and we talked a little bit in my limited Khmer and his limited English. I really thank God that He gave me the wisdom to handle that difficult situation and how He showed me how vunerable we can be in moments of "danger". That the ugly side of us will rear its head out again in these moments but it is indeed a good reminder of how frail we are. And how we must continuously seek God for help in our weaknesses and do away with more of our flesh.

Ask Him for Wisdom - James 1:5
Put off the old self and put on the new self - Ephesian 4:22-24

Give due credit and respect

Ever heard of this 'catch' phrase we foreigners often use when we are in a third world country? "Oh, we must EMPOWER the locals. Must teach them this and that and EMPOWER them." Let me clarify. I have nothing against imparting knowledge and skills, and I certainly think it is good to help the local people to learn certain skills that will enable them to do certain things independently. But sometimes, we are so conditioned in our minds about our "superiority" as a foreigner that we don't even realise that sometimes we belittle the locals. We always talk a lot about helping them to gain confidence and be independent but our words sometimes suggest otherwise. I have this Khmer staff working with me on computers and the picture painted to him is that I am some sort of rocket scientist that will 'impart' to him all my skills and know-how. I got to work with him once before I officially joined the team and I noticed that he knows his computer stuffs well and he has a natural analytical mind that is very good for computers. It is true that there are stuffs I know which he doesn't but he already knows quite a fair bit and that's quite something for a person without a formal computer education and who started off working as a security guard!

It's the afternoon and the "encouraging" words rang loud and clear again in the office and I could see the cleverly concealed embarrassed look on his face. Well, I sincerely believe those words are really meant to encourage him but it is put in such a way that it doesn't sound like it, at least not to an adult. Maybe a child will think of it as an encouragement to learn but to me, it really sound like belittlement. Perhaps the person trying to encourage him do not know where his computer skills level is at but still, that cannot be an excuse for being insensitive. I happen to hear something similar in 3 different occasions and each time, I can see that his head is slightly bowed, as if to agree that he knows next to nothing. It is no wonder why some local people never rise up. And that's because we still treat them like little children, not trusting them to do a good job and not giving them room for failures so that they can learn. Let us treat them as adults and not little children, and give them respect and credit where it is due. Phil 2:3

'Exotic' Cambodia Food

Being a foodie, I'm always game for different kinds of food and Cambodia have some very interesting ones. The famous 'exotic' food in Cambodia are fried spiders. They are bbq to a crisp with a sauce that taste like teriyaki and they don't taste too bad. Then I had the bbq snake and it contains some kind of goo which tasted odd but edible.
Next on the menu is stuffed frogs. Some kind of beef ball mix is stuffed into the tiny frog's body and bbq to a crisp.
Then there's also half-grown duck eggs similar to the Phillipines' 'Baluk'. You cracked the top part of the shell and drink the 'soup' that is inside the egg and it's actually quite tasty. Looking into the egg may spoil your appetite so just scoop whatever is inside and eat it. Otherwise the sight of the half-grown duckling's head and feathers might put you off.
Last but not least, I tried the local Palm 'juice'. It's some kind of juice that is extracted from the branch/stem of the palm tree and sold on the streets. I suspect this caused my first week's food poisoning when i was offered by the locals the drink. Other than that, I have had no problems with outside food and their wonderful lime sugar cane thus far. Bon appetit.

"Back" to Cambodia

During my waiting days, as I was seeking God for directions, I saw a vision of a photograph of myself with smiling children in a poor village. The children had darker skin tones and I thought to myself, "Lord, who are these children and where is this place?" My first thought was Cambodia. I did not know many countries with children that looked like those in the vision and I thought Cambodia seems very likely. Some time later, I realised that those children could be East Timor children as I went to East Timor. Cambodia by then was far away in my mind as my heart sank roots in East Timor. Little did I know that the Lord would provide me an opportunity to go to Cambodia, the destination I first thought of.

What a priviledge. I am so grateful to God for this opportunity to learn, to serve and to grow in love for Him and His ppl. Hey ppl, if you think that sacrificing to serve God in the missions field is a big thing, it really is not. I would not even consider it a sacrifice although it does cost me certain things. I say this not to boast nor to feel good with a 'false humility' pretension. No, I am able to say this because God prepared me to give, and I can give each time because He first gave. I can 'sacrifice' because He first sacrificed - for you and for me. Serving in missions do not require you to be a full time worker, but a full time Christian. If your heart so desires, He will see that desire which pleases Him and He will send you to the field. It could be long term or short term but it does not matter. What matters is that you have gone out to love others, and you have pleased Him with your heart.