CAMBODIA and a service project

In October we spent 5 days in Cambodia. A 2 hour flight to Siem Reap. Just enough time to drink your juice box and play a couple games on your dad's iphone.

Siem Reap is in the northern part of Cambodia. It is beautiful. Covered in rice paddies or jungle or cities. And fascinating.

The French colonized Cambodia from 1863 to 1953. Before that they had one Cambodian King after another, wars between the Siamese (Thailand) and the Vietnamese, built BEAUTIFUL temples and large cities.

After the French left Cambodia in 1953 King Sihanouk took over and was in power about 10 years before the chaos of the American-Vietnam War spilled over into Cambodia causing their own civil war. When the U.S. pulled out of Vietnam they also could no longer support the anti-communist leaders in Cambodia and then Pol Pot and his horrifying Khmer Rouge took over in 1975.

Under the Khmer Rouge Cambodia was destroyed. Pol Pot reset to 'Year Zero' and wanted to erase all of the Cambodian culture, executing the educated, the artists, the historians. People suffered famines, starvation, torture. The genocide would kill over 2 million people.

I'll never forget meeting Paul at BYU in my audiology classes. He was born in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge and escaped with his brothers and sisters after hiding for days in rice paddies. He had a hearing loss in both ears from the gunshots and land mines. He was quiet, always smiling, always early and sat in the front row of every class with a tutor and did. not. miss. a. thing.

In 1979 the Vietnamese overthrew the Khmer Rouge and after some complicated politics Cambodia was back in the hands of the Cambodian people.

Things are not perfect today. Certainly not the government. Our guide told us that to renew your permit for a motorcycle you must pay $150 even though the receipt only says $125. The extra goes right into the corrupt pockets of the government officials. And the customs official at the airport asked Dustin for a tip.

The economy is slowly getting back on its feet. They mostly use the US dollars because their own Cambodian riel is so highly inflated. We couldn't even buy riel at the money changers "nobody buying, nobody selling."

But even with this history and the devasting poverty that fills the country every single person we met was kind and and hardworking and friendly and beautiful. Especially while selling souvenirs...

The food was great. Things we loved - cambodian curry, fish amok, fresh spring rolls. The boys loved riding in the motorcycle taxis - tuk tuks. And of course we learned our khmer words - "sua s'dei" for hello, "aw kohn" for thank you, and "aut ei te" for you're welcome.

We traveled with a few other families and one day were able to do a service project. The Cambodian driver we hired, Loy Bunseak, was also a member of our church.

He and his wife helped us organize to feed needy families in his congregation and provide other things they needed - white church shirts, school uniforms, diapers to be used at the church (no need at home), etc. With our small donations we were able to feed 20 families for a month.

In June there was a story about him in the Ensign magazine. Maybe you saw it?

Later that night his family took us (all of us!) to the homes of some of these families. We walked up a dirt path careful not to step in any water. Last week two missionaries visited a family whose house was flooded and got a rash all over their legs. Chetana carried the flashlight in front of me so I could see the path. I carried Gage up the path, around the corner by some fields, past two cows tied to a tree, to a few small houses with dirt floors and thatched roofs. No electricity. No running water. But a new water pump. and "we have a toilet!" The LDS charities built toilets last year.

People came quickly out of the houses with big smiles on their faces. The kids were so happy. The adults so gracious and beautiful. I had an unforgettable experience with Noah standing in the bathroom, a shiny new squatty potty in a dirt floor, holding a flashlight. A quiet conversation, unbelieving glances, and a lesson I am forever grateful for.

The boys handed candy to the kids. We brought our other gifts but the kids weren't as interested in what we brought as in shaking our hands and speaking to us in English, remembering our names. 'Jessie, how old are you? which one is your boy? how old is he? what's his name? where do you live?' They followed us from house to house.

Our 5 days in Cambodia, especially this night, left me so grateful for my blessings. So inspired by these people. But is that enough? Just to be grateful? Just to be inspired? Surely there is more we can do. think. believe. and be.

More posts of beautiful Cambodia to come.