By Bettina Adragna
badragna@selmaenterprise.com
The Kingsburg Recorder (Kingsburg, California, USA)
The Cambodian children didn't know how to use crayons. The kids from Kingsburg had never heard of, let alone eaten, rambutan fruit.
Both cultures came together when a group of seven youth and four leaders from Kingsburg Community Church went to Cambodia from June 8-20 to minister to kids in Cambodia. The group ministered to Cambodian children with fun, games and a retelling of the Christian creation story. The trip was as much a learning experience for them as for the kids.
"It was a big cultural shock, just to see the poverty and how they lived," said junior Ben Ezaki.
Youth minister Kerry Pickrell said this was one purpose for the trip.
"We're taking kids to kind of see what it's like to be a missionary in a third world country, and sort of open their eyes to what God is doing outside of Kingsburg," he said. "It was kind of a cultural awakening, and a broadening of a world view."
Junior Rena Bissett said, "It was like nothing I expected. It was so different than how it is here."
The group remembered going to a restaurant where it was normal to throw napkins down on the floor when they were done. At one place, the servers took food from other customers to feed the church group.
"They treated us like royalty there," said Ezaki.
Many restaurants had Western-style food, but it didn't taste the same to them. When they stuck to the more regional cuisine, they ate coconut curry, white rice, chicken, and lots of fruit and vegetables, such as mango, pineapple and rambutan.
Religion was paramount to the trip, both theirs and the Cambodians'. The group visited three Buddhist temples, including the Angkor Wat. Despite being an old and famous temple, it was also known as one of worst preserved wonders of the world. Ezaki observed that the rules were different there.
"In America, if we had something like that, it would be all sealed up and roped off," he said. There, children played and people worshipped with incense and statues.
The city, while more modern than other parts of the country, still surprised them with its traffic rules and the knowledge of its inhabitants. When they told merchant children where they were from, the merchant children then spouted off the capital and population of California. Most of the children who could afford school were at least bilingual.
The village held even greater surprises for the Kingsburg natives.
"It's really something right out of National Geographic," said Ezaki.
Senior Miriam Mahfoud remembered when they asked the Cambodian children if they had ever heard of Jesus, and no one raised their hand.
"That was really, really big for me," said Mahfoud. "That just really broke my heart."
Bissett also was shocked, coming from a place where there are Christian churches everywhere.
"Here [in Kingsburg], it seems like everyone has a chance to be a follower of Jesus," she said. "It was a really good feeling to be able to share that with them."
They also saw a large Cambodian church started by another missionary group. It was run by Cambodian people, who had three services, three choirs and 800 congregants. They were building a new facility to accommodate a thousand people.
"It was really good to see what God is doing in Cambodia," said Mahfoud.
She wants to go on more trips like this one, even if she's not sure about being a full-time missionary like the Brad and Kristy Johnson, who hosted the group for part of the trip.
"You can see how something so small can impact someone," said Mahfoud.
The experience changed her point of view about people in need close to home, she said.
"We can share here daily with people," Mahfoud said. "It makes you think about who you minister to. You don't have to go far away to spread the word of Jesus."
The excursion cost $2,000 per person, and was paid for by fundraisers and support letters. Some people gave $500 for hard labor like scraping paint, which was split among the group.
Pickrell said he was impressed by the group's ability to adapt.
"It wasn't an easy trip, but they did a great job," he said.
Both cultures came together when a group of seven youth and four leaders from Kingsburg Community Church went to Cambodia from June 8-20 to minister to kids in Cambodia. The group ministered to Cambodian children with fun, games and a retelling of the Christian creation story. The trip was as much a learning experience for them as for the kids.
"It was a big cultural shock, just to see the poverty and how they lived," said junior Ben Ezaki.
Youth minister Kerry Pickrell said this was one purpose for the trip.
"We're taking kids to kind of see what it's like to be a missionary in a third world country, and sort of open their eyes to what God is doing outside of Kingsburg," he said. "It was kind of a cultural awakening, and a broadening of a world view."
Junior Rena Bissett said, "It was like nothing I expected. It was so different than how it is here."
The group remembered going to a restaurant where it was normal to throw napkins down on the floor when they were done. At one place, the servers took food from other customers to feed the church group.
"They treated us like royalty there," said Ezaki.
Many restaurants had Western-style food, but it didn't taste the same to them. When they stuck to the more regional cuisine, they ate coconut curry, white rice, chicken, and lots of fruit and vegetables, such as mango, pineapple and rambutan.
Religion was paramount to the trip, both theirs and the Cambodians'. The group visited three Buddhist temples, including the Angkor Wat. Despite being an old and famous temple, it was also known as one of worst preserved wonders of the world. Ezaki observed that the rules were different there.
"In America, if we had something like that, it would be all sealed up and roped off," he said. There, children played and people worshipped with incense and statues.
The city, while more modern than other parts of the country, still surprised them with its traffic rules and the knowledge of its inhabitants. When they told merchant children where they were from, the merchant children then spouted off the capital and population of California. Most of the children who could afford school were at least bilingual.
The village held even greater surprises for the Kingsburg natives.
"It's really something right out of National Geographic," said Ezaki.
Senior Miriam Mahfoud remembered when they asked the Cambodian children if they had ever heard of Jesus, and no one raised their hand.
"That was really, really big for me," said Mahfoud. "That just really broke my heart."
Bissett also was shocked, coming from a place where there are Christian churches everywhere.
"Here [in Kingsburg], it seems like everyone has a chance to be a follower of Jesus," she said. "It was a really good feeling to be able to share that with them."
They also saw a large Cambodian church started by another missionary group. It was run by Cambodian people, who had three services, three choirs and 800 congregants. They were building a new facility to accommodate a thousand people.
"It was really good to see what God is doing in Cambodia," said Mahfoud.
She wants to go on more trips like this one, even if she's not sure about being a full-time missionary like the Brad and Kristy Johnson, who hosted the group for part of the trip.
"You can see how something so small can impact someone," said Mahfoud.
The experience changed her point of view about people in need close to home, she said.
"We can share here daily with people," Mahfoud said. "It makes you think about who you minister to. You don't have to go far away to spread the word of Jesus."
The excursion cost $2,000 per person, and was paid for by fundraisers and support letters. Some people gave $500 for hard labor like scraping paint, which was split among the group.
Pickrell said he was impressed by the group's ability to adapt.
"It wasn't an easy trip, but they did a great job," he said.
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