Just Do Good

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:21, New International Version)

Friday’s blog post was pretty dark and the next one I post will be even darker. But these are the words of the LORD which we must remember. Somehow when we are surrounded by evil, when the world is falling apart, when we don’t understand the sinful nature of wicked people - we need to do the best we can. Be kind and caring, show love to others, live as Jesus did. Don’t let hatred pull us down, instead do good.

Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he’s thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don’t let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good. (Romans 12:21, The Message)

Killing Fields - Cambodia blog entry #6

Tuesday, September 17, was our trip to hell. The thing is we came back out into the blazing Cambodian heat and rain to live another day. Unlike 2 million Cambodians who didn’t live through the Khmer Rouge reign of terror from 1975 to 1979. 

Again, I cannot believe that at the time, my 12-year-old brain only knew of the Vietnam War and that when the US pulled out, we gave up on the country and let the communists have their way. I didn't know that Cambodia had been an innocent victim of war just because of its location. And there I was, 50 years ago thinking only of some 12^th century temple in the jungle. 

So, that Tuesday when I was in Cambodia last month, our first stop of the day was the Choeung Ek Killing Fields, where 8,895 bodies were discovered after the fall of the Khmer Rouge. It is believed that many more were buried there as fragments of human bone continue to surface. It is only one of 300 such mass grave locations throughout Cambodia. 

The tour of the grounds was chilling, and it wasn’t from the rain showers which fell on us most of the morning. 

As I left the main grounds to walk around the pond on the east side of the grounds, I listened through my headset to stories of survivors and witnesses of these atrocities. The rain fell steadily on the borrowed umbrella I held over my head. It all felt so very surreal.

How was any of this possible? How did Hitler’s Holocaust happen? Or Rwanda or Darfur? How can any human being subject another human being to such absolute and utter cruelty and dehumanization? And how – why is it still going on right now, in this year, in places around the world? 

Two last thoughts.

Believe it or not, after sharing all of this, I skipped one thing on the grounds of Choeung Ek. It was even more horrific than any of this. If your curiosity gets the better of you, click this link.

And lastly, we weren’t done for the day. My blog post next week is even more sobering.

Palace Grounds - Cambodia blog entry #5

 Monday afternoon, after wandering the Central Market and touring Wat Phnom, we stopped for a tour of the extensive grounds of the Royal Palace. It wasn't on our most recent schedule, but K said we had time. However, it did take way longer than we had imagined; our tour guide was very knowledgeable but sometimes went into too much detail. 

The Royal Palace is the residence of the reigning monarch – King Norodom Sihamoni. Since 1993, the king of Cambodia has been an elected monarch, making Cambodia one of the few elective monarchies in the world. The king is elected for life by the Royal Council of the Throne, which consists of several senior political and religious figures. Candidates are chosen from male descendants of King Ang Duong, who are at least 30 years old, and are from the two royal houses of Cambodia (the House of Norodom and the House of Sisowath). The current king’s father and predecessor was Norodom Sihanouk.

Following are the notes I took, with some supplementation from the internet. 

There was a beautiful Banyan tree next to the Victory Gate and the dancing hall. 

Also called Preah Tineang Chan Chhaya, the dancing hall or Moonlight Pavilion was built in 1913. 

 The Throne Hall or coronation hall hosts the coronation and other special occasions and was built in 1919. We couldn't go inside or even take pictures of the inside. There are three different thrones inside used at different times by different people. It got me very confused. 

I loved all the details. 

The grey building is the Pavilion of Napoleon which was being redone when we were there so we couldn’t go inside.  

This unique palm tree comes from Madagascar and is called Ravenala or the traveler’s palm. Not a true palm tree, its fronds grow in the pattern of a fan. 

The royal treasury room displayed costumes for royalty and even commoners when they got married. The clothes were very fancy and would be rented, not owned, by the bride and groom. There were a lot of other items crammed in the small building, but this is where I started to lose it. I was getting so hot and weak. There was a fan in the building so I focused on staying in front of it, while everything our guide said sounded like an adult talking in the Peanuts cartoon. 

When we came out of there, we crossed a small sunlit courtyard and then went under the roof over the Ramayana Frescoes. That’s when I started seeing black spots. “Can I seat down here,” I asked, pointing to the floor. Not that it mattered coz I would either sit right then or pass out full blown.   

 I sat down and immediately just laid back on my side on the cool tile. The others kept walking, but I asked K if he'd wait there until I gathered myself, drinking water and dribbling some on my face.

 Typical guy, he said, “it will be even hotter at Angor Wat”. How helpful is that! 

Anyway, I felt better after a few minutes and tentatively sat up. Soon I was able to continue the tour with our little group. 

The last building we went in was the Silver Palace, aka temple of the Emerald Buddha. The Silver Pagoda is a highlight and is named for the silver inlaid floor. There was only a section of it exposed, the rest being covered with carpet, but you could hear the tiles crinkling as you walked across the floor. Along with cases full of artifacts along the walls, there were several large, ornate Buddhas in the center of the room. I assume that the largest one was the Emerald Buddha. (And maybe I was still out of it, coz I remember taking pictures inside, but I have none on my camera! Or maybe we weren't allowed to take pictures inside and I was really still spaced out. As it is, I stole the picture of it below from Denise.)

Just beyond that and a replica of the Angkor Wat was a small refreshment stand, where I bought a cold water and drank it in the shade. Thankfully, I was back to my usual self.

Who Walks Beside Me?

         People may plan all kinds of things, but the Lord's will is going to be done. (Proverbs 19:21, Good News Translation)

I know I’ve written about this before, but now that I have finally returned from my dream trip to Cambodia, I felt I had to share this one more time.

I first learned about the temples at Angkor Wat when I was in sixth grade—fifty years ago. I was mesmerized, and though the dream wasn’t always at the forefront of my mind, I knew that someday I had to go there.

Flash forward to January of 2020. On a whim, I googled volunteer trips to Cambodia and came across the cultural immersion trip for grown-ups over age 50 with Projects Abroad. I sent the information to my friend Denise, and it didn’t take her long to get back to me with a big smiley face. She was game, and after a little more research, we signed up.

Then COVID-19 hit, and we had to cancel.

The fall of 2021 held potential, but the pandemic was still causing enough uncertainty and inconvenience, so we canceled the trip a second time.

The following year, COVID-19 had abated enough that it was safe to travel, but my daughter wanted to return to Kenya, so Denise and I joined her.

It looked like 2023 would finally be my year until my back went out in April, and the rest of my body fell apart after that. We canceled just weeks before our intended departure.

Ahh, 2024! Fourth time is apparently the charm.

I had been thinking that God simply didn’t want me to go to Cambodia. And I get that—this wasn’t going to be a volunteer trip, mostly just a vacation to an almost entirely Buddhist country. There would be no Sunday morning Christian church service and certainly no sharing of the Gospel (not that God has blessed me with that gift!).

Would my fascination with all the Buddhist and Hindu temples lead me spiritually astray?

The answer is that no, it did not. Quite the opposite. This fantastic trip reminded me that I serve an amazing God who will never leave me or forsake me. For some reason, God wanted me to complete my dream trip this year and not any other.

And as you will see as I continue blogging about this trip, He walked beside me every day.

And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.” (Deuteronomy 31:8, New King James Version)

Our First Two Stops - Cambodia blog entry #4

         Though Sunday, September 15, was our first full day in Cambodia, it wasn’t until Monday that we actually got out and started experiencing things on the ground, instead of riding by in our tuk tuk.

First though, here’s a picture of our tuk tuk, in case you were wondering what it really is. I’ll post a blog about all the different ones we rode in during our two-week trip, but this is the one we used in Phnom Penh. Our driver was a sweet man named Wo-Tea. He didn’t know much English, but K was almost always with us and otherwise pointing,  hand gestures, and the few words we knew in common worked.

We went to Central Market first. What a maze, filled with hundreds of vendors, hawking everything from watches to silks to fruits to fish. Also called Phsar Thmei, it’s a massive, mostly-indoor shopping center, which has everything you could want to buy.

Built in 1937, in the art deco style, by a French architect, it is a bright yellow building with an 85-foot-high central dome, with four tall arch-roofed arms branching out diagonally across the block. In between each of those halls, is an opening for more vendor’s stalls leading out to the street. (I plucked this photo from Google, full credit to whoever took it. I hate borrowing pictures from the internet, but I left my drone at home.)

Supposedly when it was built, the architect designed it with open air windows at the top, which were intended to allow air currents throughout the building to cool it. It didn’t feel like that was working to me. But the architecture was beautiful. 

Just like in Kenya, you can't even stop to look at something without being pressured by the vendors. First stall we stopped at I bought a scarf for four dollars, because I knew I wanted one. Then we wandered. D and I separated, and I couldn't find the way back to where we had come in. It's arranged like a wheel with eight spokes and after a while they all look the same. Finally found my way out, and they were all waiting for me.

Next stop was Wat Phnom temple, a Buddhist temple (which are called wats). It is the tallest religious structure in the city, with a total height of 150 ft.

It is a historical site that is part of the Khmer national identity. The pagoda is named after Lady Penh from the story of the discovery of the five statues: four Buddha statues and one Vishnu statue.

Set on top of a tree-covered knoll, Wat Phnom is on the only hill in town. According to legend, the first pagoda on this site was erected in 1373 to house four statues of Buddha deposited here by the waters of the Mekong River and discovered by a woman name Penh. The main entrance to Wat Phnom is up the grand eastern staircase, which is guarded by lions and naga (snake) balustrades.

We saw hundreds of pagodas throughout Cambodia. A pagoda is a tiered building with multiple eaves and ornate details, that is often used for religious purposes. Pagodas are common in many parts of Asia, including India, China, Japan, and Thailand. They are often Buddhist and can also serve as community venues, schools, and places for sharing knowledge.

This is the stupa of Ponhea Yat who was the last king of the Khmer Empire and the first Khmer king of the post-Angkor period, from 1421until his death in 1463. A stupa is a steeple-shaped mausoleum holding the bones and ashes of the deceased, usually placed around the grounds of a pagoda. They can be made of sandstone, laterite, brick, and more recently of cement, and some are huge.

Streets of Phnom Penh - Cambodia blog entry #3

Sunday, September 15 was our first full day in Cambodia. After a good night’s sleep (ten hours!!!), I woke up that morning feeling pretty good. My chronic back pain wasn’t bad at all, only my right wrist was killing me, but that’s kind of how my life has been the past eighteen months, so I wasn’t going to complain.

I won’t bore you with every detail of the day, except that D and I made one trip to the 7-11 on the corner for snacks and also stopped at Dairy Queen for blizzards! Choosing to ease into the foreign foods.

Actually nearly every meal we had was pretty good, always food we could eat and never went hungry. But I’m going to save the food photos for the end when I have them all together.

After lunch, K took us for a ride around town to show us the sites. Here are some of them.

I know that cities around the world have this kind of traffic, evern the large cities in the US. But this small town girl continued to be amazed by traffic every day. 

 

Indepence Monument built in 1958 to celebrate Cambodia's independence from France.

The monument in the background honors the late Buddhist scholar Samdech Chuon Nath. I couldn't figure out what the little statue in front left is of.

The front side of the staute of Samdech Choun Nath.

The riverwalk along the Tonle Sap River.

I think it's just the gate outside some random building. They had alot of ornate gates like this.

The Phnom Penh post office, where packages disappear into a black hole

The government building 

Not a government building. More like typical working class apartments

A typical street with light traffic. 

A little bit more chaotic traffic. It was hard to get a picture that really captured it.