The last weekend in February, our family had the pleasure of joining students from the Men's and Women's Dorms on the Annual Dorm Retreat. This time, the destination was the beach town of Sihanoukville, Kompong Saum Province. About forty Khmer and four Americans - us! - traveled on a rented tour bus about four hours to take a dip in the ocean, enjoy seafood-laden meals, play games, hear sharing from the Word, pray together, play on the beach, and visit a near-by rock formation/waterfall. On Saturday night, as the guest speaker shared and invited the students to consider placing their trust in Jesus Christ, two female students accepted the pastor's invitation! They were prayed for by the group, and we are excited by their steps of faith. It was a lot of travel for a short weekend, but the journey there and back factored large in the whole experience. Our time on the bus included love song singing sessions (in a call/response style popular in Khmer Karaoke videos), rounds of worship music accompanied by guitar, guessing games and silly group games, and a Khmer comedy DVD. There were more stops (for snacks, potty, etc.) than the Americans thought necessary, who are used to trying to make time in "getting there." We reflected afterward that our Khmer friends live well the truth of the journey being more important than the destination. There were lots of opportunities en route to absorb Khmer language and culture, laugh, interact, learn more names, and join in the fun. We think the students are a great group of young people, and we really enjoyed the time together. Our kids did well, too (for the most part!). Sleeping with all four of us in one tiny room always has its challenges. By the time we arrived home Sunday night at 7 pm, we were exhausted! A full weekend, but we're looking forward to the retreat next year!
At one "pit stop," Kosal pretends to drive the bus
Singing a silly song Saturday evening
Juliana and her friend Sophea (So-PEE-a) play in the sand
Kai and Pengin by the beautiful, clear water
Our whole group, minus Sokheang, the cameraman (Sophal, WD Director, in white hat in middle)
- Bethany
4 comments:
Thanks for the retreat summary. Sounds like fun times for all. Ruthie
Heard recently in a sermon that tourists just want to get to their destination and don't bother with anything much along the way. Travelers, however, take it all in and enjoy the journey. God wants us to be travelers, not just tourists in this journey of life! As always, enjoyed the photos and description of your activities there. Hugs!
continue to be amazed at how you just uprooted your family, and are living in a far away land for Jesus! Much admiration, respect, and love to you...know you are missed. mis.
what a great lesson to learn firsthand....enjoying and embracing the journey, one stop at a time!! :-) i think about you often and pray for your family.
love from Strasburg!
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