In the Land of White Cows

Brendon came to see me off at the airport, which was really nice of him as I don't exactly have family members to see me off. Apart from team members' parents, there were random Heartbeaters and cell members, as well as the missions mistress Elaine and the two hospitality ladies Pei Shan and Amanda. A large and grand send-off, Heartbeat style, where the sending party is normally about three times the size of the one leaving.


Had a lovely surprise when Brendon presented me with a maroon hardcover NIV before I left. Can't believe he paid so much attention to what I said in cell about my dilapidated Bible and not having the time to get a new one before the mission trip--right down to the colour. I am inspired to be a a more attentive cell leader to my own cell. My mind wanders to distant corners far too often these days, sometimes even during conversations.


Had a nasty shock just after liftoff when I discovered that the coleslaw Elaine had stuffed into my bag was leaking...all over my two most precious Bibles. The Alkitab and the new maroon Bible were not spared. Lucas and I spent the next half an hour cleaning up my bag and Bibles. It was a good bonding time, what with Lucas and I having to carefully manouevre the coleslaw container out and using a ton of napkins to soak up the damage. And in the end the Bibles escaped unscathed though they smelt a little of cabbage and mayo for a while. I've since found Lucas to be a great help anytime; he's been a wonderful brother-in-Christ to have on the trip.


In that one week our days consisted generally of a morning worship and devotions, followed by breakfast before meeting the church staff to begin ministry. We would spend the first day walking about the neighbourhood inviting people to the church for an event (the staff there call it "outreach") and then the second day would be the outreach itself. Our first outreach was in the main church in Phnom Penh, so we went about the neighbourhood inviting the youth. On Saturday we had the "outreach," which started with games for the youth, followed by worship songs and performances and a message by Reverend Tiet Heng. The message was in Khmer and I had to crane my neck to hear Nitha, the church staff attached to my team, translating for us.



Photos taken by Linus.


Nitha and Pisay were the two ladies in charge of orientating the team. Without them, we would have been at a loss, as they did all the translation. For the next few days we did the same outreach, but in different locations that took about an hour of travel in the back of the church truck. The back of the truck is where the most cultural exchange took place. We taught icebreaker games like Big Fish Small Fish (the Khmer version: trai tom trai toudh) and Zero Zero Seven Bang! (som som praam bang!) while they taught us Fruit to Fruit and the Khmer version of Blow Wind Blow. Fruit to Fruit proved gut-wrenchingly hilarious, as we each took the name of a fruit and had to pronounce it without showing our teeth. The game is played by calling from fruit to fruit. For instance, if I am a pineapple I start the game by saying "pineapple to durian," and durian continues by calling out to another fruit, "durian to coconut,"and so on. The game is funny in itself but adding in a forfeit for those who laugh makes it a great party game. Jimmy evoked the most laughs with his face tightly drawn to say "coconut." With his lips pulled over his teeth, he looked and sounded like a real-life muppet.



In the outlying villages we found that just about everyone farms, owns either cows, chicken, dogs or all three (and sometimes ducks). 98% of cows are white (or they used to be, but turned greyish brown from dirt), with only several brown or black ones. 100% of cows are skinny and haggard creatures. Their lack of fat makes them agile. We saw one scratching its face with a hoof, as if it were a dog. Speaking about dogs, their dogs seem to be of a fairly homogenous breed too. There were many of a generic black short and stiff fur, apart from the common pedigree types from pet shops. I reckon I mention this simply because I find it interesting compared to the dearth of animals in Singapore and KL where I come from. Although there was this huge goat with a bell about its throat that used to wander the streets in my neighbourhood...




The people are in general very friendly, but also shy with foreigners. Many of the children keep their distance but come as close as they can to satisfy their curiosity. We got sweets to give to them, and even then, they only crowded round us if they were in a large group of at least ten. Otherwise they stayed at arm's length at all times. Many children and families live on the streets. They simply sleep on mats on the pavement or in hammocks. The weather, apart from rainy days, is mild enough for them to survive, unlike in temperate regions, but even then it is not safe to do so especially for street children unprotected by adults.

The saddest thing I saw was a street kid who bumped into Linus and started beating up Linus' bag--for no apparent reason. He barely reached Linus' knee. Then he turned his fists on someone else in the group, ended up swiping air, and wandered off completely tuned out of reality. He couldn't have been more than six, but he seemed to be high on something.

Half of Cambodia's population consists of youth--due in part to the shadow of the Khmer Rouge that has left hardly any family untouched. Nitha and Rev. Tiet Hieng both had stories to tell. Imagine a man who, caught by the Khmer Rouge, denies his wife and children in order to save them from imprisonment. His wife, up to this day, cries when she thinks of him as she has never found out what happened to him. Their last words were not goodbyes but fearful looks and loud cries denying any relationship with each other. Those were Nitha's grandparents.The Khmer Rouge had a policy of total wipe-out; they would destroy entire clans and even close friends of those connected to the supposed anti-revolutionary. Rev Tiet Hieng lost all his siblings to the red scourge.

So here are youth who live on barebone education. According to Rev, students and teachers alike attend school as and when they please--even in Phnom Penh. The pay is low and corruption is rife, resulting in an almost non-existent public education system. Many of the youth I met had a burning desire to learn English, but there is a lack of qualified English teachers there. Knowing English is the best way out of poverty for them, as it allows them to take up lucrative jobs in the tourism industry.

And that is the land of white cows and paddy fields in seven days. More personal reflections later.