Cultural Diversity Appreciation in Cambodia

I'm learning about different cultures and how people live in different parts of the world. One way I'm learning is by completing the Cultural Diversity Appreciation Pathfinder honor.

Last Sabbath our family visited a church in a Cambodian village. It was a typical Cambodian house made of wood and bamboo and up on stilts.


There were no pews or chairs or much furniture at all. There was also no electricity. They used batteries for their power.


Everyone sat on the floor on the second story. The houses are all built on stilts because of all the rain they get and also to get up and away from snakes, rodents and bugs. Being up high also has a better chance of catching a breeze. It had a tile roof, but many other houses have grass roofs.

Everyone welcomed us with warm smiles.

As we sat on the floor, we could look through the cracks in the wood floor to the ground below. There were some hammocks below and bikes parked, but not much more than that. I saw some people dropping food down below, so I was glad I wasn't in one of those hammocks! We even lost our pen because it fell through the open spaces in the flooring. But my dad went down and got it for me.

There were about 50 people there. The church service was in Khmer, so we didn't understand much, but it was interesting to listen to their language and notice some similarities to the Thai language.


We sang two songs for special music. The first song we sang was “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus”, which we also did it in sign language. Then we sang “Give Thanks”. We sang it first in English, then we sang it in Khmer. Our friends who we were visiting speak Khmer, and they had the song written phonetically so we could try to follow along. The people were very appreciative of our musical gift.

It was an extra special Sabbath because it was communion. My dad preached the sermon and spoke about Jesus and how Mary Magdalene gave him the most precious gift of ointment. He invited the people to commit their lives to Jesus. Even though the people don't have a lot of things, and they live very simple lives, they have a most precious treasure, and that is their heart. That's what Jesus is asking from each one of us.

After the service, they had a meal that was cooked on charcoal fire pit. We sat on the floor in groups and ate Khmer food. There was lots of rice, with vegetable dishes and curry. It was good, and not nearly as spicy as the food in Thailand.

Questions for my blog readers:

1. Have you ever been to a church where you don't speak the language?
2. Do you have the Cultural Diversity Appreciation honor?
3. Have you ever been to a church without electricity, or furniture?
4. Have you gone to a potluck and saw food that was new to you? Did you try it? Tell me about your experience!
   
5. Even though most people we saw were very poor, they seemed happy, why do you think they were happy?
6. Will you give Jesus your heart today?