date with dad in beijing

Today was daddy and daughter day. We made our way to the subway where we were once again pushed and shoved and squeezed into and through crowds of Chinese people. You just have to find humor in the whole situation – there’s no point stressing about the realities of life in a big city in Asia with such a large population, especially during a holiday weekend. I introduced my dad to the egg crepe thing that Jenny so loved, and then we headed down towards church. We left a bit earlier so that we could wander around a bit, and also to have breakfast or coffee together. My dad was craving Chinese “you tiao”– fried dough cruellers eaten with soymilk, so we looked all over the area for that. Finally we found one in the basement of Carrefour, of all places. Not on a random street corner or small shop but in a large foreign owned department store.

pops thought this bldg was cool. can
you see us in the bottom left corner?

close up of us in the bldg.

We then wandered our way over to Church. When I was studying in China back in the day, I attended an international megachurch, accessible only by those of us with foreign passports. This Church that we visited today is “above the ground”, a legitimate government recognized house of worship, allowing Chinese and international people to come and worship together. It was such a wonderful experience and so moving to be able to be among so many Chinese localers, so on fire for Him.

Haidian Church

line waiting to go in to service

We then had a wonderful lunch with Jenn and Jonathan, talked for hours, and then pops and I headed to downtown Wangfujing area to wander the shops and check out the street market. Good times chatting up, wandering the streets, exploring… then we headed back onto the subway to meet back up with my dad’s friend / the uncle and family. They offered to have Peking duck for dinner – we (for the record, heavily influenced by dad) opted for pizza, which was a delicious choice. Went to a cool restaurant called Tube Station. Upon entering, the smell of a American food infiltrated my senses and made me feel at home right away… deliciousness. I am such an American.

bye bye Jenny... where's waldo at the beijing train station?

This morning Jenny and I parted ways with Lisa, well, sort of, and then headed back to the apartment so Jenny could pack up and get ready to head out to the airport. I say we “sort of” parted ways with Lisa because… Lisa was also headed to the airport later today to fly back to Shanghai, and her flight was just about the same time as Jenny’s back to the states. We found it funny that they’d be able to meet up for lunch at the airport because since Jenny and I first arrived in Asia to Shanghai, Lisa has been there. Then, Lisa joined us in Cambodia for the first half of the week and then she headed off separately to Siem Reap. Then she also happened to be in Beijing for business for some of the days we were here too. It’s as if we just can’t get enough of each other… Jenny saw her again at the airport, which I felt was such perfect planning by Him – it gave me some peace of mind knowing she had made it okay on the airport train to the airport… and then I’ll see Lisa again in a few days time back in Shanghai.

As we wandered our way back to the apartment, we stopped at our favorite food carts… the scallion egg fried wonton crepe and jenny’s fav… the fish cake hot dog / kielbasa like meat on a stick. Bellies full, arms weighed down by bags, and off we went through the packed crowds of the Beijing metro system.

Jenny and I parted ways, and then I wandered my way to a McDs to use their wifi and grab a quick snack before I met up with my pops. Jenn Kim stopped by briefly – so great to see her smile!!! And then off I went to meet my pops at the Beijing West Railway Station.

After being squished and sandwiched in multiple directions working my way through the subway and searching in the wrong places for my connecting bus to the train station, then playing “Where’s Waldo” at the train station square filled with a sea of Chinese people, one of which was my dad, with the help of cell phones and large signs, I finally located my dad who was craving pizza… unfortunately we couldn’t find a pizza place nearby so we hit up the second best choice – McDonalds. Yes, if you think I’m American, well, I take after my pops. After catching up for a bit over a McD’s late lunch, we headed up to Tsinghua University to meet my dad’s good friend, and the uncle that’s been helping us out with accommodations and all. On the subway to meet the uncle, my dad, who by the way has been working in China since September, was pointing out to a guy that you’re not supposed to eat on the train (yes, we are a family of rule followers…the guy was kind of making a mess and the train was packed so we didn’t want his food all over us and stinking up the whole train). The guy respectfully said sorry and thank you for letting me know in Chinese – and my dad responds in English… “it’s okay… I just wanted to let you know…” I’m standing there shaking my head and laughing at how American he is. He’s in China and has been in China and yet he naturally chooses English as his first language. I love it!

We finished off our day with dinner with him and family at a famous mutton hot pot place – a traditional Beijing meal. During dinner we shared that we were going to go visit a Church in the morning, and invited them to come along. The uncle’s daughter actually is considering it, mentioning that her daughters might be interested in coming. I was super pumped and am praying that He leads them there!

Oh yeah… Qing Ming Jie.. tomb sweeping holiday in China… not to be confused with Valentines Day. When I met up with my dad at the train station… here’s how the convo went:
Me: dad, is it some holiday or something? There’s so many people everywhere!
Dad: yes, it’s qing ming jie.
Me: what is that… like valentine’s day or something?
Dad: uh.. no… not even close… tomb sweeping day.
Me: oh… woops… totally off. Qing sounds like the word for kiss in Chinese but I guess I had the wrong “qing”.

April Fools Day in Beijing

Okay, well, we didn't do anything for April Fools... I actually kind of forgot until now...

This morning we made our way to meet one of my old co-workers from Lincoln who moved back to China shortly after I myself left Lincoln. We met a major challenge enroute as my phone ran out of minutes, making it quite difficult to figure out how to get to her place. Thankfully the taxidriver was kind enough to lend us her phone. We had a great time catching up, and was happy to meet her little 8 month old boy – uber cute!, and then we headed out to have authentic, traditional style Peking duck. Oh YUMMY! It was so good… with each slice of duck carefully sliced to include a layer of crispy skin, a layer of fat, and some meat, then wrapped in a tortilla with cucumber and scallion, then stuffed into my drooling mouth. Oh man it was so delicious!

We then headed to XiuShui Jie where we haggled and were haggled by others to buy their goods..lots and lots of stuff…. fake stuff. Then off to dinner at a Persian resturant with Lisa and couple of her good friends and their adorable four year old who looks mixed because she is, but speaks perfect Chinese.

It's Jenny's last night in China so Lisa pretty easily convinced us to come by and have a drink at her hotel lounge.  Honestly I was a bit tired and didn't feel like cabbing it back to our place after hanging out because we are staying somewhat in the boonies so it would not be a cheap ride, but nonetheless, without much convincing, for whatever reason, we said yes... and I'm so thankful we did!

One, because it was just a nice, relaxing, and enjoyable time to enjoy ourselves and talk girl talk.  And secondly, there's someone who I've been trying to meet with (from a business standpoint).  He is actually based in Japan but comes to China pretty frequently for work.  Even with the devastation, I was considering going to Japan to meet him if we weren't going to be able to meet in China.  But, in the lounge I jumped onto email real quick and saw a note from him, sent in the morning saying that he was in Beijing for the day, and asked if I had time to meet.  Mind you I get this email after 10pm, shot him a quick reply, and get a phone call shortly afterwards.  He swung over to the hotel shortly before midnight to meet and chat!  Thankful we happened to still be downtown with Lisa...  Good conversation. Then we had a girls night slumber party at Lisa's... although it was not much of a party since we basically just fell asleep.

Food… bargaining… food… wandering… drinks… meeting… sleepover.

Squatty Toilets

Despite the amount of time I’ve spent in Asia over the years, I still am never sure which way I am to face when using a squatty toilet. I’m sorry – perhaps this is too much personal information to share, but really, it perplexes me. Plus, I think having some resolution on the proper squatting technique will be helpful information for all of us who venture out to parts of Asia where the squatty is often an option, if not THE only option. When I think I’ve got it right – facing the door – something throws me off like a wastebasket that gets in the way of the squat. And other times, well, I just don’t know.

My friend told me today that the key is to squat right over the flushing hole of the toilet. So, I’ll see how that methodology works out over the next few days and report back on its success.

Gosh I also worry about my non-Asian friends. I remember when I was studying in China back in college, my non-Asian friends had a hard time balancing their squat, unable to hold it at street level without falling backwards. What a horrible predicament to be in when you are forced to use a squatty toilet. I’ll be praying for protection from that for non-Asians and Asians alike.

On a side note, here a couple of cool ideas in bathrooms I've visited in Asia.

Etiquette Bell (at Soeul airport bathroom).
Plays a loud flushing sound for those
defecating moments.  Come on.. you know you've
wasted water by flushing to cover up the sound at times.

Recycled goodness in Taiwan.

No more lies!!! ...and the Great Wall

Jenny and I went out to the Great Wall today.  It was Jenny's first time.  I’ve been to several parts of the great wall in the past years, but it seems to always impress me.  She was so cute… so in awe… so pooped from the many unending huge steps… in awe of these older people who were still climbing just fine despite us feeling like dying.  As we left the apartment this morning, I debated the ankle brace and decided not to take it, but for whatever reason, after we had closed the door, the spirit must have come over me or something and kicked some smart sense in and told me to go get it… and boy… am I super thankful for that.  Several times it could have been bad without it!  Thank YOU!

So we planned to take public transport to the wall, but when we got there, the man who was flagging people into the bus told us the last one to the wall left at 10. We kind of got a later start so we had just missed it. He offered to take us in a car – it seemed a little shady, but not knowing what other options there were, we looked this guy up and down, saw him communicate with his buddies – he seemed to work for the bus company – and decided to go for it. It was a bit pricier than we had hoped but at that point, to our knowledge, we had no other options.


Anyhow, he was a nice man, but by the time we got to the Great Wall, and even more so upon our return back to the city, I was so mentally exhausted from trying to hold a conversation with this man. So sometimes in China, I tell a small white lie... that I am from China… so I don’t have to explain that I’m from America but look Asian… and so they don’t totally rip me off for being a western foreigner… but I AM DONE! I learned my lesson. I am an American and if you want to rip me off, have at it! No more lies!!! As I write this, I'm a bit ashamed of myself - I've got lessons from b study tapping me on the brain... I should know better...

But for story sake.. and well, since this is what I did but will not do again... what started as a small white lie ended up being this huge blown out convoluted story… a big lie! Forgive me… even for the small one!! He insisted on giving Jenny, “my friend from Korea”, a good “face” / image of China so he explained some history and culture stuff that he insisted I translate. Now, I can hold a basic conversation on simple topics, but when it comes to history and culture, it’s over! And he would ask me questions like, do you know what dynasty that is, or do you remember that person, and all these questions that I had not a clue what the answer to was… I have no clue what you are talking about buddy. As I played dumb because I am on those topics, he was so confused why I didn’t know anything about Chinese culture and history – my response was… I… uh… went to an international school… and I… uh… in my family… we speak half English and Chinese so that’s why I have not a clue and can’t answer your questions very fluidly. So bad… then he took us to look at these “pi xiu” – these ornaments that represent the dragon’s son that is supposed to bring luck and wealth and fortune. He insisted that I buy one for my parents because in Asian culture, one should respect her parents and buying one would help take care of them. I pretended to be interested (in learning about it), but I declined purchasing one. I tried to explain that we are Christian, and he retorted that this pi xiu had nothing to do with religion. I couldn’t go too deep on that topic because I didn’t have the vocabulary… anyhow, I learned my lesson. No more lies! I am who I am. He probably ripped us off anyways. I am an American – born and raised. Go ahead and be confused why it is I don’t look white, but I’ve got more white inside me than you can imagine! So be it!
oh.. and, I had songs from Mulan streaming through my head... okay okay.. I may have been seeing it too while we were trekking over the wall.

Exploring Beijing - Forbidden City and Street Markets

Restaurant in Hutong

This morning we hit Beijing running. Well, not really. We took a slight detour to the electronics district in Zhongguancun to pick up some camera chargers, then ventured over to meet my friend Cici for lunch at this cute little Guangxi restaurant located in an original hutong – an old traditional style home. Cici and I met in London at a conference on social innovation in ’07. I was randomly introduced to her because others had overheard we were both independently traveling to Scotland after the conference. As we started talking, we found out that she is from the same town that my grandma is from – Chengdu, Sichuan, and she goes to Bryn Mawr College in the same town that I lived in at the time. It was a hilarious conversation as more and more common things unveiled as we shared about each other. Anyhow, after she graduated, she decided to come back to China, and has been working in Beijing for a city / urban planning organization, and is involved in the social innovation scene in China. To my surprise, there is quite a bit going on in Beijing, from microfinance to environmental to a plethora of other issues.

random girl who kept posing all over.

jenny and i at the forbidden city

After lunch, Jenny and I explored the Forbidden City until they started shooing us out at their early closing hour. Then we walked across the street to Tiananmen Square where Jenny’s heart poured out for this little boy who was running through the square chasing a wrapper of some sort (i.e. trash). The boy was failing in his attempt to get this wrapper, so Jenny decided to run after the boy and pick up the wrapper for him. It was quite the scene. She succeeded and gave the boy the wrapper, who seemed happy for a second, and then seemed to quickly lose interest as it flew away again. I can only imagine what the mother, nowhere to be seen, was thinking when she saw this adult Jenny chase after her child and her child's trash. 

Mission Accomplished!  Well done Jenny!

Jenny chasing after this child's wrapper

      

Then we headed to Wangfujing, a high-end walking street with shops and “Old Beijing” – old street market filled with all sorts of food oddities kebabs of all sorts, including scorpion, live bugs, lamb, octopus, fruit, buns, dumplings, noodles, and plenty of other interesting snacks. Along the way, we befriended an old homeless man begging for money. We offered to buy him something to eat instead, and asked what he wanted. His simple and honest response was (in Chinese): “Thank you. Something soft… something soft. Thank you.” We got him some tofu and water from the market, and told him we’d pray for him. He watched as he moved into a squatting position to eat. This poor old man. He wasn’t the only homeless person I’ve seen in China this trip – there have been others, and most if not all have been older and elderly folks. Not knowing the backgrounds of these people, I can only make assumptions based on the history of China and the Mao’s Cultural Revolution that took the lives and punished so many intellectuals, leading to a society that some may consider “behind”, leading to numbers of people who grew up during that time without an education who today are those elder folks who may be wandering the streets, desperately trying to survive. That’s my assessment – who knows if it’s valid or not.

A breath of fresh air... in Beijing???

Today we flew back to China. The highlight of the day – riding the gator / large golf cart through the Guangzhou airport! Jenny and I both found great excitement in that. As we confusedly wandered through security to catch our connecting flight, a guy directed us towards the cart and told us to hop on. The front seats were taken, so we jumped on the back where the driver sped through to the other terminal! Loads of fun! Yes, we are such children.

The air quality in Beijing is not good, but sadly, after being in Cambodia the past few days, my first thought upon walking out of the airport was… “what a breath of fresh air!” And I was totally being serious… sad. We jumped on a bus that would take us to a bus stop close to where my dad’s good friend lives – out near the university I used to study at. Uncle Zheng and his daughter picked us and took us to go get these delicious buns, famous in Beijing. They ordered a couple platefuls of buns for the two of us to eat! Way too many buns but we downed a whole bunch!

We learned a bit about my dad over our buns dinner. I mean, I knew he worked at Harvard but I had no idea he declined a good professorial position at Harvard Med School to take a job at a pharmaceutical instead! I wonder how life would have been different for me, growing up in Boston, surrounded by universities, in a university med school setting. I have always loved science and medicine. I wonder what or how I would have taken advantage of all that if it were at my fingertips,. I wonder… but I don’t regret or long for what could have been, for I know and trust in Him who guides every step. I am simply curious. :)

toothbrushes for daughters... bloom cupcakes for us...

This morning we headed back to Daughters to drop off some of the toothbrushes donated by my dentist. We also got a shoulder neck massage by some of the “daughters” who were being taught spa skills. Can’t say it was the best massage I’ve ever had, but we were just happy to support these girls however we could.

Rainbow cupcake!

We then headed back to Bloom Café to have the meeting that had been rescheduled from Friday. We met with Karin, an American who has been volunteering with them for almost a year, who took us on a tour of their building to meet and see what the girls were up to. We saw them hard at work, making cakes, decorating them, creating edible ornaments that were so cute (gearing up for Easter so little eggs and ducks and really intricately, pain-stakingly detailed sugar fondant creations). In Jenny's words, it really is neat how they are using the concept of creating such beautiful We also had the privilege of meeting Ruth, the founder of Bloom... how blessed we were to have been able to meet with her. How thankful we were to She is indeed an amazing woman... a truly passionate, outgoing, and someone who acts upon her convictions. There’s no good way to summarize how both Jenny and I felt during and after our conversation with her... but both of us were so blessed, encouraged, and inspired by her and their work. We bought a few more cupcakes to go and then we had to rush off to our next appointment.

Afternoon with Yejj & Fellowship of Hope...

This afternoon we met with Yejj, an organization providing a spectrum of services that center around using social enterprise to help people and stimulate the local economy. Yejj actually reached out to us a few weeks ago when they heard from another organization that we were coming. They asked if we could help them with their marketing strategy. We said yes, not knowing how or if we’d be of any help, but we trusted that this was a door God had opened, so we went.

We tuk-tuk’ed our way over to Café Yejj, one of their “projects”, a café teaching, supporting, training, and educating men and women from the streets. We only had 30-40minutes to meet since we were running late (had no idea we’d be spending nearly 3 hours with Bloom!) and had a hard stop because another tuk-tuk was scheduled to pick us up to go to Fellowship of Hope’s TLC Centre. We met the founder, got to know each other better, and did not even touch on the marketing piece. Nonetheless, we are excited by what they are doing, and I’m hoping we can find ways to help each other going forward. Another encouraging conversation. Almost everyone we’ve met has been an inspiration and encouragement us as they share their stories… actually His story and their being open to following His leadership and serving Him… almost feels like personal mini-sermons being shared with us with every person we meet! We are so thankful.

loved this "bulletin board" of
toothbrushes made of piping materials!

Sochea and I with the donations.

Fellowship of Hope… an organization I had randomly googled awhile back, and an organization that no one thus far seems to have heard of. Quite surprising considering there seems to be a tight network within the NGO/NPO circle in Cambodia. Our assumption is that it is because Fellowship of Hope was started and is run by local Cambodians, as opposed to foreigners who came in to work with the Cambodians. FoH has a variety of programs and ministries, including Church services and community services. This is the same organization that we met on Sunday afternoon and played soccer with. We’ve been interacting most with San Sara (pastor of Church) and his wife Sochea (oversees the school). They are quite an amazing family (with their adorable 2 year old daughter), having dedicated their lives to serving His people in Cambodia. You can read their story and more about the organization on their website (www.fellowshipofhope.net). But a quick preview from their site – San Sara was born in the Cambodian jungle during Pol Pot's control. His father was an alcoholic and abused his mother. She eventually left home when Sara was 7 years old, promising to return in three days but never came back.  He became responsible for looking after his two sisters, who were 2 years old and 3 months old, making sure they had food to eat even if it meant he didn’t eat himself. He did what work he could and even begged in the marketplace with his sister in his arms to make some money to support them.  He knows how difficult life is for those in Cambodia who live in poverty, and his heart is to see many more people in this nation see that God has a good plan for them, despite the difficulties of their lives. No situation is impossible for God… Sara himself is living proof of that!

New Happy Village

Villagers fish catch for dinner tonight!

Today we visited their TLC Centre where they provide a learning environment for the kids in their community. Next to the TLC Centre is the New Happy Village. The “old” happy village was a slum area next to the river that was torn down and replaced by villa communities. San Sara felt called to do something to help His brothers and sisters… so, he and his amazing wife, the help of the villagers and others, and our amazing God built “New” Happy Village, giving these families a home to live in. Many of the children in those families attend TLC Centre, and FoH is seeking ways to find employment for these families by teaching sewing skills and selling their handicrafts.

 

Room where they are sewing and packing
clothes and bags to produce income for the local villagers.

FoH has several other programs including one for kids affected by HIV. Anyhow we walked through some of the classes, played some basketball with the kids, walked through New Happy Village. The kids at TLC just got a basketball hoop installed (i.e. a sheet of wood with a hoop attached hung on their school ground wall). Jenny suggested to Sochea that drawing a box on the backboard would make it easier for the kids to aim their shot. Before Jenny could finish her explanation, Sochea handed Jenny a permanent marker. I loved her heart – her heart for the children and her community, and even for us. We asked how we could support her in the future and if sending teams would be helpful… she said simply, if people have the heart to help, then come. There is so much people can do as long as they have the heart to help and to love. She demonstrated what that meant when she gave Jenny that marker. So, the bball box went up, and while we are not sure if the angles are right, I think it looks good! Nice job Jenny!

After a long, jam-packed last day in Cambodia, we headed back to the hotel. We went to a local restaurant, where our 2 new friends from ELIC we had met earlier this week joined us. Another Godsend… one of them mobilizes teams for missions and gave some tips on debriefing and processing all that we had seen, heard, and felt. The other is the brother teaching at the university who planted an idea for me to pray about, so this unplanned meeting gave us some time to discuss a few things, definitely on our mind.

First thing in the AM tomorrow, we head back to China – this time to Beijing. Goodbye Cambodia. You have been good to us. We feel truly blessed by His graciousness towards us. It was so clear how every meeting was truly appointed and planned by Him. As far as what’s next, if anything, we will proceed with much prayer. He has inspired us. He has showed us needs and opportunities. He has encouraged us. But we will carefully tread forward with His vision and direction. But do we think we’ll back back in Cambodia serving at some point – we would like too and we hope to!

Some random pics of our time in Cambodia.

 

kids will be kids - makeshift slide

Philly's fan in Russian Market?
(likely just a leftover shirt made in Cambodia)

Church in Phnom Penh

My friend Lisa left this morning for Siem Reap where she’ll be exploring Angkor Wat the next couple days.  We initially wanted to go there as well, but we felt we needed to maintain our focus to meet with organizations and spend time with the people God placed and would place into our path,  so we stayed put in the city.

We were supposed to visit Fellowsihp of Hope’s Church service today but had some challenges getting in touch with our contact there.  So, we decided to visit our ELIC friend’s Church, which also happened to be the Church that a friend of a friend from Philly connected us to attends.  Not without detours and getting lost multiple times, Jenny and I wandered our way, way late because of our many detours, to Gospel Commission Fellowship Church.  The people God placed in front of us at Church was an unexpected blessing.  Jenny had an awesome conversation with a woman who had come as a pharmacist to serve His kingdom with that skillset.  Others we met were doing other things that were very encouraging for both of us to here and see.  Once again, when a door closes, it’s not without reason, and if we are just simply willing to step forward and roll with it, what an amazing journey it can be.  We made some friends, brothers and sisters that we hope to get to know more, partner with and serve together with in the future, through prayer and/or more tangible ways as well.

So last night, 10 minutes after we had decided to attend GCF Church, I get a phone call from our contact at Fellowship of Hope.  I felt bad telling them we weren’t going to attend their church because we promised others we’d go to another, but was happy to be able to meet them in the afternoon and drop off and watch their soccer games with the kids from TLC Centre and Harvest of Hope.  On our way to the soccer field, we of course had to stop at the Russian Market to eat this awesome noodle dish that we chomped on the day before… yum.

You can't not step on the field when someone hands you a jersey

We got to the field where kids from Fellowship of Hope were playing.  Of course I had to step on the field and mess around with them.  Then the teachers and adults came, and the founders of the org that we were planning to meet with.  I was handed a uniform.  When someone hands you a uniform, you can’t decline it and push it aside.  So I put on my yellow Friendship Soccer team jersey and shorts, and stepped onto the pitch… no equipment required…. Just a pair of feet… perhaps not something my tender feet are too accustomed to, and perhaps not something smart to do on a bad ankle, but at the least, you get better touch on the ball without shoes on!  Off I went, into a happy place, playing with these brothers against some of the kids in their program.  At the end of our match we gave them the soccer balls that were donated (thanks Edwin!).  A hot sweaty mess I was.

my sole teammate during girls v. boys.

Immediately after, we had to rush back to U of N.  We were supposed to spend some time at one of their at-risk child development programs, and meet with someone who is helping set up their microfinance project to see if there are ways to provide some input and advice.  But, for whatever reason, I got the times mixed up (woops!) and then the tuk-tuk driver couldn’t find his way over to U of N in time, so we ended up wandering around town instead.  We’ve just had so many appointments and I guess everything was starting to blend together.  Nonetheless, we were actually quite thankful to have a break – we needed one – and it was the Sabbath after all so while I felt horrible for missing that appointment, I trust in His timing and both of us were thankful for the break.


We wandered our way to the Friendship Restaurant where, similar to Rendang, trains, teaches, and employs young men and women, previous street kids, in the restaurant and hospitality business.  Enroute we found my all time favorite fruit – mangosteens!  Last I had them was probably in Thailand or Indonesia on a family trip, and since then, have failed to locate them anywhere.  They were SO good... so satisfying to the soul.. okay.. fine… satisfying to the tastebuds.  We had some coffee and crepes at the Friendship Resturant, then walked our way back to our hotel to grab dinner at a restaurant by our place.  A day full of running and walking... we were exhausted... but so overly satisfied and filled with His joy and love.

cracked screen... unreadable key pad...

I'm using my sis-in-law's old school nokia cell phone. It works just fine... I mean... it workED just fine except for the sticky key pad that requires much patience in texting... well, it doesn't help that you can't read the digits and letters on the keypad either but for the most part I have a good feel for that.

During a bumpy tuk-tuk ride, my cell snuck out of my pocket on a moving tuk-tuk and flew into moving traffic! I was just going to let it go as a casualty but Bophat bolted out of the tuk-tuk to salvage it before a random man on a bike almost grabbed it. Amazingly the phone actually still works, but the screen is a bit cracked. As a result, I can’t really read all of my text messages, and my text messages often look like this (sorry, can't figure out how to rotate this pic). What I was trying to say was: "I'll call u after done at school program. Screen broken so can't really see."...or something like that. Gosh who knows how many other completely messed up texts I've been sending!

“you… tuk tuk?” I’m starting to hear these words in my sleep… as tuk-tuk drivers (Cambodia rickshaw like vehicle) constantly come up to us asking if we need a tuk-tuk.

Bophat, Monika, and our tuk-tuk

We said yes to one of the tuk-tuks, and headed to meet Monika, the director of University of Nations (U of N), a YWAM ministry in Phnom Penh. At U of N, we met 2 German girls on a pseudo vision trip. We learned about the young Cambodians who were coming to know Him and being equipped through their discipleship training program, and then growing up to become leaders at their schools and in their communities. Different programs have sprung up through U of N to help local communities, including child development centers for at-risk children, vocational training programs, and they are now dipping their toes in microfinance as well. Both Jenny and I took away some ideas and opportunities that we are going to continue talking to Monika about for ways that we can support them in the future.

We met a hilarious young Cambodian woman, Bophat, who attended their discipleship program over 7 years ago, dedicated her life to Him, and has transformed her life completely. She used to be in with the gangs, and ready to give up her life, but He had and has grand plans for this young woman. She helps out at U of N, and is attending law school, hoping to make her way into government and change the country from the inside out. She’s idealistic and I’m confident she will succeed. Amazing young woman who loves Him. She’s also hilarious and has this awesome laugh that can’t help but make you laugh too. I’m excited to see how He uses her, and I’m excited to hopefully one day work with her to effect change at a global systemic scale. Idealists unite!

Bophat took us on a tour of the city - visited Wat Phnom and the Royal Palace. The sites were good but the best part was just hanging out together and getting to know each other. At the Royal Palace, where the King lives, I was dragged into playing a xylophone like instrument with some guy, and then we befriended a couple of monks. So, during our orientation with Monika, we were told not to initiate conversation with monks or touch them or their clothing. So there were these 2 monks at the Palace, also touring around, and I accidentally made eye contact with one. I mean, I know there’s nothing wrong with eye contact but it was just an awkward moment and you know, I didn’t want to disrespect any of their rules. Then Bophat, so outgoing, goes up and talks to them and the 2 monks ask if they can take a photo with us. So we do, carefully so that that we don’t touch their clothing. Then later on we ran into these 2 monks again, and we talk again. They tell us, through Bophat's translation, that we can ask them any questions if we’d like. So we talk briefly, find out that one of them became a monk simply because he needed a place to stay at the age of 8 because his father forced him to move out. Becoming a monk gave him a place to sleep and learn and live. Bophat later asked if he would consider leaving ‘monk-hood’ if there was another free place to stay, perhaps a Christian run place. He said yes, so Bophat got his digits, and off we went. Praying for our little monk friend…

Jenn who I'll be meeting up with later on this trip introduced a brother who is also serving through ELIC, teaching at a university in Cambodia. He and his wife have 2 little babies, and together have been serving in Cambodia for the past 7 years. Before I go any further, meeting him was another one of those times where God opens a door, and we just kind of walk through. Totally last minute connection. We weren’t even planning on meeting or anything because our schedule is already so packed, but for whatever reason, we reached out to him in response to him reaching out to us... and the rest is history.

We visited the university he is teaching at, and talked about his vision for the students. You know those moments when you’re in conversation and you just know, there’s a God-thing going on because the conversation topic is so relevant to what’s on your mind? Well, I had one of those moments as we talked about developing leaders with compassion to serve and lead this country’s future. After seeing the university, we headed to his house to have an Indian dinner with his wife and kids. It was exciting to hear and see what He is doing through people who simply obey and follow His lead. Wonderful time, but I left dinner with my mind filled with questions and thoughts and a bit of confusion. I need to seek His face… His direction. In addition to the work I’m doing and the idea around developing young Cambodian leaders, I never thought I would directly use my studies in international relations… but… well, tbd with much prayer. I know this is a vague statement but not quite ready to share it just yet!

We headed back to our hotel after dinner and called it a night!

Bloom Asia and Daughters of Cambodia

Today was our first full day in Phnom Penh. We had appointments to meet with Bloom Asia and Daughters of Cambodia today, but as life in the developing world (okay, in the developed world too), things happen, meetings fall through, etc., so you just kind of roll with it. We place every step we take into His hands... life happens... no big deal… He’s in control and there’s no better place to be.

So we ventured our way to Bloom where the girls are trained, and where there is a beautiful cafe where some of the girls serve delicious cupcakes that the girls have made. A huge group of students were passing through, causing quite a bit of madness for the staff at Bloom, so we suggested coming back next week to meet Ruth and staff. We ate our cupcakes, drank our coffee, and off we went.

Since we had some time to kill before our next appointment, we decided to visit the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, a high school converted into a prison during Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge reign, where more than 17,000 men, women, and children were tortured and killed. We wandered through the school grounds where these innocent lives were imprisoned. We stood in their tiny jail cells, stood next to the instruments by which lives were tortured and killed, walked through halls of "mugshots" of these innocent victims and other photographs of tortured and beaten victims. I watched an older Cambodian woman stare into the faces in these mugshots, nudging her grandchildren towards photos of these children who were arrested and killed. Tears filled her eyes as she looked into the eyes of these photographs. I wondered what she might have gone through during Pol Pot's reign. As I looked at the faces and the slashed bodies of victims, I thought of Jesus and the torture he went through... for someone like me. He understands… our Father understands. As I watched the sadness and pain in the eyes of this older Cambodian woman, I thought of how God's own heart must have been breaking at the sight of his precious children being tortured and killed by these horrific sins. I thought of how painful a beating Jesus had to endure to pay for those acts.

After visiting Tuol Sleng, we headed to meet Daughters of Cambodia. Our meeting with them was also changed but we decided to wander over anyways and pay a visit to their visitors center which houses a café that they use to train and employ past sex workers. As we sat down at the Café, 3 ladies were having a business meeting of some sort at the table behind us. As we enjoyed the delicious brownie (…and I mean DELICIOUS) and coffee, I’ll admit I was eavesdropping a bit, wondering if and which one might be Ruth, the founder of the organization. Once again, He showed us again that by simply being open and willing to go as He leads, He does open the right doors He wants us to walk through. After their meeting, Ruth sat down with us to share her passion, her vision, challenges and opportunities, and we really just got to know this beautiful woman from Australia who has dedicated her life to the people of Cambodia, giving sex workers another chance at life, giving them the skills and tools to pull their lives up and restore dignity, peace, and real joy into their lives. We were thankful for the time we had with her.

After Daughters, we wandered our way down to popular Rendang, a restaurant training and employing men and women from the slums… street kids…, teaching them to cook and serve, educating them, and equipping them with language and hospitality skills. Delicious dinner. A great way to finish off a good first full day in Phnom Penh.