Kingdom of Cambodia Day 2

Day 2 and I'm already starting to get my bearings, which is nice. I can confidently find my way to the bakery, coffee shop and city mall, which is a big deal for a directionally challenged person for me. I explored some on my own the remainder of Day 1, and then slept all afternoon. Thankfully, I met another American at the mission, who is also from the Midwest surprisingly enough, and she and I spent the evening together the first night. It was such a blessing to find a friend before the rest of my group got here, because I was feeling lonely/awkward/homesick. Its amazing how God blesses us with small things like that, and it is exactly what we need at the time.

So on the actual Day 2 Danielle (my new friend) and I ventured to an international Baptist church. Thankfully we left early because the TukTuk driver had NO idea where it was. Cambodian Life Lesson #1: tuktuk drivers RARELY know where they are going, and don't really know their way around the city. You also have to haggle up front with them about price, otherwise they will try to overcharge you for the time they spent driving around lost. So after our adventure with the tuk tuk, which involved driving down the WRONG side of traffic multiple times, we made it in one piece to church.

The church was not what I was expecting at all; it was quite small and modest, which I found more to my liking. The pastor was super nice to us, and was actually from northern Indiana (small world, right?).  All in all, I loved the service. It was old school and homey; we used hymnals and the pastor read from the KJV, and it was surprisingly comforting.

Afterwards we came back, and the first two people from the team arrived. We had a lazy day after getting lunch and went to the Russian market. Cambodian Life Lesson #2: If you are wearing a purse in Cambodia, EVERYONE will ask if you want a ride or to buy something, because they think you have money. They also are less likely to let you haggle down the price of something because they think you are loaded. Its sad because the "broke college student" excuse isn't even applicable here, because I still have so much more money than the people here, which is truly humbling and heart-breaking.

The last thing we did for the night was grab dinner at a restaurant called Friends. This guy from France came to Phnom Pehn, and was bothered by the number of kids out on the street, and he decided to do something about it. He built this restuarant and employed the street kids to work in it. He taught them to cook, clean, and wait tables at the restaurant, teaching them life skills and providing them with gainful employment. Since then he has changed the lives of hundreds of children, and has built similar restaurants in other Asian and South American countries. It was an amazing place, and just seeing how one man was able to change and prosper the lives of so many children is so inspiring. If others were truly committed to causes such as these in Cambodia, think of how many children could get off the streets and further away from the dangers of trafficking!? It is definitely something that I have been thinking about since we left the restaurant, and will probably continue to think/pray about for the remainder of the trip.

All in all day 2 was pretty laid back.  I can't wait to see what tomorrow has in store!