the richest poor man

Have you ever been completely separated from the comfort of life as you've always known it? Have you ever seen human depravity in a clear and undeniably true form? Have you ever wondered why some people in this world have so very much, while others literally reside in dumps, bathe in stagnant pools of water, and wash their clothes in city fountains? I hadn't come into close proximity to any semblance of these things until I visited Cambodia. I knew very little about Cambodia prior to my visit. I knew that it neighbors Thailand and that it's a developing country. I knew that the late 1970s brought unspeakable violence in the form of human hate and genocide to millions in Cambodia. I knew my holiday there would not be a vacation so much as it would be an eye-opening experience - but I didn't know that it would affect me so much.

The reason I decided to live in Southeast Asia for a year in the first place, was to grow. I left the States with one basic goal: to return a different person. I don't mean to say that I didn't like who I was, or that I wanted to start a brand new life. I simply wanted to see an entirely different part of the world without the filter of mass media or a camera lens. I wanted to communicate with, and live among peoples of completely different descent. I wanted to allow myself to feel uncomfortable, to get dirty, and to ultimately expand my understanding of humanity and the way the human soul survives.

I spent two days in Siem Reap, the city that houses Angkor Wat, which is the world's largest religious structure. Angkor Wat is comprised of several temples or wats, all of which were breathtaking in their own right. I've grown to love travel photography, so I got a little camera-happy in some of the temples. It was so cool to see the ancient architecture and the intricate details engraved in the wats' stone structures that have lasted for centuries. My favorite wat was one that had countless faces carved into its walls and the many facades of its steeples. Although trekking around Angkor Wat for a full day was awesome in and of itself, the reason our day was truly unforgettable, was our tuk tuk driver, Seeyou. First off, he had an awesome name! lol. He picked us up from our inn and drove us around for the entire day. He was just such a joyous and friendly guy, and as the day went on, we learned a lot about him.

Seeyou took us to one temple that is far out of sight from the main road. We had to walk about a mile to see the moss-covered structure, and on our walk, Seeyou told us about how the Polpot Regime affected him personally. When he was about 12, he lost his father and brother to the genocide, and he too was left to die in the Cambodian jungle. He recalled living in the jungle for quite a long time and claimed that he lived worse than a dog - eating anything that was remotely edible, like snails and discarded leftovers on the side of dirt roads. He told us about how the Khmer soldiers would take seemingly healthy people captive, tie them to trees, and cut out their livers only to throw them into boiling water right before their eyes. He said that the victims would live long enough to see their own livers being boiled, and then they would die. He told us all of these things with a transparent honesty, but at the same time, Seeyou had an indescribable joy. I don't know how, but he seemed to be okay with his lot in life, and grateful for having survived such unspeakable hatred. Fortunately, Seeyou was old enough at the time of the genocide to remember his mother and sisters' names, so by the time the violence subsided, he was able to locate the remnants of his living family. Seeyou is now in his 40s, he used to be a schoolteacher, and speaks English quite well, along with fragments of several other languages. He is an intelligent and motivated man - but he can't read. He is also now a husband and a father, and he told us how his money goes toward bringing his children milk each day.

What was so astounding to me was his selflessness. At the onset of our day in Angkor Wat, my girlfriends and I needed to stop at an ATM, so Seeyou took us to several ATMs, only to find them all inexplicably closed. He then offered to lend us some of his money. A man who lives off of what little money he makes as a tuk tuk driver and uses it to buy his children milk, offered to pay our admission. Seeyou was such a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, the power of joy in any circumstance, and the importance of appreciating what each of us has been given in life. I think Seeyou is one of the richest people I have ever met.

After my time in Siem Reap, I spent two days in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. There, I saw the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and took a trip to the Killing Fields, which was much like visiting a concentration camp in Germany. Phnom Penh still bears the scars of the despair of the 1970s. I'll never forget the destitution so visible on every street corner. When I first arrived in Phnom Penh, I saw a group of men surrounding a man in a wheelchair, who had no limbs. They were bullying him around and looked like they were preparing to beat the defenseless man up. I wanted to scream and tell them to stop, but I was speechless and eventually looked away as I said a silent prayer for him. I saw so many maimed people that roamed the streets and begged, and I didn't know how to react. I'd always heard about poverty and despair growing up, and I knew that it existed in the world, but I had never seen it so plain and simply as I did in Cambodia. I am still struggling to grasp the fact that living in poverty is a reality for so many people. They have never known anything different.

Visiting Cambodia made me wonder where I fit into this equation. What could my own actions do to help alleviate the pain in this world? I do not believe that money is the answer so much as I believe that spreading a message of hope is. There are plenty of wealthy people all over the world who live in spiritual and emotional poverty. As a Christian, I have been called to share the wealth of the Gospel. I pray that, that would be the banner of my life. Christ came to save people, period. He did not lay down his life for the wealthy, for those who have access to the finer things in life - no, he laid down his life for all, and it is my prayer that every person on this planet would hear the message of hope that Christ lived out.

back to the old country

Hello All!

I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying their summers! I'm doing pretty well on this side of the world. I haven't posted in awhile, because I didn't have much to say, but I thought it was about time to give an update on recent happenings and near future events.

Last Saturday, 5 of us took a day trip to Ayutthaya, which was the capital of Thailand when it was still Siam. We began the day early in the morning thinking we'd take a train to the town, but we were told it would be more cost effective to rent a van (driver included) for the day. So, 600 baht per person later, we were on our way in a spacious silver van to catch a glimpse of Thailand's past.

Our first stop was the beautiful Summer Palace. The grounds were immaculate and contained several stunningly ornate buildings. There was a traditional Thai gazebo on the water in front of the palace, which served as the focal point of our first view of the grounds. It was striking with bright colors and traditional Thai patterns. There was also a red and gold open-aired temple on the grounds that looked like it had a Chinese influence. It housed statues and really old and expensive looking furniture made out of different types of wood, shell and bone. The Summer Palace is no longer used, but it seems to remain quite a functional facility, and is certainly a big tourist attraction.

Our second stop was my favorite. Our driver took us to a site with stunning temple ruins and huge buddha statues everywhere. My favorite part was taking pictures of the massive reclining buddha, whose white facade was striking against the adobe colored walls of the ruins. Most of the buddhas were clothed with golden yellow sashes, and the biggest ruin on the site looked like an ancient Mayan temple or something. We climbed the well-worn stairs to the top and found a monk accepting offerings inside the highest part. It was really interesting because the monk was a white female (I think) who looked Scandinavian - kind of weird. I really liked this site, though because the pictures we took looked just like ones you'd find in The National Geographic.

Next, we rode an elephant!! Tiller has been absolutely DYING to see an elephant this whole trip, so she was just about beside herself when the van pulled up to the place. Just Tiller and I decided to pay the 300 baht each to ride an elephant for 10 minutes. We had to climb up to a platform to get on the massive mammal and then we sat on a wobbly bench-like seat with a huge red umbrella overhead. There was a woman who sat in front of us on the elephants neck and she guided him with a metal rod and her feet, which hung right behind the elephants floppy ears. We bought him bananas, so he had a little treat while he paraded us forongs (foreigners) around, and he stubbornly took us around the site and through some water. He grabbed some greenery with his trunk and loved splashing it around as he waded through the water. Both Tiller and I almost fell off as we got back on the platform after the ride, which would have been quite a story to tell, but it was a really fun part of the day!

After the elephant extravaganza, our driver took us to an off-the-beaten-path riverside restaurant for lunch. When we got out of the van, we were led to a table by a river, and it was so relaxing to sit down in the shade for awhile - I'm still not quite used to the Thailand heat! Across the river from our table was a beautiful 200 year-old Catholic church, and we were all really surprised to see it since Thailand is like 95% Buddhist. Lunch was really good too! I ordered ginger chicken, which was pretty safe, but Tiller and Lynn ordered fish. They were each served an entire fish - head and all! They actually loved their dishes as well and by the time we were all done eating, we were sufficiently energized for the rest of the day.

The rest of the sites are a bit of a blurr, but I know we saw a lot more ruins and a few more temples. One of the temples had a huge golden buddha in it, and a lot of people were inside offering incense and praying to it. I was really taken aback by the whole situation. It's really eye-opening to see people bow down and pray so earnestly to an inanimate thing. Living in a largely buddhist country has granted me the opportunity to see firsthand how different people live and what they choose to hope in. I pray that those I meet will see something different in me, and will want to know the living God.

After the temples and ruins, we took an hour-long boat ride that took us along the same river we ate by. It was really cool to see the houses and some of the locals fishing and just hanging out. It was also really funny because the locals loved to wave as us as we rode by. I guess we're really interesting to look at, lol. Then after the boat ride, we stopped at a market for dinner. I think we were the only foreigners there and it was truly a Thai experience! We sampled some amazing fruit, and I downed a bag of fresh pineapple wedges in like 10 seconds flat!

Finally, after the sun went down, our driver took us back to some of the ruins we had seen earlier, but this time they were lit up! It was so cool to see the old temples and jagged ruins lit up from underneath and we snapped some pretty breathtaking shots!

It was a great way to spend a Saturday and we all really enjoyed peering into Thailand's past through the many sites at Ayutthaya!

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AND, next weekend I'm off to Cambodia to see Angkor Wat, which is the world's largest religious structure. It will be an adventure for sure! Please pray that we get there safely and have no difficulties crossing the border!

Much love,
Erin