I’ve been back in Michigan for four days now and thought it would be good to backtrack and reflect on the incredible experiences in Cambodia.
First off – what are the odds that 13 adults can all be reached on a Sunday afternoon and make it to one destination in about two hours? Virtually nil. But that is what happened on our very first day. Our very first flight was canceled (the one from Detroit to Chicago) the day before it was to depart. Plan B was quickly put into effect (who knew there was a Plan B?) and all of us were contacted and at the church ready to ride in vehicles to Chicago. We had to make that flight to Seoul or the trip would be in serious jeopardy. We made it; think God was looking out for us?
In Chicago, many of us listened to John’s advice and stayed up the whole night playing the Great Dalmouti. By staying up, this would more quickly allow us to acclimate ourselves to Cambodia time. As miserable as this was (the staying up part), it seemed to work. It has been much more difficult acclimating myself back to Michigan time. Staying up that first night allowed us to get to know our teammates much better prior to departing. Watch out for Tara and Jessica as they seemed to hog the Greater and Lesser Dalmouti seats half the night!
Our first day was very sobering as we visited a couple of genocide museums. I knew a bit about the Khmer Rouge – but didn’t quite know to what extent they had inflicted torture, suffering, and death on such a large part of the population. They eliminated most of the educated people (and their families) in the country in the late 1970′s. No wonder it has been such a very slow recovery for Cambodia.
After a day of thinking about genocide and why Cambodia is in such a mess yet today; it was great to relax in a beautiful pool that evening, doing the backstroke and looking up at the stars and knowing God was watching over us. I’m not much for swimming generally, but our hotel pool at night was such a relief.
The next morning we were at Kids Club. Though there was some shelter, it was basically an outside facility. It took a few minutes for me to follow Greg’s lead and take my shoes off and walk on an outdoor tile to join in the lesson. I could easily imagine the outdoor tiles being a place where kids did a lot of drooling and other stuff, mixed in with the dirty, dry Cambodian dust. Ultimately I told myself that if I’m going to make it through the rest of this trip, I’m going to have to drop some of my Western ways. So, I took my shoes off and joined in on the fun. I didn’t think much of this thereafter, but that first stocking foot step was difficult – I stood outside the doorway a good little while.
The Kids Club kids were super. We tried to compare the size of the Jackfruit growing on the tree to the size of Harvey’s head. Close, but the Jackfruit was larger.
That evening we were back at Kids Club. The population had quadrupled. When you are traveling with your own Goliath (Big John), it is hard to pass on doing the story of David and Goliath. Tara read the story, Theara intrpreted it, and John played his part well as he was struck down by a Cambodian boy playing David. I didn’t see John on the red carpet a the Oscar’s last night – but he did a good job.
After travel by bus, out next three days were mostly spent with the Rapha House girls. It was Friday evening and the girls were prepared to perform a number of dances and songs for us. They were fantastic. I had two little girls sitting behind me. Every now and then they would poke me in the shoulder. I’d turn around and make a funny face at them (easy for me to do) and they would giggle and sit back in their chairs. The very last song of the night was “Give Thanks” and these two little girls knew all the words, in English, and it was certainly the sweetest singing I had ever heard. It was then that I knew that Rapha House had to be a special place. I would later hear of some of the terrible ordeals some of the girls had been through, including the two that were poking me. For them to now have something to be Giving Thanks for (at the top of their little lungs) is truly a wonder.
My wife, Elaine, could not believe it, but on Saturday, I got a pedicure. The girls from the Rapha Freedom Foundation wanted to practice their trades, so most of us either got a manicure, pedicure, or hair cut or colored. The girl who did my feet deserved combat pay. Her name was Sopheap. A very sweet, shy girl – maybe about 16 or so. I was happy later when we went out for ice cream that (despite working on my feet) she was willing to sit next to me. She seemed to open up a bit more at desert, and I was later told that she’d not been doing well of late. Hopefully her laughing at my ugly feet, and later my singing, gave her some relief!
At a new Rapha House in another town a couple days later we met with some new girls. There were only about 15 or so of them, so we could almost be one on one with the girls. There was a girl, maybe not as pretty as the others, that seemed to be staying to herself as frisbees and footballs and bubbles were flying all around. I asked her if she would want to bounce a super ball, and showed her how. She indicated she would like to do that. So, we did. At times others would join in and we’d bounce it around a triangle. But, they’d get bored and move on to something else. But, Jorani and I would continue. Back and forth and back and forth. I remembered how much I liked to play catch with my father when I was young. I guessed that Jorani never had a similar opportunity. She probably never had much one on one attention at all, ever. So, we kept bouncing the ball. One young girl brought me a flower to put behind my ear. I did. But, it seemed kind of silly; so after a while I asked Jorani if I could put it behind her ear. She said yes, and was very still as I awkwardly placed it on her. Then, we were back to bouncing the ball. We eventually had to leave. It was difficult as in that one hour of bouncing a ball, we seemed to have connected – just a bit. Jorani told me she loved me as I left, and I told her I loved her too. It was very touching what a little attention can do to these young broken girls. It was just so hard to believe the terrible cruelties Jorani and the others had been through.
Coming back, it’s been hard to not have the kids on my mind. Continue praying for the children of Cambodia and for our wisdom in making the best of our resources to help them out more. Fred
Fred, I think you should consider a career in literature. You can write brother!