Why I love Kampuchea

Dear Family and those I love

   Due to the request of Jennifer and based upon a promise that I made to you all I would like to share why I love Kampuchea (Vietnamese word for Cambodia) so much.

  It is amazing how your reaction to a place changes over time and how something so foreign can become home. When I first arrived in Cambodia I was shocked by the traffic (motos weaving in and out of traffic, cars driving up the wrong side of the road, pedestrians walking bravely through terrifying traffic without even blinking) I was disgusted by the smell, a combination of rotten garbage, road kill and decaying body waste and overwhelmed by the masses of people zipping past that I couldn't communicate with.  Then of course came the shock of seeing little kids running through the streets naked, people showering under their house with buckets of rain water, then biking through horrendous humidity or pouring rain storms.  Then one day completely unexpected Cambodia became home.  I loved the thrill of biking through traffic, waving at people who ran shops on street corners, going shopping at Lucky's (an international supermarket where you can find almost anything in a hit and miss sort of a way), attending church in a language I didn't yet understand, but realizing that the Spirit truly is universal.  Soon came that Cambodia was simply home and that Newton was the dream.  It took a lot more for me to realize that Cambodia was still foreign, moments like finding a dead cockroach in your bleach water or finding kim chi in Arona mart for really cheap. I think my favorite oh wow moment was seeing a tire swing made out of a wooden seat and tire for the rope part.

  First off I love Kampuchea because of the people.  I love my zone so much, there are under 30 Vietnamese missionaries in the world and about half of them serve in Cambodia and I was blessed to be part of that number.  It means you serve with those people for long periods of time and you see them every Tuesday and most often more often.  Serving in Cambodia is unlike serving anywhere else in the world, which you can say about each individual mission.  My zone's experience is so unique because we spoke a language different than the language of the country which we couldn't communicate in (unless you are Anh Ca Tu who is a wizz with the language), we were searching for people who for the most part didn't want to be found because they didn't want to admit they were Vietnamese, our main work was branch building, we always tried to find investigators, but even more important was making sure the investigator had a fully functioning branch to attend.  Some weeks it felt like we spent more time doing visiting teaching members than finding people to teach.  During December when every member of our zone except for three people were sick we had a training in district meeting about staying home and resting if we didn't feel well so that we could heal faster and get back to work.  In such an unconventional place as this friendships among the missionaries are built quickly and very strong, by the time I left we were meeting at the mission home most P-days so we could share stories.

  I think an unexpected thing I came to love was the traffic itself.  It helps that the most recent part riding in Phnom Penh happened during their winter, which means it is only 80* instead of 97*+, believe me there is a huge difference and my body felt it.  Okay so that speaks more to the riding my bike part so I'll take a quick random tangent on that before I head to riding through traffic. It is an interesting thing to ride through crazy Cambodia traffic on a three speed bike (I was one of few people who actually had a multiple speed bike, which came in handy when I was getting my calves kicked trying to go over huge bridges.

The sand or huge rocks on the road made for an interesting time riding and either made your legs or back side tired depending on what you were trying to ride through. The open sewer canal in Branch 6 always had me afraid my bike would lose control and I would end up taking a sewer swim, thankfully I never did.  I loved the freedom of National Road 5 and the tall buildings of the city where I could get awesome echoes when I would sing Christmas songs in full voice.  Now for the traffic part. Traffic in Cambodia is insane, but amazing.  As I already mentioned cars go the wrong way on the street all the time, even on one way streets, then add motos queing up at traffic lights, huge trucks, little cars, bikes and pedestrians all trying to go about their business and you get sheer chaos.  The first time I got on a bike there my arms and shoulders were shaking so bad I couldn't ride in a straight line.  The office elders told Elder Westover that a bike was having a problem, Elder Westover asked if it was the bike or the rider :-).  Thankfully after that first ride into terror, things greatly improved.  In fact by the time I left my native companions who were on bikes for 18 months and were essentially bike ninjas were telling me canh thanh (careful).  Mind you I wasn't trying to be stupid or a thrill seeker, it's just sometimes my distance perception where other vehicles were concerned was a bit off.
  
  Also on my favorites list was Vietnamese food and learning how to cook it.  Yes I do know how to cook, but pot roast and mash potatoes are a whole lot different than chicken and ginger congee and stir fry.  When I first arrived in country I tried to cook western, partly because I missed it so much and partly because my Vietnamese and Hmong roomates wanted to see what western food tasted like.  But after experiencing how expensive western is and how hard it is to make things when you only have Asian supplies had me learning to cook Vietnamese really fast. I love Vietnamese food, partly because it tastes like American Asian food, but better.  We use a whole lot of garlic, fish sauce, oyster sauce and chicken powder.  My favorite dishes have become pineapple chicken, fried noodles and a cucumber tomato salad with garlic, vinegar and fish sauce.  I could live on those things for the rest of my life and die happy, mind you, the chicken powder is rather hard to come by, but as I sit and write this I find myself craving that food and I might need to take a trip into town for some noodles and pineapple :-).  I am so grateful to my companions who were so patient with me in the learning process.  Of course sometimes it just involved telling me to go for it and try my best, and as I did that they never complained if the food didn't quite turn out the most delicious (mostly I ran into the problem of too bland or too salty, I learned the need of tasting your food as you go).  It all paid off by the end of my mission though, I can cook most things Vietnamese, now I just need to teach myself pot roast again.

My favorite part of my mission will always be the people.  I was blessed to meet so many people with so much faith to face so many trials and still be willing to laugh and smile.  I loved learning the language so that I could come to know them and share my love with them. In the MTC I was shocked by my lack of knowledge of Asia (let's face it, Chi Hoa was an Asia expert and Chi Hien was Asian, I didn't stand a chance) I was overwhelmed by the language and the changes that were coming and I told Chi Hoa I wanted to love the people like she did.  As I prepared to leave and come home my heart was breaking that I had to say goodbye to the people who live in my heart (Skype just isn't the same as seeing them everyday and giving them a hug) and I asked Chi Hoa where this love had come from, she told me that because I had sought for it and prayed it was given to me in full measure. I testify that God truly does answers the desires of our hearts, especially if it is for greater love. I loved every person I met, but Chu Ni and Co Xoa, Co Nuong, Em Nhi, Em Vi, Em Thi and Chi Tra, Anh Vu and Chi Khia will always mean the world to me.  They opened up their hearts and their lives to a girl who couldn't even speak their language yet, but had oh so much love to share, I'm thankful they let it in.  I will always remember when Chu Ni acted as translator for me the first time I met Chu Tich Kiet  (keep in mind I had only met Chu Ni two days before). Or seeing Anh Vu coming to church all dressed up my last Sunday in Branch 6.  I also love Chi Thuy, she is a 47 year old sister we should call Co (aunt) but she calls herself em (little sister) so we meet in the middle and call her chi (older sister). She is such a sweet heart, she loves the missionaries and loves serving the Lord.  I didn't realize how much I missed her until I received a phone call from her this morning.  I'm in shock that money for her is so tight, but she called internationally so she could talk to me and tell me she missed me. Heavenly Father loves a cheerful heart, he must really love her.  Also the faith of Co Nguyet, she lost her home to a fire while having just found out she had stomach cancer, yet she still fulfills her calling and loves the missionaries, what a dear sweet woman she is.

 I think these paragraphs mostly cover my love of Kampuchea, but if any other questions arise please find me on facebook, leave a comment or ask me in person. I love the Lord for giving me the opportunity to open my heart to a people and culture that seemed so foreign and are now so dear to my heart. I love the time I have when I can chat with them on facebook or over skype and for the blessing my mission is to prepare me for the life Heavenly Father now has for me.  I know He loves us and he has a plan which will bring us the most joy in this life and the life to come.  I hope this week is amazing for each of us.
                                                                                              All my love Chi ca Dao :-)