Cambodia Trip - Friday, Day 5

Well, it has been a rather heart wrenching morning. After a good time of worship and a great teaching by Aaron on the Qualities of a Forerunner, a few of us went with Malina to take some border children for another meal. 

Malina had said to collect six children at the most, and so while she arranged for our groups visit at the restaurant, Kristen and Sophy and I went in search of children. I really wanted to connect with a few of the older children, to hear from their what their lives were like. Sophy had warned me that they would probably be drunk or high, but this was still on my heart. After a while we found one teenage boy that she knew, so we invited him, and then a group of teens came running and we had to be resolute in choosing just three; Sophy (who had had previous experience to give her wisdom) was adamant that taking a large group of teens would have been unmanageable. We also found most of the younger children we had fed a few days before – and from these we could not just choose three, so we piled them all in and filled our vehicle to capacity. Arriving at the restaurant we sheepishly told Malina that we were not that good at counting – we must have had at least twelve children with us. So more tables had to be rearranged and it was a while before everyone could be seated.

While we waited for the food to come, Aaron and I talked with the older boys, Sambo interpreting. Two of them were 18 years old, and the other was 17. Apparently one boy works as a cart puller, and the other two work collecting bottles and cans for recycling – earning between 100 and 400 Thai Baht each day, depending on how much work they got. The average was 200 Thai Baht. 

Like the younger children, they willingly answered our questions:

‘How much does it cost to survive each day?’

‘150 Baht, but sometimes there is no money for water and then we go to sleep thirsty.’

‘Where do you sleep?

‘Against the wall where you found us.’

‘Do you have a family?’

‘No’, ‘No’ and ‘Yes, my mother died, but I have a father and a sister’.

Set, 18 years old and working as a
cart puller. 

The boy who had family then told us that he works (pulling carts) and sends money home to his dad so that his sister can go to school. Aaron said that this was a very honourable thing to do and that it showed that he has a heart for his family. He smiled and thanked Aaron, but then volunteered the information that he sniffs glue, almost as if he didn't want us to think more highly of him than was fair. We asked if the other boys do this as well, and they said ‘Yes’. I asked why. He said: ‘Because it makes me fly...’, and ‘For a while I can forget about things...’

We asked the boys what they would like to do if it were possible for them to change their lives? The cart puller said he would like to train as a motorbike mechanic, because then he could earn very good money. The other boy wanted to be a tailor. The third didn’t say anything. I asked Sambo if there was anywhere that these boys could train if it were possible to get funding for them. These are not very big ambitions. Surely there must be a way to fulfill them? He said he didn’t know of anywhere here; maybe in Phnom Penh (9 – 10 hours away). I asked if there was anywhere they could get help to give up drugs and glue sniffing if they wanted to. Apparently there is a centre, about 60km away, but it caters for children from wealthy families, and Sambo was not sure if they would accept street children, even if someone was willing to sponsor them. What would it cost to go to this centre? $500 on entry, and $100 per month thereafter. But he heard that there is a long waiting list, because the centre is full.

The boy in the middle is the one who said that
he had never had a proper meal.

Meanwhile the food had arrived. It was a feast of rice and different toppings, and they ate and ate and ate. We asked if they had eaten yet today? ‘No’. And when was the last time they had eaten a proper meal like this? And the 17 year old said this was the first time. Oh God! Wanting to break down and cry, I said that made us very happy to watch them eating; to know that for today at least, they would not be hungry. I also said that I was very sorry that life was so hard for them, and that my wish was for it to be different in the future. Aaron shared that we wanted to bless them and to let them know that there is a God who cares about them.

Julie with one of the younger boys

As we took the children back to the border after their meal, one little girl started crying. She had heard that Kristen, with whom she had really connected, was going back to Canada and that she would not see her again. We also found out that she was afraid that she would be beaten for coming with us when she was supposed to have been begging. So we went with her to find the woman she said was her mother to try to explain. But this lady did not want to talk with us, and there was not much we could do. It was so hard to watch this little girl walking away, looking back at us, tears running down her cheeks. (One is never sure whether it is really the mother or the ‘handler’; the handler supervises a group of child beggars, each of whom have to bring in a certain amount of money each day or face the consequences. The reason we were unsure about the identity of this woman was that the child had previously told us that her mother was sick, and that this was why she was begging.)

Back at lunch, Kristen was having a hard time with her emotions. Pretty much like the rest of us. It was a solemn meal.

We  didn’t feel like we had much more to give in the way of ministry that afternoon, so it was a relief to sign up for a service project at the restaurant to which we had taken the children instead. It was really dirty – obviously they don’t have food hygiene inspections here! So we took everything out of the restaurant and cleaned and cleaned. Within a while we had gathered an interested audience, who were rather surprised to see a group of Westerners cleaning a Khmer restaurant! The owners of the restaurant were so grateful, and even though they were not Christians (there was a large altar to Buddha in the restaurant), they said that we had brought the love and the peace of Jesus to them. I got very hot and bothered – those English genes! Eventually I asked for an ice cube which I rubbed along the back of my neck and on my head. It melted within a few minutes. I must have been rather overheated! 

Back at our hotel it was good to have a cold shower and to lie on my bed for a while. I skipped supper in order to have time to do this, and it was worth it. Back at XP we had a worship concert in the street which was great fun. It began to rain, but of course it was not cold, so we stayed outside and danced and sang and were refreshed physically, spiritually and emotionally. It was particularly special to sing a song in English, and then to have the Khmer version of the same song. It was with a full heart that we ended the evening singing ‘Hallelujah’ together; people from America, Canada, Australia, Britain and Cambodia, together worshipping the same God with a song that remains the same in every language.