Next, combine numerous unpaved roads with thousands of small motorcycles (motos). Stir well. Watch the dust fly! Watch it stick to your kids’ sweaty little bodies. Watch it come in your always open windows and coat your freshly mopped floor. Go for a walk and take a deep, dusty breath. Isn’t that refreshing!

Now, to the heat and the dirt, add heaps of rotting (or maybe burning) garbage. Remember that even in the city some homes don’t have indoor plumbing or sewage systems. Imagine an outdoor market selling raw pork and fish. These odors are key components in an authentic Cambodian experience.

Then, look up. See the wide blue sky punctuated with clean white clouds. Crane your neck to see the tops of the numerous palm trees, their ten to twenty foot branches forming a living green umbrella over your head. Listen, above the endless sputtering of motos, and you will hear a bird sing or a child laugh. Wait a moment, and a breeze might blow, briefly pushing away the dirt and the dust, gifting you with the fleeting scent of a tropical blossom.

Remember that God created Cambodia…this is His land. You did not come here seeking entertainment, sightseeing opportunities or a luxury vacation. You came to glorify God…to see this nation of 12 million people turn to their Creator. You came to bring a different sort of beauty, the beauty of truth, to a people who live in darkness, a darkness that even the tropical sun cannot pierce.

It is the pierced Son you bring. His light. His peculiar beauty.

Welcome to Cambodia!

 

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Sitting just 12 degrees north of the equator, Cambodia is decidedly tropical. But forget the images the word “tropical” may conjure up; forget about beach shirts, parrots and pina coladas. Instead, think HOT (90 degrees or more) and HUMID (65%+). Break up the heat with an occasional windy, rainy outburst that leaves your rain gauge overflowing, and you’ll have a good feel for the year round climate.