The trip was hugely impactful. We were blessed to get to run three different VBS camps for the local schools. Our team worked to our specialties and ran stations involving acting out Bible stories, creative and interactive crafts, joy-filled dance lessons, and games to help build team spirit and connections with the kids.
Cambodia is a severely impoverished country. It was difficult to go into a place with such hurt and despair, but seeing the joy on their faces was inspiring. God is doing incredible things in Cambodia and our CCU team is so blessed that we got to be a part of it.
Alongside VSB, we also got to work with a ministry known as God Kids. We were working along the Thailand and Cambodia border, where there are a lot of homeless kids, kids who have been sent to the streets to beg for money and sell goods, and kids who are addicted to sniffing glue as a way of getting high. We were blessed to have the tools to run a lice clinic, wash feet, paint nails, and care for wounds. We were able to provide them with a full meal and give them a chance to be kids by praying with them and playing soccer. We also ran a soccer day and pool day for the God Kids, which involved a ton of running (they are surprisingly good at soccer) and a lot of carrying kids and laughing at the pool.
We spent two nights at the Girl's dorm in ministry and fellowship. One night was a goodbye party for Grace, a staff member with the organization we partnered with (and my best friend), and the other night was bible study and a birthday celebration. We prepared a meal and brought it with us. We spent the whole night in fellowship, happily getting to know each other despite the language barrier.
New Life Fellowship asked us to help teach English at two of their school locations, one in a smaller village and another in PoiPet. I got to work with littles and teach the basics, including the alphabet, numbers 1-17, and colors. We got to play games with them and had a blast overall. The second class I helped teach was geared toward 13 and 14-year-olds. We worked on nouns, verbs, and adjectives and the pronunciation of consonant pairings. Those kids hold a special place in my heart as we all got along, and I got to share part of my own story and upbringing with them. I got to explain the concept of snow and how Coloradans climb mountains for fun (they didn't quite get that one).
I was given the opportunity to help with sponsorship updates, where I learned the stories of several kids. Getting to talk with them and understand their pasts and hopes for the future was an absolute blessing. It reminded me that we are not so different, and in the end, we have the same goal: to love others and share the light of God. We worked out of a school that had been created out of a home. There were additions that had been painstakingly saved, and classes were meeting in every pocket of space available. There wasn't a flushing toilet, only a toilet with a bucket of water and a scoop to "flush." There was more joy and life than I have ever seen in a room. It was a safe space that had been built from the dust where kids could go and learn not only about God but also English and their native tongue. The staff was tender-hearted and caring, and they worked harder than anyone I had ever encountered before.
This was the case everywhere I went. Every building I stepped afoot in was so full of love and genuine caring that it was hard to leave. The people had such big hearts and would rush to tell you the story of how God brought them out of the darkness. I witnessed stories of redemption, breaking the cycle of poverty, getting the opportunity to go to college, breaking addiction, and so much more. Their stories give me so much hope.
We attended several church services at the church in Poipet. God is moving through Cambodia, and the New Life Fellowship church proves it. Their willingness to serve God and participate in His house of worship was incredible. One of the most impactful points was that the Khmy don't have a word for Hallelujah, so they say it in English. You have a room full of people praising God in two different languages, and all come together to say Hallelujah, meaning "praise the Lord".
This trip taught me so much about the heart and character of God. He loves His people so well and has huge plans for all of them. The people I met on this trip will remain lifelong friends and brothers and sisters in Christ. My heart has been broken and made whole again by the people of Cambodia. Who on the outside seem to have so little but so much faith, which is worth more than all the wealth in the world. Their words and stories have been nothing but inspiring. I hope that by sharing their stories, others may be impacted even a fraction of how I have.
Cambodia is a severely impoverished country. It was difficult to go into a place with such hurt and despair, but seeing the joy on their faces was inspiring. God is doing incredible things in Cambodia and our CCU team is so blessed that we got to be a part of it.
Alongside VSB, we also got to work with a ministry known as God Kids. We were working along the Thailand and Cambodia border, where there are a lot of homeless kids, kids who have been sent to the streets to beg for money and sell goods, and kids who are addicted to sniffing glue as a way of getting high. We were blessed to have the tools to run a lice clinic, wash feet, paint nails, and care for wounds. We were able to provide them with a full meal and give them a chance to be kids by praying with them and playing soccer. We also ran a soccer day and pool day for the God Kids, which involved a ton of running (they are surprisingly good at soccer) and a lot of carrying kids and laughing at the pool.
We spent two nights at the Girl's dorm in ministry and fellowship. One night was a goodbye party for Grace, a staff member with the organization we partnered with (and my best friend), and the other night was bible study and a birthday celebration. We prepared a meal and brought it with us. We spent the whole night in fellowship, happily getting to know each other despite the language barrier.
New Life Fellowship asked us to help teach English at two of their school locations, one in a smaller village and another in PoiPet. I got to work with littles and teach the basics, including the alphabet, numbers 1-17, and colors. We got to play games with them and had a blast overall. The second class I helped teach was geared toward 13 and 14-year-olds. We worked on nouns, verbs, and adjectives and the pronunciation of consonant pairings. Those kids hold a special place in my heart as we all got along, and I got to share part of my own story and upbringing with them. I got to explain the concept of snow and how Coloradans climb mountains for fun (they didn't quite get that one).
I was given the opportunity to help with sponsorship updates, where I learned the stories of several kids. Getting to talk with them and understand their pasts and hopes for the future was an absolute blessing. It reminded me that we are not so different, and in the end, we have the same goal: to love others and share the light of God. We worked out of a school that had been created out of a home. There were additions that had been painstakingly saved, and classes were meeting in every pocket of space available. There wasn't a flushing toilet, only a toilet with a bucket of water and a scoop to "flush." There was more joy and life than I have ever seen in a room. It was a safe space that had been built from the dust where kids could go and learn not only about God but also English and their native tongue. The staff was tender-hearted and caring, and they worked harder than anyone I had ever encountered before.
This was the case everywhere I went. Every building I stepped afoot in was so full of love and genuine caring that it was hard to leave. The people had such big hearts and would rush to tell you the story of how God brought them out of the darkness. I witnessed stories of redemption, breaking the cycle of poverty, getting the opportunity to go to college, breaking addiction, and so much more. Their stories give me so much hope.
We attended several church services at the church in Poipet. God is moving through Cambodia, and the New Life Fellowship church proves it. Their willingness to serve God and participate in His house of worship was incredible. One of the most impactful points was that the Khmy don't have a word for Hallelujah, so they say it in English. You have a room full of people praising God in two different languages, and all come together to say Hallelujah, meaning "praise the Lord".
This trip taught me so much about the heart and character of God. He loves His people so well and has huge plans for all of them. The people I met on this trip will remain lifelong friends and brothers and sisters in Christ. My heart has been broken and made whole again by the people of Cambodia. Who on the outside seem to have so little but so much faith, which is worth more than all the wealth in the world. Their words and stories have been nothing but inspiring. I hope that by sharing their stories, others may be impacted even a fraction of how I have.