Carolines Eyes

Caroline was one of the nurses that went with us on our last trip to Cambodia. Her bright eyes and warm heart were a welcomed addition on the journey.

Here's what she had to say:

Ah! Cambodia! Wow! When I think about the beautiful country that has ravaged our hearts....so many thoughts come! In the physical realm I picture the angel babies begging for money amidst the decadency of the deceived temples. I picture the greenest color I will ever see on earth in the rice fields throughout the land. I see the most beautiful faces I have ever known. I see broken young women screaming through their silent eyes for freedom from the chains that bind their precious bodies and heart. I see a people of tradition. A people with a history of destruction and pain. A country hemmed in the physical realm by the 8 headed serpant. But in the spiritual realm...I see and know that there is ONE who has come to loose and destroy the chains that bind, one who has conquered the serpant...the deceiver...One who has come and says "come, you who have no money, come and eat".....one who loves fervently, gives freely, restores, heals. I see His surgeons hands suturing the open wounds of the past...with His own scarred hand, He is compressing the hemmhorrage....and in time a NEW blood will pump through the heart and life of the country. Freedoms' Promise is truly only found in HIS redeemption. And I thank Him that the promise is for me, you, and Cambodia. Like Abraham, we are in a phase where we "hope against hope"....but that is faith......I am trusting in the promise when the revelation is yet to fully come! I LOVE CAMBODIA!

Day 8: Thailand Defeated

Today we enjoyed Cambodian children singing and praying at church. I want to take every one of them home with me! They’ve got to be the cutest things on the planet. We also gave a donated sewing machine to a woman who was in desperate need. She owns a small village sewing business but her machine broke several months ago. She was very excited to receive a replacement and we hope to have her join our Fair Trade program soon, making our purses.

Afterwards we made our way to Siem Reap, which stands for “Thailand defeated.” That’s your history lesson for today. The work is done and now the group gets to decompress and relax before heading home. We are staying at a beautiful hotel and will be touring the amazing Angor What Temples. Tonight we had a great buffet dinner and a traditional Khmer dance show. Now to the night market for some last minute shopping and off to dream land. It’s been a full week. - ZEB

Day 7: Old Friends and New

We saw patients at the church just outside Kampong Thom today. There were another 50 or so we can add to the tally. Many of the patients I remember from other visits. It was good to see some familiar Cambodian faces. The team of volunteers have really done some amazing work here! Especially one in particular, Mandy, who came late, worked ridiculously hard with everyone else and is leaving early. She’s my new hero. I hope she gets some down time when she gets back home. Time for dinner and some good rest. Tomorrow we attend a Cambodian Church service and then travel on to Siem Reap.

Day 6: Playing Catch Up

Today was a 3-hour cab ride to Kampong Thom to catch up with the group who has been there for two days. When I finally reached the team they were surrounded by ill villagers and their families, 200 in all. The interesting thing was that we planned this medical trip months ago with the intent to serve about 30 people a day for 3 days. What we hadn’t planned on was being the first responders to the recent flooding in that area. There were literally hundreds needing medical attention. On the teams first day in the villages surrounding Kampong Thom, they saw almost 300 men, women and children - providing medical aid with the help of some translators we hired in Phnom Penh. They worked for 8 hours with a 20 minute lunch break. Troopers! I’m glad I can now be a part of this amazing opportunity. Tomorrow we will probably see another 100 or so. I’m excited! - ZEB

Day 5: Alone & Desperate

I sent the group off to the next town yesterday. There is a peace being alone here as a foreigner. A solitude that comes with no one knowing you or even how to speak to you. Even in a city with 2 million people human interaction is on my terms.

Today I went to the markets to purchase some of the goods we sell back in the States. This shopping experience was a little different than times past though. The vendor that I’ve been building a relationship with the last few times had moved and I couldn’t find him. So I opted to buy from this older couple. When I told them how many I needed they said we would have to walk to their home which was about 2 blocks away.

Now I have been out to the villages many times but I’ve never seen how the impoverished live in the city. I was shocked to see their living conditions. Apartments with no doors, trash and mold from floor to ceiling in the hallways and the hint of urine in the dank stale air. This couple lived in this one room with 3 children under the age of 6 and 3 other adults. They cleared off the one chair they owned and offered it to me. A dirty stained computer chair that was missing an arm. No doubt found in the trash. I reluctantly sat down and looked at the children playing. Something was familiar about them. They almost looked American! The older woman saw me studying them. “They are half like you” she said. Her daughter used to work in the bars downtown as a “friendly hostess.”

Men come here and use these women for pennies. The women are left to raise bastard children while the fathers return to their wives and children back home. The poverty these little children called home made our worst conditions look comfortable. If it weren’t for their smiles I would have melted in tears right there. There is no picture, video or story that can accurately portray how desperate these people are. I thought I understood. I thought I had witnessed. . . ZEB

Day 4: It Takes a Village

Today we got up early and headed out into the country to see how almost 80% of the population in Cambodia lives. After a 20 minute drive from the city we turned onto a dirt road that went seemingly nowhere. After about 4 miles of rice fields we came upon a village. And when I say village, I mean village! Thatched roof huts, no running water, no electricity. You are literally in the jungle. The children greeted us warmly. Laughing shyly just out of arms reach. The volunteers brought sticker, which were a big hit. We also had the opportunity to visit a woman who started her own silk looming business. After teaching herself she taught 5 other women to do the same. We were able to purchase some of their wares and all I can say is beautiful. Today was a day of community. - ZEB

Day 3: 3 Million Funerals

Today was a day of gray. This was the day we set aside to visit S21 prison ( a preserved monument to the atrocities committed be the Khmer Rouge) and the killing fields. I’ve told the volunteers to do some journaling about today and plan to post them later.

S21 prison was a high school that was turned into a torture prison. Approximately 20,000 men, women , and children were tortured and killed in this prison between 1975 and 1978. There is an eerie feeling of pain and sorrow when visiting this place. It began to rain while we were there. As the sky filled with ominous looking clouds you couldn't help but think the heavens were crying for the people of Cambodia.

Next, we traveled just outside the city to one of the many mass graves that litter the county side. There stands a 14-story monument full of sculls excavated from the area. There were so many bodies buried there that only half of the graves have been uncovered to this day. There is just no more room for more bones! We walked the pitted ground where the bodies were once piled. Bones and clothing are still seen coming up out of the ground. It was like seeing millions of funerals all at once. It was a dark day. - ZEB