Intermission

Hi, Jahhhk here again. That was Jinxgirl's report on our mission work. The Cambodians' way of life certainly makes you think, doesn't it?

By the way, before I forget, Jinxgirl asked me to help her make an advertisement for her own blog, Prongs' Story. I've linked it to my blog. Please check it out and comment. Thanks!

Now, sit back and relax as you hear my account of the sightseeing part of the trip. Enjoy!

VWAP Cambodia Day 5 (25 November 2008)

We got up extra early today and headed for Prey Sor Women's Prison. The process of entering the prison was very smooth, thanks to God's grace. However, only one camera was allowed so Uncle Wee Koon, the expert photographer, brought his camera in.

At first, the prisoners seemed hesitant and didn't smile. However, when we started to do worship with 4-year old Max singing endearingly into the mike, it broke the barrier and the prisoners quickly warmed up to us. Next, we performed the Prodigal Son Skit again. Most of the prisoners were laughing loudly by the end.

Pastor Mike preached about the message of the Prodigal Son after we were done. He had to alter the contents of his speech last minute. However, he did a great job and the prisoners seemed to be lapping up every word.

Joseph and I shared our testimonies to the prisoners after Pastor Mike had finished preaching. The prisoners listened attentively, like schoolchildren attending lessons.

I made my introduction in Khmer without the interpreter's help ( Jum Ream Suor, K'nyom Chmuo Janelle. K'nyom Ar Yuk Dorb Bpee: Greetings, my name is Janelle. I am 12 years old.) They were amazed and clapped loudly. I realised that to be effective in communication, you need to be able to speak the other person's language. That way, they will respect you more and listen to you more carefully.

I was a bag of nerves on stage. Fortunately, I managed to complete my testimony without stumbling. Thank God!

Upon leaving the prison, we visited the Women's Group Village. We rode a Bullock Cart to the village as it was too far from the main road and inaccessible by bus. The ride was bumpy and the road was not well-paved but it was a new experience nevertheless. I wondered how the villagers could stand taking the bullock cart every time they entered or left the village.

Lunch was provided by the Women's Village. When we had eaten, a small group of kids had arrived.

We were still waiting for the whole group of 80 kids, so we played outdoor games with the kids who were already there.

When everyone had arrived, we conducted the Children's Party, just as we had the day before. All of the VWAP children were helping except Max, who was sleeping in the hammock.

However, I noticed that this group of kids seemed less enthusiastic than the kids at the church the day before. They also seemed to hold an air of scorn and contempt for our efforts about them. It was a little odd but I figured it was because the kids here were older than the kids in the church.

We took the Bullock Cart back to the main road. This time, the cow kept whipping my head with its tail!

We were originally supposed to visit Michael House, a children's home, but there are no children there yet so we returned to the hotel early.

We had dinner at a La Mian Restaurant. It was delectable and very filling.

Here ends our mission work. The rest of the trip is for sightseeing.

VWAP Cambodia Day 4 (24 November 2008)

It was back to Phnom Penh today. We checked out of the hotel and travelled the 2 1/2 hour journey back, once again using the ferry to cross the Mekong River. Like in Prey Veng, locals were knocking on the windows, trying to get us to buy stuff while we waited for the ferry. I felt sorry for them. They were begging us to buy from them, to give them a little lifeline, some money to survive another day. Unfortunately, fried spider is not my cup of tea.

When we were nearing the hotel, I noticed that the schools still had dirt grounds instead of cemented grounds. Also, none of the students wore school shoes. The slightly richer ones wore slippers.


At the same time, I spotted a truck driving past. There were locals seated on the roof of the truck or any other spot they could find, clinging on desperately. That was THEIR version of public transport!




Our new hotel in Phnom Penh was named Asia Hotel, and it was much grander than the hotel in Prey Veng. We checked in, then had lunch at KFC, which was just downstairs.

After lunch, we travelled to Pastor Chhinho's Church, where we held the Children's Party. The Church was even smaller than my living room at home! However, there were 40-50 children squeezed into it! Everyone was sitting on the floor and it was hot and stuffy inside.

In Singapore, we have air-con for church service. The moment the air-con temperature rises a little, we hear a chorus of grumbling. We insist on sitting on chairs and refuse to be squashed in tiny rooms. We could definitely learn a lesson or two from these kids.

The Children's Party comprised of: The Prodigal Son Skit, Art and Craft, Games and Balloon Sculpting. I could tell that the children were enjoying every moment of the Party. The look on the faces of the children as they received the prizes and gift packs was worth all the effort we had put in every Sunday after church.

We had dinner at Thmorda restaurant with Pastor Chhinho's church group. The meal was the most scrumptious and filling meal I had ever tasted. They served various dishes such as Tom Yum Soup, chicken, fish, fried beancurd, string beans and so on.

We had devotion and worship again to reflect on God's blessings earlier that day. I was thankful that the kids had enjoyed the Party and that the journey to Phnom Penh had been smooth and uneventful.

VWAP Cambodia Day 3 (23 November 2008)

We returned to the Christian Centre again. This time, the cooks and their children were nowhere to be seen. We attended church, along with the locals.


After the worship service, we performed the Prodigal Son Skit again for both the adults as well as the children.




Then, we sat down and attended the Sunday School service with the children. Not unlike in Singapore, most were listening attentively but there were a few mischievous ones who were looking everywhere but at the teachers.



While we were in PVCC, Uncle Emi, Uncle Meng and Uncle Wee Koon rode on motorbikes to visit Villages Krang Pon and Chan to interact with the locals and preach to them. Pastor Mike stayed on to preach in PVCC.


When Sunday School was over, we returned to the hotel. I went over to Aunty Bee Wah's room, where the other kids were watching TV and eating cup noodles. I had two whole cups of Tom Yam noodles for lunch. Meanwhile, the adults were still in PVCC, wrapping up the service.

We soon left for Prey Kla Village. The ride to Prey Kla village was so bumpy that we were literally bouncing in our seats. We saw padi fields, ducks and cows but were unable to take any photos as it was too bouncy and the photos all came out blurry. Thank God it was not raining as the bus might have gotten stuck in the mud, causing us to be delayed.

When we finally arrived, we visited the farmhouse. There was a whole pen of ducks there! They were really silly and the moment we walked over, they waddled in the opposite direction, quacking loudly in alarm! It was really funny! After the adults finally managed to get us to stop teasing the ducks, we did balloon sculpting for each and every kid in the village.

Originally, some of us were supposed to do a worship service in the church but it was so small that only 2 adults and 1 translator could fit in it, so only Pastor Mike and Aunty Ann went in. This is the outside of the church...

And the inside!

Some of the kids came back for more after they had gotten the first balloon. I noticed there was a simple playground next to the place where we were doing the balloon sculpting.

Soon, we visited Hope village. The 3 adults who had left to visit the other villages earlier on joined us as well. Hope village did not have a playground, but it was more creative. It used a tyre as a swing and put wooden barrels in the open field for the kids to play with. I saw a few boys playing Frisbee with a slipper.





When we wanted to do balloon sculpting, the kids did not want us to do it for them. Rather, they wanted to learn how to do it themselves. Some boys were duelling with balloons that had merely been blown up but not sculpted.











On top of that, Hope village was self-sufficient. It did not need to buy food or water from elsewhere. It had a system to cleanse rainwater for consumption or personal use. They also grew their own food to eat.

It was my family's turn at devotion and worship that day. We sang the songs that I had chosen and gave out the song sheets to everyone.

VWAP Cambodia Day 2 (22 November 2008)

After breakfast at the restaurant, we headed for Prey Veng Christian Centre for the Sunday School Teacher Training.






Firstly, we performed the Prodigal Son Skit to explain to the teachers how to teach Bible lessons in a more interesting manner. After that, we were allowed to do what we wanted.





I saw a little boy kicking around a piece of wood near the kitchen area. He looked a little lonely and bored, so I started kicking the wood back to him. He seemed to be having lots of fun, even though his "soccer ball" was just an old, abandoned piece of wood!


After a while, he went for lunch. The VWAP team members were given buns to eat as a snack, but I wasn't hungry, so I gave mine to the boy. His eyes lit up when he saw the bun, and he began to eat it slowly, savouring it.


Then, he went to the kitchen area. I saw that he gave some of it to a cook working in the kitchen. Later, I found out that the little boy was the son of the cook, who had brought him to the Christian Centre with her as she had to work and wanted to keep an eye on him.











After the boy had eaten, I took an empty plastic bottle from the ground and kicked it to him. It was much better than a piece of wood and the little boy soon began kicking the bottle with great enthusiasm. I saw three kids who were older than the little boy in the kitchen area, watching us longingly.I invited them to play as well. They, too, had fun with the bottle.

Soon, it was time for the VWAP members to eat lunch. Lunch here is prepared the old-fashioned way. Chicken meat is chopped up using axes.









Soup is boiled in pots over a charcoal fire.




A basic Khmer meal always consists of: Rice, Vegetables in the form of a salad( Carrots, Cucumbers, etc.) and soup, boiled using herbs and bones to give it flavour.

After lunch, Hannah and Ernie, 2 other VWAP members, joined us in our game. The kids were laughing loudly and having a lot of fun. They had quickly warmed to us and started showing us around the Christian Centre. They showed us how they fed the fish in the pond with scraps of chicken left over from their own meal. They also took us to the garden to catch insects. Although they were only engaging in simple activities, they were really having fun. Before we left, the little boy began hoarding all the empty water bottles he could find and refusing to let anyone else so much as touch them.

Looking back, I felt that city kids like us should be thankful for what we have. These kids could enjoy themselves without any electronic devices, or even without sports equipment. What more us, with all our high-tech stuff?

We are so much more fortunate, with decent clothes, a bed, a roof over our head, enough food, and plenty of things to occupy us. To the little boy, the bun he received was a treasure beyond words. It was probably all he would eat for the rest of the day. The bottles, too, were priceless to him. He had so little that even useless things like those discarded bottles were considered his treasures. I felt ashamed when I thought of all the times I had wasted food, or when I had wasted money buying things I don't really need.



We visited the market nearby. The road wasn't a ma lu (horse road), it was a niu lu (cow road)!















This is the condition of the wet markets in Cambodia.

After returning to the hotel, we showered and had devotion and worship again. The adults shared about how they had been training the Christian Centre Leaders to run the Centre effectively while we had been performing the skit and playing with the children.

VWAP Cambodia Day 1 (21 November 2008)

After arriving in Cambodia, we claimed our nametags. This is my name in Khmer.








Then, we drove from Phnom Penh to Prey Veng in a bus. The bus drove onto a ferry to cross the Mekong River. While we were waiting for the ferry to arrive, locals kept knocking on the windows of the bus, trying to sell us fruits, soft drinks, chewing gum, sunglasses and even local delicacies like
fried beetles or

snake jerky!

Throughout the 2 1/2 hours journey, I noticed that the roads in Prey Ceng were all dirt roads. They were uncemented and very dusty. We soon arrived at Mittapheap hotel and had lunch at the hotel's restaurant, just next to it. Then, it was off to start our mission work!

First, we visited the house of Aunty Bee Ngoh, one of the missionaries there. It was really large! We saw a frog on a leaf in the garden. Mum thought it was a headless chicken.

The Youth Drop-In Centre was our next destination. Youths can come after school to use the computer, read or play sports if they are bored or alone at home. However, most of the youths were in their late teens or already young adults.

There are many donated English books there with loads of interesting reading material. One of the youths I spoke to, on the other hand, said that the books were mostly untouched as she and the other youths found them difficult to read and understand.

We played captain's ball with the youths. They really enjoyed themselves and were ecstatic whenever they scored points. They also seemed to appreciate having other people to interact with. Since most of the youths returned home in the evenings, we decided to return to the hotel.


After dinner at the restaurant, we went to shower before heading to Aunty Ann's room to do devotion and worship. After that, we had a rehearsal for the Prodigal Son Skit we were supposed to perform the next day before we turned in for the night.

Introduction

Hello, testing 1, 2, 3. This is Jinxgirl. Jahhhk has asked me to write about the mission work part of our Cambodia Visit With A Purpose Trip. She feels that it would be a better way to convey the touching and enlightening message of how the Cambodians have a simple but happy life.