Cambodia on Film
First off, I want to thank everyone, in both Cambodia and America, who covered us in prayer, kind words, and support through this experience. It really does take a village to get through times like these. <3
Before heading to Cambodia, I wanted to educate myself on the country’s history and culture a bit. In one of the books recommended to me, Cambodia’s Curse by Joel Brinkley, there was a quote that I learned to relate with. Joseph Mussomeli, U.S. ambassador of Cambodia, from 2005-2008, stated: “Be careful because Cambodia is the most dangerous place you will ever visit. You will fall in love with it, and eventually it will break your heart.” And although I wasn’t in the country nearly as long as Joseph, and at a different time in history, I got to see a glimpse of all the qualities that capture a heart, while also experiencing a few that can break one.
The land was full of moisture (during rainy season), tropical plants, and an array of animals new-to-me. I got to experience city life in Phnom Penh (the capitol of Cambodia), explore ancient temples of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, visit the coast, and stay in Koh Rong (an island in the Gulf of Thailand). Accompanied by the best people, these travels were so new and exciting. The noises and sights of the city were busy and heavy, and the island life was slow and simple. The temples are full of history, and much of Cambodia feels so far from modern times.
But what really made an imprint on my heart, more than the land itself, were the people I had the honor of getting to know. The Khmer people are hospitable and respectful. They find happiness in the smallest places, and value family very much. They can sleep just about anywhere, and are crazy good drivers. They are adventurous (in my eyes) when it comes to ingredients in foods, and traditional in terms of their culture. The people group as a whole have experienced tremendous loss, yet choose not to dwell. Getting a glimpse of their way of life humbled me, to say the least, and made me so grateful for the life I have.. and for a God that lead me to meet these people.
Another people group I had the pleasure of getting to know was the family I travelled with (especially the little one), and the expats working with them. Each and every one of them said ‘yes’ to God leading them to Cambodia to fight against evil. The hardships they experience daily weather them, I could tell. But they know that the work they do matters, and it was truly so beautiful watching them actively fight sex trafficking by being God’s hands and feet in Cambodia. Seeing hearts, families, and communities transform was one of the most special things I’ve experienced.
Saying goodbye was more difficult than I originally expected, as I thought I would be more homesick and ready to leave. But Cambodia felt like home for a short period of time, and I realized that the people made it feel so. It reminded me of how important community is. To see that relationships are powerful enough to make the most foreign places, feel inviting and warm, was really something.
If this inspires you in any way to learn more about Cambodia, I would love to be a resource for you to tap into! Email me with any questions, as I have stories to tell and more (iPhone) photos to see.
I could write so much more, and could have captured sooo many more photos of things that left me in awe, but I wanted to take time to be in the moment, soak in, and learn as much as I could before we left. Something that I did learn about, is sex trafficking. Something that I knew existed, and was real, but was (and still is) hard to really wrap my head around until I heard first-hand stories, and was exposed to/ informed of some of the evils of slavery that are present, modern day. Although I didn’t go and fight against the sex trade myself (that’s not why I traveled there), I did get to meet so many survivors and so many people that work to uproot such an atrocious market. The beauty that I met in these people was the obvious well-spring of life that flowed from them brought forth by the love of Jesus and His absolutely transforming love. He is in the midst of these people, continuously loving and chasing after them. He’s continuously bringing light into the darkest of places, fighting against legitimate evil, and is using these amazing people to do so. To be able to interact with them, pray with them, laugh with them, sing with them, go to church with them, commune over meals with them, love on them, be loved by them, was something I’ll never forget and will always cherish. God truly is so good.
If you’d like to learn more about how to fight sex trafficking, below is a link to Agape International Missions homepage. A tangible way for us to help, is to educate ourselves on the issue of human trafficking and donate to organizations like AIM who have the experience and resources on the ground to really make a difference.
