Sihanoukville-- Ex-Pat Retreat

This weekend was filled with fun! :D

Ann's church donated money towards any project of her choice here in Cambodia so she and Mark planned a retreat for all the SDA ex-patriots (foreigners) that are here in Cambodia. We drove down to Sihanoukville to do so, which is the touristy beach area of Cambodia.

It was cool to meet all the people that are in Cambodia and to get to know them better. I have decided that all the coolest people in the world have decided to live in Cambodia and work here (and for some reason they all seem to come from Walla Walla too, where are you Andrews?), because frankly they are just plain awesome. The stories they have to tell and what they have done, and what they have lived through is just incredible. I feel like what they must talk about is not real. They are the people you read about in Mission books. Secretely I want their autographs lol ;D but seriously...


For the retreat they brought in Mr. Scott Griswold who is in charge of Buddhist Ministries. He was a SM for a year in the refuge camps at the border of Cambodia and Thailand, went back to America to finish school, came back a few years later and has stayed in Southeast Asia since. He now lives in Thailand with his family. But the ex-pat here have stories way back. Alot have been here for around 15 years, lived through the end of Pol-Pots reign, lived through the coo (i don't know how to spell it) and seen how Cambodia has developed.

We got to talk to Ben Davis alot cause his family is in Australia right now and he has so many stories to tell. He was telling us how when he was in Sihanoukville, the Khmer Rouge was posted right over the mountain (large hill with jungle) so he went with the loggers that would go into the jungle and he talked and hung out with the Khmer Rouge. The general showed him around the area and the jungle was filled with monkeys, deer, elephants, there were waterfalls and lots of trees. A few years later when the governement pushed the Khmer Rouge out of that area he visited the government camps and there were no animals, all had been killed to be sold, and the area was being logged clean. It is sad how the suppose to be "good guys" really actually caused harm. He was telling how corrupt the government was at that time and a lot of the trouble was caused by government troops. He was actually shot by government troops who were trying to steal his motorcycle. So many stories I don't know how to write them all.

In Montokiri there are a missionary couple that are the first to learn the language of the tribe and they are developing a written language for the Pnong people since there language is only an oral language. They were saying explaining how the people view sin and it is a concept that we should all try to understand. The people do not think of sin as something you do, but something you already have. When they leave a home of another person, they offer a sacrifice to get rid of the sins they (either those at the home, or those leaving) may have commited at the home and brush the blood around the door. Very similar to passover story. Gives me the shivers.

What is also intersting, is that before Pot Pot times it was a common belief across cambodia that there was one God who created everything. It is so cool how God can show up anywhere. Now that belief has died out because Pol Pot basically destroyed all beliefs. Even buddhism here is not really buddhism. Its a buddhism, hinduism, and lots of spirituallism all mixed together and everyone believes something different. Difficult to understand cause it is such a mix of things.

While we were there we also did some touristy things. I got a fish massage were fish eat the dead skin off your feet. I spent most of the time trying not to move my feet and laugh since it tickled so much. :D

Kristie, Sumaira, Ben, and I also did a ocean water park were we played on these blow up coarses. We had fun. My shoulders are now very soar from pulling my self up. We had a pool at our hotel so we swam some in that as well. My camera took lots of pictures in the water. I'm gonna try to post them soon, but internet is not cooperating with me right now.

I must say the ocean was very very warm. Like swiming in a bath tub. We kept on swimming out hoping it would get cooler... it never did.