My husband is the Master Blogger having kept an online journal the two years we were living in Cambodia. I sure wish he was here to write these entries as he is very good with written word. So, I dedicate this entry to the “Blog Master” and only hope I can convey the same vulnerability, emotion and compassion he is able through these entries. Hopefully, I have learned from you, dear Chas.
FRIDAY
Up in the early morning for my 0530 run along the river to Wat Phnom and back by the palace. Shannon and Kelley have opted out of this morning run, so I wear my new MP3 player. As I listen to “Casting Crowns” and “Jars of Clay”, the words pierce my heart and I begin to cry. If we are the body, why aren’t our hands reaching……I look at the poverty and the little chilcren alone on the street. Some sleeping, others playing. The smells of Cambodia warfting up into my senses…not all pleasant. I see my favorite old couple squating close together sharing a bit of…..

rice and wonder about their life. I can’t help but think about their souls. Running through the streets of a city in a country that is 95% Buddhist, my heart aches for them. God has created them; I am certain of that. I begin to pray that somehow God will work through our hands, our hearts, and our acts to show the love of Christ so that the people can praise the God who can save them. The warm smile, the gentle hug, a small meal or 1000 reil. Will they know? I don’t want to turn my eyes from them, yet after living here for two years, sometimes I do…..I get busy or overwhelmed at their plight, their past and their future. Everywhere we go there are people surviving on nothing.
Yesterday, we went on an AIDS home visit. Walking up desolate stairs to see women unknowingly infected with HIV from their husbands. There is a statistic in Cambodia….the number one risk factor for a woman to get HIV is getting married. The stairs are dark and very dirty, made from concrete that is worn down in many places. Not wanting to touch the walls but not wanting to misstep either, my mind goes to the time I walked up the stairs to Sovanny’s home and to Phalla’s home. These are some nurses at the Center of HOPE. They make a good living, yet their stairs are the same. The modest housing of this HIV patient is the same as our nurses. She must have had a good job before she became so weak. I look at her and she is very thin. At 29 years old she is unable to maintain her tailor business. Her mother has come to help. The young woman was married at 17 to a handsome young man. They had their whole lives to look forward to. HIV testing prior to marriage was not done at the time. The man she loved left her with a deadly disease which was unfortunately passes to their two daughters. Bitterness is on her tongue. Her husband died six years ago and she is still very angry with him which does not help. If only she had Jesus. She had her whole life ahead of her yet it has been taken so quickly. Even though she is on ARV therapy, her CD4 count is going down (which is not good). She became dizzy and fell, hitting her head very hard a few days before our visit. She went to the Center of HOPE, but at night we don’t accept non-life threatening emergencies. We just don’t have the capacity. So, she had to go to another hospital and pay for treatment receiving stitches in her head. That was a set back physically and financially and she was not happy about it. She worries that without HOPE she will not be able to get the treatment she needs. It cost her $20 and she had borrowed $10 from a neigbor. The needs far excedd what HOPE can provide totally free of charge. So many stories, so much hardship yet everywhere I turn, I see a smile. The run was a good one, I trust that God will show his love to these people and to our little group of amazing nurses and students.
SATURDAY:
Saturday morning begins a new day with an early morning run with my new running buddy, Shannon. Seeing the city in the morning hours is my favorite and now is Shannon’s too. On this run we come running up behind a gorup of about 8-10 Cambodians. As we run by they all cheer and several start running with us. It was a fun run and much needed encouragement as both Shannon and I were dragging a little. Then, off to the village at 0730. We are heading to Sovann’s village located in the province of Preah Veang. It is about 100 Km from Phnom Penh. It should take us about 2.5 hours to get there due to traffic and crossing the river by ferry. Three Australian medical students join us along with some of the disciples from church. Sovann leads the church here. He is an amazing man of God. He looks no more than 20 years old, but he is actually much older with a wife, Sopheap and two wonderful children. The plan is to get there and give some rice, clothes and bikes to some of the poorest villagers, eat lunch and head back. I have visited several villages while living in Cambodia, but never this one. There are 179 families in the village and 48 are very poor. Twenty-five do not have any rice in their homes. The rice crops are just being planted, so it will be a while before their own is ready for harvest. In a country where 85% of the population makes less than $1 per day, it amazes me that the rest of the 179 are not starving as well. One tragedy in a family can wipe them out.
The people greeted us with some trepidation. I am not sure they had ever seen white people. There were young and old, babies and children. Sovann told me before we went that there would be no bathroom in the village, so I was shocked to find a metal “outhouse”very close to where we gathered. Turns out that Sovann’s father built it just for our visit!! As the people gathered around to receive their “goodies” a truly faith building amazing things happened. Sovann greeted the people and told them who were were. He then proceeded to tell them about God and Jesus. He told them that it was because God loved us so much that we also loved them. He explained that it was God’s love that compelled us to give and that we in fact loved them. He then opened the Bible and read John 13:34 and Matthew 22:37-39. After that, he led us in a prayer. I was so in awe of God at that moment, I cried. He answered my prayer from Friday morning. I have been with other disciples to other villages and never have I seen the Bible read nor have I ever been able to pray with the villagers. …..we serve an AMAZING God.
Sovann’s sermon in church today was about just that. He shared that he had never had the opportunity to read the Bible to the people of his village in a group like that and had never been able to share the gospel of Christ. He told me that he felt a door was open when we came. It was really a very rewarding and faith building, awe-inspiring time for me.
Forty-eight families received 20 kg of rice each, clothes, medicine for the health center and two frizbees. Four of the poorest families that have to travel long distances on foot received a bicyle. With the money leftover from that, we were able to give a small amount to help in building the 1st primary school in the village. When Sovann was young, he had to travel so far to attend school that he just stayed away and came home about once a month! Most importantly, these villagers heard the news of God’s incredible love. My prayer is that at least one person becomes a disciple of Jesus because of Sovann sharing God’s word.
And there is more….a young non-Christian Cambodian needed a ride to the village and so Sovann said he could ride with him. Along the way, Sovann asked him if he knew about Jesus or had ever heard of him. The young man replied “no”. Sovann shared with him the scriptures, about his life, and the news of Christ during the ride to the village which ended up taking almost 4 hours. (TICB…this is Cambodia Baby). It was a great trip. We have many pictures……I wish I could put them on the blog for you to see. Thank you all for supporting this trip and thank you for your continued prayers and comments.
We love you all………