Saturday 5th September 2009
Today started off as a day with a lot of movement and concluded as another moving day. Today we left Phnom Penh and headed north to Siem Reap over the flooded Tonle Sap – the huge life giving lake which the Cambodian infrastructure greatly relies on.
On arrival we were greeted by Reaksa and headed straight out to a project he is overseeing in the countryside outside of Siem Reap. A library to host over 8000 books and computers for use by over 10,000 village children who would otherwise receive little education. The dream? To provide a site where children can learn and hear the Gospel message, ultimately leading to High School graduation and perhaps university scholarships. One thing which is absent in the Cambodian church is leaders. Because of the recent genocide where all Christians were executed few feel able to take this step of faith as the memories of the past remain. Allowing children to move into further education and leadership training will pave the way for change. Who can want anything more than that?
After lunch we all headed across to Angkor Wat. Narrowly missing out on becoming one of the seven ‘modern’ wonders of the world this is a complex of ancient civilisations dating back to the 10th century. The architecture of this site is astounding.
Tonight we have been treated to an evening of Khmer dancing. I watched these young men and women move so gracefully, telling stories as they danced and thought back to the NewSong girls and the kids in Svey Pak who are in a very different place. These young women performing tonight are what the other girls long to be – accepted, admired, valued and respected.
Siem Reap is a beautiful city boasting modern developments and is worlds away from Svey Pak – or is it. Hotels boast of girls for sale – girls all purporting to be over 18 though many of them are not. At the height of the tourist season it is not uncommon to have up to 200 young women paraded in a room behind glass with a number on their top waiting for the men to walk along the row and pick them out. Coach loads of sex tourists arrive from Asia, Europe, North America and Australasia to buy a girl of their choice and exploit her for an evening. Add to this the underground movement of child brothels and this place is no different, it only carries a nicer veneer.
Cambodia has a treasured heritage and underneath all the heartache is a desire to embrace all that life offers them. There are plentiful talents and abilities which need nurturing and encouraging. The enemy of our souls has robbed this nation of its population, dulled its dreams and continues to darken its doors. I am so thankful tonight for men like Reaksa Himm who have come though this pain and long to effect change and leave a legacy to those who follow. Who can seek anything more than that?
I fear that I am losing my heart to this nation.
Steve Norman.
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Time Travelling
Today our team got up early and then flew to Siem Reap. The flight was easy to take- juice, coffee and muffins. Very shortly, we spotted land below but mainly we saw water. Below was a huge lake- The Great Lake. It reminded me of one of the bigger Great Lakes back home. As we were admiring the view from 30,000 feet, Brian shared that recently this lake below held more fish than any other fresh water lake in the world. I was impressed.
We soon landed and we were met by a smiling Reaksa. Reaksa grabbed our bags and threw them into the back of a van so that we could all travel together. The first stop was the library facility for youth that was in process of being built. As Reaksa talked it came clear to me that he was into community development and transformation big time. The paved road we were driving on was built by teams from Singapore and Canada that Reaksa had organized and brought into Siem Reap.
These paved roads brought us to the newly constructed library building. Reaksa’s vision was to open up the world and to introduce Christian values to the 10,000 children attending school in the immediate area. Instantly I was impressed by the quality of the building. It definitely had the appearance and feel where people would be drawn to; and my eye was attracted to the fun and creative mural on the wall created by the YMCA team from Singapore. We asked Reaksa as to the next priority needs of this important community based facility being built, that in the future would share Christian values. Reaksa quickly shared the need for completing the building’s ceiling, for levelling the land, for bringing in badminton nets, and for providing lap tops. So any takers for these needed priorities that will ensure that this growing community has a Christian -based resource centre?
Reaksa then took us to a Khmer restaurant where I had one of the best meals of my life. Then we jumped on the bus and drove past fancy hotels and higher end shopping stores to the Angkor Wat Temple. I had heard about the Angkor Wat for many years. This temple is a prized UNESCO World Heritage Site. I am into culture heritage in a big way; in fact I worked for the Heritage Canada Foundation for 13 years. This site was the centre of Khmer civilization from the 8th to the 13 century. During this period the Khmer civilization ruled South East Asia. A succession of Hindu and Buddhist kings created unbelievable temples in stone, all trying to outdo each other.
I was blown away. My eyes could barely drink in this incredible cultural heritage site that embraced the best of God’s natural creation and of man’s creative but misdirected attempts in creative activity in order and try and reach God.
I do realize that at one time this must have been a huge centre for spirituality that unfortunately missed the mark. But today I just enjoyed the beauty- the vegetation, the water, the light, the buildings, and the carvings. A day to enjoy and to be amazed.
Stephen Lauer
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Sunday 6th September 2009
After a 6am start we headed off on the 2 ½ hour drive with Reaksa to Koh Preach where village churches are gathering as one to greet the Barangs. I have it on a high authority that I was the first person from the UK to set foot in this place! This is real Cambodia – the Cambodia where the majority of the population eke out a meagre living often earning much less than $2 per day. The road up was - shall we say - interesting! Turning off the new highway onto the more familiar dirt tracks which got narrower and narrower and muddier and bumpier as we progressed. Travelling on roads intended for a 4x4 in a minibus was something else. At 9.30 we pull into the complex hosting a school and church filled with over 60 adults and kids from a village of 500. The pastor is an ex Buddhist monk who now teaches the people about Christ.
After time with the members we leave for a walk around the village – except this is no ordinary village. This is the village where a 10 year old Reaksa was evacuated to with his family from Siem Reap by the Khmer Rouge. It is also the village where his family were butchered (for the whole story you have to read Tears of My Soul by Soreaksa S Himm). Following a long period away and his conversion to Christianity, Reaksa returned to this place to confront the killers and extend a hand of forgiveness. The man responsible still lives here. This is a most moving life story.
Now Reaksa has planted a church and school in this place where he endured so much pain. To walk through the village and meet people who were there at the time, whilst recalling that I too was 10 years old at this time, leaves your senses somewhat numbed.
We bump into four girls who have all passed their High School exams and can go to university subject to financial support – this is totally radical for a village so remote and where the Gospel has only recently reached. In neighbouring villages it still has not… Children mill all over the place fascinated by the white men who come to visit their homes. Silk worms weave their cocoons on twigs before they are harvested and the thread woven into cloth or sold for $25 per kilo. Sounds good until you then hear that 4 kilos is a good amount for the year. Pigs and chickens scratch through the soil looking for a grub to eat and piglets scamper around playing in the hot sunshine.
This area is so poor and yet in the midst can be found such richness.
The future – a vision to plant churches in every village, to send the children to school and university where possible and to see Christ lifted high in this place.
Steve Norman.
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Today marked my first return to the village where Reaksa’s family met their end since my last visit in November. It was heart warming to sense the darkness slowly lifting from this community as the church takes hold and people experience a long awaited freedom. There were many smiles and we felt welcome and very safe – a far cry from how we would have been received not too many years ago. Despite the warmth there are still long shadows here. All is not as it seems. One example of this was the old lady sitting on the floor of her house smiling and greeting us as we walked by. She had a hug smile and appeared to be near blind. She appeared very warm - the sort of old lady you would simply love to go up and hold her hand, chat and give her a little hug as you both sipped tea. As we walked past her Reaksa casually mentioned, “She was one of the really evil ones. She used to go to the meetings and lead people in the chants of Kill Them, Kill Them Kill them.” Once again my warm fussy western impression of this village is brought to a screeching halt by the unseen realities that so haunt this and most other villages in Cambodia. I continue to have no clue how Reaksa copes with this environment. His clearly God given ability to forgive was blatantly obvious as I watched him not only visit with but goof around with the kids of the man who hacked his entire family to death. Once again I have much to process. As before I was chatty on the way out to visit – as before I was silent on the way home!
Brian
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