Why Start Small?

This summer, on June 7, I left the country.
It was the first time I'd ever been outside America's friendly borders.  Where did I go?  Mexico, maybe? Canada? The warm beaches of Puerto Rico?  Of course not.  Cambodia.  You know, that small country home to 14.5 million people in Southeastern Asia.

(Don't get me wrong, any close-to-home destination is cool...but c'mon. It's Asia.)

This summer I had the opportunity to go with JSMI/Global Ventures on a missions trip to Cambodia.  Thanks to YOU, my amazingly supportive and generous friends and family, I was able to share the Gospel with people who had never heard the name Jesus Christ.  Often, they had not even seen white skin before.  Remember that dream 5 years in the making?  Yep.  This was it.  And I'm gonna tell you a little about what happened while I was there.  Grab a cup of coffee, find a comfy chair, and come with me...

  First, let's talk about Cambodia.  Based on conversations I had with my friends and family members, it's very likely that (until a minute ago) you only knew Cambodia as "that one country where grandpa went during WWII"...Or as some place in Africa...(Asia, Africa...I mean, the first letter is right anyway.)  Cambodia, however, has a pretty rough history.  (No need to take notes--there isn't a pop quiz.)
  Starting in 1960, a radical Communist military group known as the Khmer Rouge began guerrilla warfare in the jungles of Cambodia.  Their leader, Pol Pot, sought to wipe out all Western influences and turn Cambodia into a fully agrarian society.  There was a terrible civil war from 1970-75, ending in Pol Pot's capture of Phnom Penh (the nation's capitol). Once he was in power, Pol Pot began unfolding the second phase of his plan.  He ordered the Khmer Rouge to kill anyone who was considered to be a skilled worker or educated, who might speak a foreign language, or who possessed modern technology (i.e. glasses or a wristwatch).  Yep, the dude was certifiable.  Rouge general is great and everything, but maybe not for somebody who should be straightjacketed in an insanity ward...

  Anyone who survived and didn't escape the country's borders was herded onto communal farms.  "Cities were evacuated, factories and schools were closed, and currency and private property were abolished."  (See my second link at the end of this.)  By 1978, just three short years, an estimated 2 million Cambodians had died.  There were no gas chambers or concentration camps, just straightforward soldier to civilian murder.  At the end of those three years, Vietnam successfully invaded Cambodia.  In 1979, Vietnamese soldiers had overturned the Khmer Rouge and captured the capitol.  They set up a less trigger-happy version of Communist government.  It provided a little relief for Cambodia's impoverished, starving, and survival-driven (though dwindling) population.  The Khmer Rouge, however, wasn't gone.  It just retreated into the jungles under Pol Pot's command and continued guerrilla military tactics.  Pol Pot "retired" in 1985 but still ran the Khmer Rouge.  He was later arrested, tried, and put on house arrest.  He died in 1998.  As you can probably imagine, Cambodia's economy and quality of life were basically destroyed thanks to Pol Pot and his regime.
  Well, that was a fun little history lesson.  (Sarcasm, friends.)  This year, (14 years after Pol Pot's death), JSMI/Global Ventures made its second missions trip to Cambodia, and I went with them.
   We flew into Bangkok, Thailand.  Thailand is 12 or 13 hours ahead of my home time zone (can you say JET LAG???).  After a day or two of training, we drove into Poi Pet (the border city between Thailand and Cambodia) and walked across the border.  Borders in Third World-ish countries are an interesting thing.  There is a lot of cheap shopping if you like designer imitations or camoflauge prints, but if you have white skin and prefer to travel the globe without getting robbed or swarmed by child beggars trained as theifs, shopping isn't the best idea.  The children who beg on the borders are usually slaves, trained by adults who are their "handlers."  If these poor kids don't make a profit, it is likely that they will be starved, beaten/physically abused, or raped.  Or any combination of those.  They were so young, seemingly as young as 4.  (Malnutrition makes everyone small and underdeveloped there, so it's hard to guess exact ages.)  Even more frustrating, thanks to violently "protective" handlers, there is little that we could do to help them.  If you buy from one child, they will all surround you, talk to you in 20 different languages, use lies to manipulate you into another purchase, and likely try to steal from you.  So we had to walk through Pot Pet, ignoring these beautiful, fear-driven children, while tightly holding our belongings.  In the moment, you try not to think about it, but honestly...Knowing what circumstances enslaved these children and being powerless to help them was heartbreaking.

Entrance to Cambodia

  Getting off the bus in Thailand, our suitcases were piled into carts that were probably 5'x8'x4' in dimension.  Now...it's time for a guessing game!  How do you think these carts were powered?  Motor?  Horse?  Donkey?  Cattle?  Nope.  Man power.  One-man power, to be exact.  One person would get behind a wooden bar and push the cart stacked with our heavy luggage through the city.  There were probably 15 suitcases per cart, each weighing about 50 pounds.  I saw men of all ages and one pregnant women pushing them.  That woman had three other children with her.  I honestly can't imagine how she could physically do it.  All kinds of goods, mostly fruit and other foods I didn't recognize, were transported this way, usually stacked higher and heavier than our luggage carts.  Cart pushers would weave between groups of people and huge military vehicles to get across the border

  [Side note:  Cambodia is a Buddhist nation.  It's home to Angkor Wat and surrounding lesser temples.  It follows that there are spirit houses and deities everywhere.  The spirit houses are colorfully painted and almost always kept perfectly pristine.  Women, roosters, lion-esque creatures, and Buddhas are the most commonly seen deities.  Inside the border control checkpoints, guarding the border entrances and exits, carved into walls, inside and outside shop stalls and homes, the hotels we stayed in, in the center of small towns...everywhere.

Spirit House: See the incense, tea set, snacks, and guardian gods?

We were surrounded by foreign gods, goddesses, and spirit houses.  These intricately carved and adorned idols were seriously beautiful.  The stonework and artistry were incredible.  The absolute devotion apparent by the generous offerings of food, tea, and incense inside the spirit houses and in front of idols was convicting...and difficult to take in.  People in such great poverty give the very resources they need to "spirits" (rodents eat the offerings overnight) with the hope that, maybe one day, they will die and be born into a better life.]

  Traveling from our hotel in Thailand, through the borders at Poi Pet, to our first location in Cambodia took all day.  We passed rice paddies, palm trees, marijuana fields, water buffalo, and many small cities.  Anytime someone saw a white face in our bus, they would stop and stare or wave.  America means money and a better life to these people.  In Cambodia, Europeans and Westerners make a distant, small hope for different circumstances seem more tangible.
  The most exciting thing for us was this: We didn't just bring money, we brought Jesus.  You see, according to the Joshua Project, Cambodia is 98.7% unreached (this organization is dedicated to accurate world religion stats).  That means that 98.7% of these people have never heard the Gospel (or often even the name) of Jesus Christ.  We didn't just bring the hope of a few extra dollars for these people, we brought a hope they had never even dreamed of: forgiveness and eternal life with a personal God who gave Himself as THEIR sacrifice.  A God who loves them.  A God who could change everything in their lives.  A God they were about to meet for the very first time...

Whhhhelp I think that's long enough for today.  Your coffee is probably gone, your lunch break is over, and isn't it more fun to get a story in episodes?  Sure, I had to take this post to set the stage, but the good stuff is just beginning!  I can't wait to share with you all the incredible things God did in Cambodia (and in me).  But I don't want you to fall asleep on me, so, until next time...

Keep dreaming :)

--Ellie

I don't have a camera, so here are my picture credits:

(With my geography skills, we all know that map isn't mine...)

(Today's lesson on Cambodia taken from...)

Khmer Rouge Pic found here

Spirit House 

Cambodian Border