A shoe shining boy
kept begging me to let him shine my shoes. I finally gave in. As he was shining he told me he is 16, he already lost his mom, his dad is a land mine victim, he has five siblings, he is earning for his studies... and he hopes to go to college...
Immersion Trip to CAMBODIA (Mar. 4-17, 2007)
Chum reap suol (hi), I went to Maryknoll Lay Missioners’ (MKLM) Friends Across Boarders immersion trip to Cambodia. It was the first time I came so close to extreme poverty. Throughout the whole trip we were guided by MKLM missionaries to visit their projects and many points of interest. We met with the people whom MKLM serves, including HIV/AIDS afflicted patients, children and orphans, residents of resettlement area, garbage pickers, the deaf, university students and youth. We learned a little of their language, Khmer, and some sign language, we learned about their culture and the terrible history of the Khmer Rouge regime. We watched traditional art performance, we chatted with high-spirited university students, we danced with vivacious youth, and we had dialogue with respectable monks. To perfect our trip, we even flew up to Siem Reap to see the eighth wonder of the world --- Angkor Wat.
The trip has opened my eyes and changed my life. I knew Cambodia was poor and had many problems. But the knowing didn’t strike my heart until I actually held an innocent orphan to my cheek, saw the most beautiful smiling face of children despite their devastating living condition, breathed the choking air of a garbage dump when the sun was grilling at 100F, and was horrified by the pictures and skulls of the Khmer Rouge victims.
The Cambodians are great people. They are nice, friendly and humble. But they face a lot of problems: poverty, injustice, corruption, HIV/AIDS... Please support them with your prayers and actions. When you support the Maryknoll Lay Missioners financially you enable more missionaries to go abroad to serve the people in need.
The following is what I have shared with my friends during my stay there:
