Day 4 & 5: Silk Factory, Floating Island and Finally - the Village

Monday February 17, 2014

By Travis

Today was an amazing experience. Every time I wake up knowing I’m actually here doing the work of God in Cambodia I feel blessed. I see all the poverty and it helps me better appreciate all that I have living in New York. I love it here and this is already been a life changing experience. We got to visit the silk factory and learn about how silk was made and its different uses. We also saw women laboring to make silk blankets and it was an example of the culture. We also visited a floating island where we say family’s living on floating houses with no plumbing or electricity and were surrounded by filthy water. Seeing the level of poverty helped me appreciate everything I had more than ever and touched my heart.

Tuesday February 18, 2014

By Hailey

Today had to be one of the best days of the trip so far. We got to finally meet the Village and learn things about the place that people back home had no idea existed. During the opening ceremony we sang a song (that I can’t remember the name of) that we all knew. And what was cool about that was that you could hear the different languages missing and become one. Just knowing and having these commonalities with the Villagers is really amazing. Another thing that was really cool about meeting the oldest Woman in the Village, everyone calls her Grandma which means that she has developed
such a relationship with everyone to earn that title. But my absolute favorite part of the day had to be the children. Oh my God were they so much fun. Yes they were sacred at first but who wouldn’t be. Live having

strange foreign people coming to my town to meet/study us would scare me (just a little). Then once the kids who are ages 5 months – 20years (so “youth’) started to warm to the fact that we are good people, good things started to happen. Like playing such as quack-didddly-oscho, red light green light 1-2-3, and their version of Simon says, we became more of a group. But the best game had to be “capture the bacon,” a game where there are two teams and every person gets a number. Then when your number is called you try to capture the bacon. That is the game where we really became one and not just the YAMS but all of us. The most amazing thing though is that women have freedom. Like there are woman that do not like what big companies are doing. So they are leaving work to fight for what they think is right. I just think it is amazing that this women have the freedom and courage to do it.