Koinonia Christian Campus Fellowship – UC Berkeley Club

Hey everybody!

Last week Saturday (6/4), the 32 brothers and sisters of the Cambodia SMT team safely arrived back in the States after being gone for ten days, and boy did we experience a lot while we were there.

It was hot.
It was humid.
And thunderstorms were a frequent occurrence.
But God had incredible things to show us as we fought our tired flesh, built new relationships, and spread the Good News.

Here’s a not-so-brief summary of what we did.
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After a long flight, we landed in Cambodia Wednesday afternoon without a hitch. Except for a single bottle of exploded paint, our luggage and equipment were intact and good to go!

Our first stop was at Tuol Sleng, also known as S-21, a school that was converted into a prison camp and used during the Cambodian Genocide. It was a very somber time as our tour guide, a survivor from that era, walked us through the history of the Khmer Rouge, the mind of Pol Pot, and the suffering that the victims of S-21 went through.

It was a humbling reminder of the reality of evil and the widespread effects one man’s sins can have on an entire people.

We ended our time there by praying for Cambodia, reflecting on the pain this country is in and on the spiritual war that must be waged to plant the seeds of hope there.

Next stop, Life University!

Most of our time in Cambodia was spent at Life U and we almost never had a moment to rest. A typical day for us consisted of waking up at 6:30 AM, running morning chapel (including giving a message), doing DT, preparing materials, and teaching several English, Bible, math, or science classes to the Primary, Secondary, High School, University, or International students, all before the early afternoon!

Then on any given day, our afternoons and evenings were equally busy, spent prepping for and running whatever special events we had planned for the next day. Be it attending English Club, visiting dorms, practicing skits, getting ready for special classes, attending the university fellowship time, getting ready for village visits, prepping for Sunday Service, meeting the Theology students, or preparing for the American Culture and Gospel Night, we were always doing something and always trying to connect with the students there.

On Thursday night, we met up with the Theology students at Life U for a time of encouragement and fellowship, mingling and sharing our stories over some of the local tropical fruit. They shared their testimonies with us and told us about the difficulties they face being Christian in a country that is over 80% Buddhist.

We were really challenged by the robust zeal they have for God.

On Friday, we went to Bhat Veng.

Now that was an adventure!
The village is in a very remote area, so not only did we do some bumpy off-roading in our significantly sized bus, but we also had to take a fifteen minute raft ride to get there.
And let me just say, lush took on a new meaning  as we floated past the greenery.

Once we got there, it was all smiles!
The kids there were so happy to see us and some of them were already waiting for our arrival at the dock, so we lugged our stuff over to the village, busted out the inflatable balls, and proceeded to have a blast!

It was quite a sight to behold when a particular recent-grad Filipino brother of ours started playing jump-rope with a bunch of elementary school kids!

After playing with the kids for a large chunk of time, we rounded up the day with a little show, doing some Joyland songs with the kids and putting on a Gospel presentation for the adults.

Now, if there is one thing you learn from Cambodia, it is that God has blessed us with an abundance in the States. I say this because that night, we slept on concrete floors with literally two sheets of plastic to use as bedding and blankets. Furthermore, the sisters had a field day with a can of Raid, spraying lines of poison along the perimeter of their room in an attempt to ward of unwanted insects. At the same time, the brothers decided to rough it out and slept outside, only to be herded back in when lightning, thunder, and torrential rain came upon us.
Oh, also, rooster at 4:22 AM.

The following morning was dedicated entirely to the kids so we put on a children’s program for them. Balloon animals, Joyland songs, magic tricks, fruit basket (a group version of King Kong Shower), and just spending time with the kids to brighten up their day were among the things that we did.

Actually, they might have brightened up our day more than we did theirs!

Looking back, Bhat Veng was (in the words of a leader) “as far away from home as we can possibly get,” and for the vast majority of us, that’s the truth. What was really sobering though was that even this far out, in a remote village on the other side of the world, we were playing with impoverished kids who are ultimately also the children of God. Children who also desperately need to hear the gospel message. What we were doing for them was so small and probably did not have the impact that we would have liked, but perhaps little by little, with each successive mission team that goes there, they will be more and more open to hearing God’s Word.

And so, we left Bhat Veng tired, worn out, but with immense joy in our hearts.

The next couple of days were spent revving up for the American Culture and Gospel Night (somewhat akin to NSWN).

The event was scheduled to be on Wednesday evening so for the days leading up to it, we held singing, drama, and hip-hop dancing special classes (the latter of which got a lot of attention) for the students as well as getting into welcome week mode with sports and DC outreach.

Then the big day came.

Wednesday was a national holiday and we had some time to spare, so in the morning we paid a visit to Pastor Bunny’s village and put on a children’s program for them, but once we got back to Life U, it was G-Live mode. We barely had anything ready and there was only five hours left to get everything set up; on a mission trip, this is how we roll.

We had to scrounge around for all manners of things, borrowing sound equipment from all over the place and resorting to making makeshift lighting trees out of tables, but in the end, everything turned out really well! We had bomb awesome praise, did the Race of a Lifetime skit, had a testimony given, did the iodine gospel presentation, and wrapped everything up with the whole team performing “You Set Me Free” from the senior G-Live performance. Oh, and not to mention, all the students who attended the special classes were invited to come and showcase what they learned!

After the AC and Gospel Night, our time in Cambodia was coming to a close.
We spent the remainder of our time in fellowship with the people we met, continuing to connect and deepen the relationships that were forged over the past week.
We also hosted a TFN for them the day before we left, during which we imparted the vision of an Acts 2 church to them.

And of course, we also visited a beach and did the traditional dunking of the leaders!

Going to Cambodia was a spectacular experience and we learned so much about God’s heart for His children. Every day we were challenged to fight our bodies and reach out to those around us, and each time, God met us there. He showed us that even in such a far away and broken nation as Cambodia, His love does not change, and that despite everything, His hand is always at work. Each one of us were personally blessed in one way or another and I know that we all came away feeling like we understand God’s plans for his people just a tiny bit more!

P.S. Thank you all for your prayers! Every day was a challenge and we really felt them holding us up. A lot of us were shocked at how much we accomplished in the short time we were there!