Day 32, Areyskat Village

     We went to church this morning at Water of Life just a few blocks over from Alma. The pastors there are American, but there was a local Khmer guy speaking Khmer during service, so we sat outside with a translator. Once again, we go to a church where we don't speak the same language, but feel at home. The people here are sooooo sweet!!! It is sooo funny because all of the teenage girls look so old, like late 20's. And they laugh when they find out how old I am because I look so young! Pretty funny!

 

 Khmer Bible

     After service, we went eat at a Vietnamese restaurant called Magnolia. Very interesting. I ordered the shrimp pancake. Huge, but very different. I don't even know what to compare it to because I really haven't ever had anything like it. Like a very fine crepe maybe, stuffed with bean sprouts and shrimp. The ice is so weird here. They are hug hollow pieces of ice, and they put one block per glass. Since the ice is hollow, you can put your straw through the hole and drink that way.

 

 

    After lunch, we all went back to Water of Life to get on a huge tuk-tuk and spend the afternoon at a local village called Areyskat  about an hour away. This looked like it was right out of a movie, riding on the back of this tuk-tuk driving through the jungle wit huts everywhere and naked babies. It was beautiful, but I cannot possibly imagine living in a tiny straw and wood hut with one room and no furniture. This is how they live, yet they seem soooo happy! They aren't lacking.
     We worked at outreach there with the children and teens from the village. We performed our prodigal son skit, sang with them, danced, and played games. So much fun! My camera has a million pictures and videos, but for some sad reason my cord isn't being read by my computer. Hopefully I can get them up for tomorrow! Here are a few from Jenn:

When you get off the ferry boat, this is the first thing you see (taken from Google)

 

Day 31, S21 Museum

  Today we went as a class to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, at the time the secret name for it was S21. It was absolutely heart breaking. What is sad to me is that there are entirely too many people in this world who had no idea about the mass genocide that took place in Cambodia in the 1970's. If you don't know about it, please educate yourself. The Tuol Sleng concentration camp was previously a highschool that was turned into a concentration camp when the Khmer Rouge took power over Cambodia. This specific camp in Phnom Penh held over 20,000 prisonors. Of those 20,000 only seven (yes, 7) survived. To this day, there are only two that still live. I had the absolute pleasure of meeting one of the two, who was generous enough to sign his book for me and take a picture with me! I can't wait to read his story and learn just how he was able to survive this camp.

    Before coming to Cambodia, I did my fair share of research on the mass genocide with the Khmer Rouge so I can better understand this country and what the people went through. But there was nothing my research could have done to prepare me for what I saw and leaned. Our tour guide told us her story, and how her father, sister, and brother were all murdered in a concentration camp one town over. But she was able to escape to Vietnam before she was captured. But she told us not to fee sorry for her, because every single person in Cambodia has the same story of losing immediate family to this horrific tragedy. I learned there that even high ranking Khmer Rouge killed themselves off (starting bottom up) to protect the secrets. This camp was one huge torture chamber and went into details with actual devices on display. Horrific! Here are some pictures from the museum:

Us with our tour guide

     FYI, this was wayyyyyy worse than the Holocaust. However, this gets little to no recognition! Mind blowing! Though only 3 million people were killed, due to the population difference between Germany and Cambodia, this was wayyy more detrimental to their population. It was said that 1 of every 3 Cambodian died during the Khmer Rouge, 33% of the population!!! It was said by another American that the reason we don't learn about this in school is because America indirectly
contributed to this happening, through a long story. Research it. You will be amazed!

Look at these innocent faces who did NOTHING wrong, other than being born in the wrong country 

 

 

     As I said, the main thing done at this camp was torture the inmates. They came up with endless ways, and I cannot possibly imagine what they went through. Here are pictures of dead inmates who were murdered. The ones who tortured them took photos to turn into their higher ranking officers to get credit for how harsh they treated them! Heart breaking!

 

 

Additional pictures:

Chains & rope around their necks!

 

 

 Lines of cracked skulls from being beaten over the head

 

 

**Tonight the girls were talking, and Sasi brought up such a great revelation the Lord reveled to her today while at this camp. We cannot fathom what these people went through while here. What they went through is not understandable it was so brutal. Constant torture. If you could have done something to save someone from this camp, would you have?

This is a lot like hell. We have the key to help someone from going there. And hell is wayyyy worse than this camp.  Are you doing your part to save as many people from this as possible??

     Now for a happier note: This afternoon was fun! Grabbed some KFC chicken after the museum. Did some shopping at the Russian Market. Then went get pedicures at Open Arms Salon, a salon with the same point as Alma Café is, to get the girls off the street from prostituting, giving them a trade and a job so they will not have to ever turn to that life again! Christian based and absolutely amazing!

 

 Pink and glitter. I am soo predictable! ;)

 

 

 This is a gas station. This is gas inside of these bottles for the passing tuk-tuk and moto's.

     After that, we went grab dinner. Went home. Relaxed for a bit. Skyped with my mom and Chloe! So nice to see their smiling faces! Went out to the night market next to the house for ice cream. Then some girl time after.

 

Fantastic Day!

Day 30

     So last night, the girls in my room slept outside our room in the sitting area due to the A/C being out. They had a small fan on, so we slept there. Very hot!

    

     Had breakfast. Went to class. Amazing worship! We learned more about your sending church that sends you to the mission field, and more about our duties as missionaries. Though I know this, I got this revelation that brought tear of gratefulness to my eyes: Jesus the single best example of a missionary. He left heaven, the most perfect place where there is no bad, to come to this hell hole Earth. To save us.  How selfless. He had YOU in mind! How can we complain about not having air conditioners? How can we complain about anything?!! Leaving our familiar homeland with its comforts is nothing compared to what Jesus did for us. Heaven was perfect. Why would anyone voluntarily leave perfectness? But he did. Such an example to us!!

     After class, we worked on a group skit to perform for the kids at the slum this weekend. We decided to go with the prodigal son, and add some humor in it for the kids! They should love it! Being that I have stage fright, I am a pig eating out of a trough in the play lol. 

 

 

     Lunch downstairs at Alma Café was amazing as usual! Had a black bean burger with vegetable soup. I also had chocolate cake! :) Nothing short of amazingggg!

    

 

      Afterwards, Meygan Marino came meet us and me, Bliss, and Jenn went grab coffee with her at a local coffee shop. On the way there, we stopped at Meygan & Ms. Dot's new house! It was soooo cute and quaint! Meygan is blessed to have that house to live in while she is here! It really was sooo nice to get away and have some American girl time with an old friend! The coffee shop, Gloria Jeans, was so cute, you truly could forget you are in a 3rd world country and feel right at home!

 

 

 

     After hours of girl talk, we walked down the street and eventually took another tuk-tuk to one of Meygan's favorite restaurants, a Lebanese place! So cheap and sooooo good! I ordered the feta wrap: feta, lettuce, tomatoes, olives, and yummyness! It is so ironic that I am eating the best food of the trip here in Cambodia, though Cambodia has the worse local food. I am eating more non-local food, and though I in a sense I feel like I am cheating, I don't mind!



 

 Roasted Insect Vendor.... CRAZYYYYY

Roaches

 

 Maggots

It is probably for the best I do not know what this one is! 

 

 Yes, that is a monk riding on the back of a moto!

 

 Traffic, no method to the madness. No rules, lines, etc.

It is mind blowing to watch cars, tuk-tuks, motorcycles and pedestrians all on the street in no particular order. Just pass when you can. Pretty stressful to watch!

 

     After dinner, we walked down Riverside and went to a night market which was awesome! But this area isn't exactly good. Its very touristy, but very sad. There are prostitutes on every corner with men twice their age. You could pick them out of a crowd. My heart breaks for the women who feel it is their only way to survive. When the average local makes $3/ day, making $10/day is considered good living. So when these women have the chance to make $300/person, they feel they can't pass it up. In addition to the women, there are children everywhere. These children are owned by men who pimp them out, force them to beg for money and give them for sex if someone chooses that is what they want. I have had endless children come up begging for their pimp with such hurt and sorrow in their eyes. The pimp is not always easy to spot, but they are always there.

 

 

     On the way home, Meygan showed us the main sex industry location here in Phnom Penh. It is housing setup like the 'projects' and this is where majority of the sex trafficking takes place. As we passed, the building looked like it was about to fall down. Nearly all windows and doors were open allowing you to see al the people inside. How can your heart not shatter for those people who are stuck, being held against their will being owned by sick people. So sad. Meygan mentioned one of the guys at Water of Life Church that we will be working with for the month here has connections to these buildings, and even rents a room out for the sole purpose of ministering to the children in hopes they tell their parents about what they are learning in the Bible and trigger their interest enough to get them saved and out of the industry. While some are held against their will, some are there willingly selling themselves to survive. This outreach is dangerous, but someone has to bring the gospel to places and people like this. How admirable!