Cambodia

Last weekend (August 2-5) I had the privilege of going to Cambodia to visit Chris and Yuko Wilkins, and their boys Caleb and Corey.  I had Thursday and Friday off of school so I flew to Cambodia on Thursday and spent four days with them.  For those of you who don’t know, the Wilkins are the family that I lived with in Rochester this past spring.  They were in America on furlough and I was looking for a place to stay in Rochester by my school after I graduated.  It worked out that they were living in the missionary house that my church owns, which happens to be right across the street from the church and Roberts campus.  There was an extra bedroom so they let me stay with them from January to May.  In May I went home before coming to Thailand and in July they came back to Cambodia.  Anyway, we became like extended family to each other and it was so great to be able to see them after not having seen them for three months.  The flight to Cambodia is only an hour, so it was really convenient. 

It was so nice to get away for a few days, be with people I knew back in the US and to relax.  The boys were so excited to see me and show me around their house and my room (which they lovingly decorated with "Welcome Bekah" signs :)  On Friday we went to a resort where they had a nice swimming pool.  I swam with Corey and Caleb for a bit and we also had lunch there, played games and read.  It was so relaxing.  (And on the way there and back I got to ride in the back of the truck which was so fun.  I’ve always wanted to do that!).  Friday night we went over their neighbor’s house (they came with us to the resort and are also missionaries and really close friends with the Wilkins).  It was really nice to spend time with them too.  On Saturday we spent the morning driving around Cambodia in tuk tuk.  We went to some stores, the Independence monument, the market (where I got two fun T-shirts for $1.50 each), and a restaurant/café called Jars of Clay.  Jars of Clay is a restaurant run by Cambodian women who are saved from sex trafficking or would have gotten into sex trafficking if they didn’t have this other means of making money.  I had a delicious Greek salad there (salads don’t really exist in Thailand so it was nice to have some greens and feel healthy).  Saturday afternoon was really peaceful.  The boys were over a friends house and Chris was at a meeting so I laid on the couch and read for a couple hours while Yuko baked homemade oatmeal cookies.  It was so nice to be with a family, in a home, and relax.  It was also really nice to talk to Yuko about my experiences and how I was doing.  As a fellow missionary far from home she could relate and encourage me.

Sunday we went to one of the main Cambodian churches in Phnom Penh.  It was really neat to be able to see a local church and see some of the ministries that Chris and Yuko oversee.  Sunday afternoon we went home for lunch and games and headed to the airport, where we got some ice cream before I had to board the plane. 

It was really hard to say goodbye.  It had been such a wonderful weekend seeing the Wilkins again, relaxing, being in a home and with a family that I knew and was comfortable with, only to come back to my apartment where I sometimes feel lonely and overwhelmed.  But I am so thankful that they are so close and that I know I can visit them again and it is so easy and quick to get there.  It is so nice to have people I know so close, in the same time zone, and who love me and can encourage me along the way.