Mission to Cambodia 2013
from Erin Pettepher

Coming back to Cambodia for a second time, I felt like I was ready. Ready to lead, ready to love, ready to share with others what I had already experienced. But I quickly realized that I, like everyone else on the trip, would never be able to prepare myself for the images we would see, the emotions we would feel, and the stories we would hear.

Here in Cambodia, we see the abnormal. We see motos with three to five people on the back,  people selling food covered in flies, families sleeping on the sidewalks, naked children playing outside, broken huts as homes, and much much more. We are seeing poverty first hand. We are seeing the uncomfortable. A first time experience for many on this trip. But through all the poverty there remains this overwhelming sense of peace and  joy.

The joy that is shared from person to person fills my heart. And it continues to amaze me each time I see it.  This trip I have been reminded of the power of a simple smile. Whether they understand my language, or have the same religious beliefs as I do, my smile says something. It means something. To me, it means I am here to learn about you, here to help you, here to love you, here to serve you. A smile can say a lot of things. A smile can mean a lot of things. A smile can change a lot of things. And for me, a simple smile has changed everything.

Below I have added some pictures of a few individuals that have changed my perspective towards my life, my gratefulness, and of my future on this trip thus far. With each of these individuals, a simple smile was my only source of communication. For me, I have learned that it doesn’t always matter what you say, but how you express yourself. And for me, that is through a smile.

I love you and miss you Mom, Dad, and Matthew. See you soon!

From the service project in Phnom Penh where we built a family a new house. She is the youngest of 8 children.

The grateful parents from the service project.

I along with another student had the opportunity to eat dinner at a local Cambodians house. These were two of his granddaughters.