Thoughts from our Team:

Hello from a very hot (kdai in Khmer) morning in Cambodia! Yesterday we finished our first day of English camp, which went very, very well. The students (and teachers!) seemed to enjoy themselves a lot. Each person on our team got to know some Khmer students better, although it was difficult because some had a hard time speaking English. Personally, I got to meet a girl I will call Sarah. She is very friendly and for the most part can speak pretty good English. We got to know each other a little bit in the morning, and then hung out together at the King’s Palace in the afternoon.

The King’s Palace is where the king lives, obviously, but it is also sort of an outdoor museum with different temples and buildings. Sarah explained to me about the different buildings, ones in which they believe children's spirits reside, one that housed belongings that past kings had used, and ones with all the different Buddhas. She is not a Christ follower, so it was very interesting and good to see the King’s Palace not just from a different culture’s eyes, but also a different religion.

At first it’s hard not to critique the different religion or make assumptions about the people who believe in it. But I had to realize that it’s not my job to make it right and say Buddhism is wrong. And it amazed me and helped me to relax a little bit that God is already working in these people and pursuing them. Even pursuing my friend, Sarah. Because of this, I’m very excited to see what He’ll do this week. :)

----Marisa on behalf of the Cambodia team


Here's a shout out from Eileen, Kim, and Liz! We began this morning by putting on our "I Heart Cambodia" t-shirts. In the beginning of this trip our leaders told us that we would fall in love with the Cambodian people. We thought this was a little extreme ... but now we understand what they meant. The people as a whole are friendly, sincere, and have genuine smiles. Loving people is what they do. They have taken a genuine interest in getting to know us despite the language barrier, they embrace each other as brothers and sisters upon meeting, and their unique sense of humor blends well with ours. Therefore, this has made our experience at English Camp better than we could have ever imagined. Our favorite times of the day are connecting and bonding with the students during English lessons, bus rides, and field trips.

Even though it is unbelievably hot (we can hear the sound of the sweat droplets being rung out of John and Jamie’s shirts as we write), extremely crowded, and materials are very limited, God is giving us the strength to look past these conditions. He is allowing us to forget about our physical discomfort and openly and fully love our students.

In addition to bonding with our students, we are realizing how blessed we are to be a part of this Daybreak team. It has been neat to see everyone laugh, cry, share, and encourage each other daily. Watching our teammates interact with the Cambodians and hearing their stories makes the trip that much more rewarding. God has been good.

Please ask to see photos of the crazy traffic, specifically the moto bikes. Crossing the street is like playing a game of chicken, weaving in and out of the motos.

In fact, yesterday our bus driver hit a man on a moto bike, preceded to drive away, and later scrubbed the marks off the front of the bus (crazy!) Continued prayers are appreciated.

-Eileen, Kim, and Liz :)