My Life Changing Trip To Cambodia - May 2016 Jum reap sou! My name is Alicia, and I had the incredible, life changing opportunity to serve in Phnom Penh this past May alongside my team from Canada. This experience truly flipped my life upsidedown and also revealed my passion to be apart of ministry in Cambodia one day. We made life lasting memories while in Phnom Penh along with deep friendships with the incredible staff at the Children @ Risk ministry center. I really feel as though I left my heart in Cambodia with the Khmer people. During our time here, I was constantly pushed out of my comfort zone which only deepened my relationship with God and sparked a flame in my journey of faith! I am now determined to keep that flame burning for as long as I live. Since arriving back in Vancouver, I have been longing to go back to Cambodia, sensing God gently nudging me and whispering that one day soon, I shall call Phnom Penh home. I am so excited to run down this path God is laying before me!! It didn t take us very long to both see and feel the pain and suffering of the people of Cambodia. The actrocities and killings of close to three million people during the Khmer Rouge not even 40 years ago and the fact that 95% of the population is Buddhist, revealed their desperate need for a God who loves them, and cares for them! We had the privilege to serve alongside Rachelle Schellenberg and the UofN Children@Risk ministry center during our time in Phnom Penh. In 2007, this particular slum community of over 2,000 families was relocated to a parcel of land on the outskirts of the city. Due to the lack of education and employment, they children and families there are at risk of prostitution, drugs, gambling and many other issues. The staff who work at the Center are amazing and it was so inspiring to watch them love on the kids and minister to them. You can totally see God working in and through them. It was also fun to connect with them on a deeper level as well as we spent time with them studying the word, praying for them and having worship times as well.
Every morning, we would head down to the Center to begin our ministry day. We would spend time visiting the elderly in their homes and hear their life stories while also having a chance to share our personal testimonies. After sharing some bible teaching we would then have time to pray and encourage them in their faith journey and asking God to bless them richly. Vuthy, our crazy awesome translator made it possible to communicate with the Khmer people, since most people in Cambodia do not speak English. We learned early on that the language barrier would be a constant frustration but we were so thankful to have our faithful translator with us during our time in Cambodia. One morning we invited the parents from the slums to come to the Center for a special ministry time. Once they arrived, we worshiped together, studies the bible, prayed for each other and and then we shared our testimonies with them. Then we were able to do a Mini-Parenting Seminar where we were able to explain how important it is to encourage their children to go to school and work hard so that they will have a better chance of finding a good job in the future. Hopefully, this will mean the kids won t be forced into the rice fields, be unemployed or even a worst case scenario - being taken advantage of by someone wanting to exploite them or bring them harm.
Usually in the afternoons, we got to play with the kids and for me, that was my favourite time of the day! It was so fun and inspiring to see their radiant smiles eaach day, and to see how happy they are all the time, even if they don t have a roof over their heads, or a clean shirt to put on every morning. I was really challenged in my thinking that we don t need much in order to be happy, because all we truly need in our lives is God, and that is the most precious gift of all! With the kids, we would play a variety of games, including using the parachute - which was usually their favorite activity! Then we would sing songs together, share bible stories embarrass ourselves by acting out the people and the animals! Then, we would do a craft with them or bring out coloring sheets! They loved it and we enjoyed spending time with them! We were able to do a Basic Health Care Clinic at the Center on one of our mornings. We were able to cut the boys and girls hair, wash their hair using big buckets and pails and then for the girls, we would brush and braid their hair and paint their nails pretty colours! It was a super impactful morning, especially knowing that they only get cleaned up like this once a week.
One afternoon, I felt a nudge from God to walk outside of the center and look outside the door, and sure enough there were 3 boys playing outside with a flip flop, so I grabbed a soccer ball and immediately their faces lit up with smiles. Eventually, another little boy came along and decided to sit and watch, but he never joined in to play, as he was very shy and seemed scared. In fact, he would barely look at me. I could feel God telling me to spend time with this little boy, and so I did and sure enough, by the end of the day we were inseparable. Later that week, one of the staff members at the Center told me his name of this 6 year-old boy and told me that he lives with his Grandmother and older sister here in the slum community but his parents live and work in Thailand. Throughout his time at the center, that staff had never seen him connect with anybody the way that he had connected with me! This really touched my spirit and melted my heart, but if it wasn t for God, I never would have never had this incredible opportunity. I saw the little boy every day that week and at the end of our time there it was SO hard to say goodbye to him but I told him I would be back soon, and I fully intend to keep that promise to both him and to God. So, I have decided to get my nursing degree here in Canada, while continuing my basketball career at university. I truly believe this is the path God has laid out for me, and I am excited to dedicate the rest of my life to Him! This experience has been so powerful and inspiring to see how God is working across the world. I feel so blessed to have travelled to Southeast Asia with my amazing team. If you ever get the chance to serve in Cambodia I would say drop everything, pack your bags, get on the next plane and do it because you will come back a completely different person, and will have grown even closer to God!
Our time in Cambodia was such a blessing and we made many life lasting memories with our team, the kids and the Khmer staff from the Children @ Risk ministry. Even though the needs are many, God is working in Cambodia in amazing ways!! From the moment we landed in Phnom Penh, I could feel God calling me here one day. It is hard to describe it, but I sense that one day I will call this incredible place home. I can t wait! Even though our trip may have come to an end, my journey with God is only beginning.