The trek to get to Cambodia is not for the faint of heart. We arrived at Pittsburgh International Airport at 2am Sunday morning for a flight that left at 6am. For the next several hours we flew, switched planes, and flew some more. As we flew west we went back in time, crossing over imaginary timezone lines…that is, until we crossed the international dateline. Then somehow we were pushed into tomorrow. We arrived in Cambodia on Monday at 11pm (local time). You can figure out that time math yourself if you’d like!
Day 1 on the ground was spectacular. We began our day with breakfast on the rooftop of our hotel. We were joined for breakfast by a young man named Sopea (pronounced so-PEE-ah). Sopea is working to replant a church in Phnom Penh that closed when covid began and their pastor moved to another church in the area. I (John Reilly) have been meeting with Sopea online to help him with his work, and I invited him to join us for our first meal. It was great to see him in person, pass along some books I brought about church planting, and give him some encouragement. After breakfast we were on our way to the province of Kampong Thom to one of the 16 children’s homes that SEAPC supports and cares for.
We had a quick stop at a place called “Spider City”. You’d think it was a nickname for something, but it’s not. It’s a roadside stand that sells fried tarantulas to eat.* They also have live ones you can hold and let crawl on you. Never in all my years leading these trips have I seen such a brave group. Bill Shindledecker, Samuel Reilly, Aidan John, and Dave Kusnir all downed a deep fried, eight-legged delight.
*Eating fried spiders is not a requirement of future Cambodia trip participants.
The Kampong Thom home has around 50 children, most of elementary school age. After some quick introductions, our team was immediately thrown into an ad-lib situation. Thanks to Kaleigh Libengood we had some games, activities, and crafts planned, but we did not expect to have to begin that plan just minutes after stepping out of our ride. The team rallied and did an amazing job of caring for a lot of high energy kids. In addition to some games, Luke D’Ambrosio volunteered to share a story about David and Goliath, which the kids loved. Aidan John shared some bracelets with each of the kids that his family made that communicate the gospel through various colors and beads. We also go a lot of mileage out of some soccer balls, kickballs, and a football.
We wrapped up the day together by providing a meal for all of the children, the house parents, and house workers. This is something we try to do with each home we visit because we believe there is something mysterious and Christ-like about sharing a meal together. We dined on some of the most delicious homemade rice, chicken, and soup ever made. These kinds of meals are somewhat rare for the children’s homes. To those of you who donated financially to the trip – THANK YOU! That meal, where we ate together, laughed together, and enjoyed each other’s company was made possible by you.
We are now in for the night, preparing for the drive to Siem Reap first thing in the morning. If you are one of the many people who helped support the chicken coop project, it begins tomorrow at the Siem Reap Children’s Home!
We will continue to update as we can.
~ John Reilly