Reflections from Cambodia: A Walk with Chuck

I wake up eager for that walk with Chuck before the temps rise and sweat drips. While reading his Bible, he glances at me. "You know, I sweat so much yesterday I went through my entire closet of clothing . . . multiple times!"

We'd gotten used to washing out our items at night, hanging them in the bathroom, then transferring them to the iron window bars for a thorough drying. This typically does not take long. So Chuck could rinse out his shirts and have them back on by the afternoon.

After breakfast, we head out. We stroll down the dusty street past one vendor after another.

I purchase lettuce and a variety of other greens, four bunches for $2.50 US. At another booth, we purchase three pounds of apples/oranges/one pound of grapes/jack fruit, all for $8.00 US. I leave satisfied with my treasures.

Young Buddhist monks in orange robes hold umbrellas in one hand and a metal bucket in another. They stop at establishments and offer a blessing to the owner in exchange for a donation. Many parents send their boys to the monastery to secure an education. When they are grown, they can either choose to stay or launch out into the world.

We pass ducks hanging upside down; raw meat on boards; a man squatting over a metal pan, holding a small mirror while shaving. A little boy greets us at the entrance of his booth.

A lady dries chopped, split sugarcane in the sun. An architectural firm beckons us inside to cool off from the heat. Later we purchase fresh coconuts for 3000 Riel (0.75 US) from another street vendor. We suck the nourishing water, a complete blend of electrolytes, from a straw.

At home again, we eat lunch, then rest up for the evening service and fellowship hosted by a missionary organization. It will be good to visit with the missionaries from around Cambodia and prayerfully encourage them, even as they encourage us.