“Language
learning is ministry; ministry is language learning.” OMF Daniel Learning
It is good to finally write to you
from Cambodia. I am so excited that I am
in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, at last! All
that praying and preparation and hoping and trusting and envisioning – well,
let’s just say that that is over and a new journey begins. I thank God for everything for it is from him
and through him and to him are all things.
Hallelujah!
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Language learning
at OMF Cambodia Centre. Was sharing my
testimony with the team when I wore my traditional (Maasai) dress.
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So, I have been here for the last
28 days and there is so much I can write about but let me restrict this update
to the question that most people have been asking me – what are your first
impressions of Cambodia? When I look at
the capital city of Cambodia, Phnom Penh, at quick glance it almost looks like
Nairobi. But when I give it a second
glance, it is very different. There is one
street I passed through and it gave me the impression that I was in Ngong Road
in Nairobi (the section where they make and sell furniture). The street in Cambodia also sells furniture
but on closer look, it is not chairs, tables and beds that are being sold
there, it is actually spirit houses (see photo below). Spirit houses are everywhere in city. Almost every Cambodian has one outside their
house or business premise. They use it
to offer food/drinks to spirits or departed ancestors. Cambodia is a Buddhist country but it is not
pure Buddhism. At the heart of Buddhism
here, is spirit worship and animism.
When I walk around and see the spirit houses around Phnom Penh, I am
reminded of Paul in Athens (Acts 17) where found a very superstitious people
worshipping an unknown God. I am very
saddened at the spiritual state of this nation.
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| Spirit houses being sold in the street |
The people have been really friendly to me and that
has been an affirmation that God has sent me here. I was told that the Cambodians look down on
people with dark skin and that I might even have trouble at the immigration at
the airport. But my entry into Cambodia
was very quick and smooth. I was not asked
any questions and one of the immigration policemen even helped me glue back my
Visa which was not properly glued to my passport. Praise God for that. I found a house and moved in at the beginning
of December (praise God again J
) and it is not far from the OMF Centre where I go for language learning every
day. As I walk to go for language
learning Centre, people smile at me and I say hello and they say hello
back. Others even try to talk to me
sometimes but because I still don’t have a clue of what they are saying, I just
smile. My neighbor has agreed to
practice language with me and we are planning to go to the market together for
me to just go and observe what happens at the market. So praise God for people who have been
willing to teach me some words in Khmer like at restaurants and even while
taking a tuktuk ride. That has made me
feel welcome here and I feel at home here in many different ways. Well, until we people start talking and I
can’t get a word of what they are saying, then I remember I am not home.
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| More language learning. I have four teachers who are teaching me survival Khmer, consonants and vowels and constructing simple sentences. |
And speaking of language, my main
ministry assignment for the next one year is purely language learning and
cultural observations. When I first got
here, my head used to hurt at the end of the day because I was trying so hard
to listen and pick a word or two of what people are saying. Also, looking at the Khmer script was very
frustrating because when I got here I could only identify the Moh (ម)
consonant. Now I am happy to say that my
head does not hurt as much as it did at first and I can now identify more and
more consonants and even some of the vowels.
In addition to learning how to speak, write and communicate in
Khmer, I am also observing the culture.
Like what are some of the things people do when they visit a home or an office
or how do you give someone money? I have
observed that people remove shoes when they get into a house (be it an office,
church or someone’s house). That is
something I am still getting used to. I
also have to get used to giving people money using both hands. And speaking of money, we use both the
Cambodian Riel and the US dollar simultaneously. Go figure!
There is so much I could say but for now:-
- Please pray that each Cambodian will get an opportunity to hear the gospel and stop worshipping idols and turn to the true and living God.
- Please continue to pray for me that God will give me a learning heart not only for the language but also to keenly observe the culture of the Cambodians so that I can be at home in their culture relating, serving and communicating effectively with them.
