Reflections from Home
What an amazing experience. In many ways Cambodia feels like a distant memory but a memory which will last a lifetime. Now settled back into normal life, students have taken time to reflect on their experience in Cambodia for our final blog post. It's clear the trip has had a lasting impact on everyone who attended. It was amazing to see God at work through our team during the trip. We're excited to see how He will continue to work through our students here in Australia. Please enjoy this final post from our trip.
P.s. The lost journal has been found! Catch up on blog posts from Georgia and Quinn below, as well as a few photos from our time in Siem Reap visiting ancient temples.
Cambodia has been the most breathtaking experience of my life, my love for the country and the people there is so overwhelming it's hard for me to comprehend. The love the children from Light of Hope showed me has taught me to love more and has changed my heart and perspective on life forever. With God there guiding me every step of the way he showed me new unexpected things, beautiful things and I cannot wait to follow where he is leading me. I am already missing the beautiful friends I made at Light of Hope and wish to see them and their wonderful smiles again someday.
- Emma
Cambodia was such an amazing experience. If I was to pinpoint one highlight of the trip, I wouldn’t be able too. There are so many things combined that made the trip what it was. From the smiles of the kids at Light of Hope, the laughs amongst us guys, the atmosphere of the Light of Hope, an awesome bonding experience for our grade, worshiping God together. All these things put together made the trip impeccable.
- Jeremy
The Cambodia trip was absolutely, epically awesome. It opened up all of our eyes to unbelievable possibilities for which the Lord God had instilled in all of us. The thing that really caught my attention, was that everyone was very keen to help out with anything. Whether that be the painting of the mural, handing out books to the children or assisting the teaching, every single person had a smile within their hearts because we were helping God's children who lived in a poor country. The heat and humidity did get to everyone and we all had our air conditioning on every night in our hotel room to stop us melting. But besides that, every single person had a great time. The markets were great to we got to find a lot of very interesting things for low prices. I do recommend traveling to Cambodia, you will never regret the experience. The bible verse that can relate to our trip is Isaiah 26:4 which says “Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD himself, is the Rock eternal,” as we had to trust God to be able to succeed in our trip.
- Joel
The Cambodia mission trip was an incredible experience. It was amazing to encounter a different culture, to meet new people, and to see our classmates challenged and striving in different areas. To see everyone there so happy and grateful with what they had changed the way I see life in Australia, and has taught me to make the most of the abundant opportunities we have.
- Y-Tam
WOW! Cambodia. There's no words to really describe it. The trip was AMAZING!! It's by far the best overseas trip I've been on, one of the best decisions I've made and worth all the money and time spent preparing. The highlight of this trip was Light of Hope and being able to spend time with the kids. They are such beautiful, happy kids, always smiling when they have nothing compared to what we have here. I loved meeting my sponsor child. I couldn't really communicate with him properly because he couldn't speak English but I did learn a few things about him. Meeting him has made me want to continue sponsoring him until he doesn't need it anymore. Teaching the kids English turned out to be really fun (the Year 11/12 class were my favourite). During the church service it was nice to see how enthusiastic the kids were about singing, it really showed how much they love God. Playing with the kids really showed me how these people have to live and it breaks my heart. I thought Pastor Nupic's feeding program was amazing, wanting to take care of his own people and trying to give children a better life. Cambodia was an amazing trip and I would do it all again in a heartbeat.
- Hannah
My experience from Cambodia was amazing. I saw so many life changing events and peoples faces. The main thing that is going to stick with me would have to be hanging with the kids. At Light of Hope I saw so many smiling faces, they were all so cute and adorable. The way they played soccer was amazing they could handle the ball in ways I couldn't even try. Seeing my sponsor was very meaningful. He taught me how to count up 80 in Khmer.
I know I will never forget my experience in Cambodia. But if I do, the main thing I want to remember is that the material things in life are not the things that count it's the friendships and the spiritual and personal beliefs that get you through life.
- Ryan
Ever since we stepped off the plane in Phnom Penh, I knew that I was going to experience something different and brand new. I knew what poverty was and that it existed but I never actually fully grasped what it was until we got to Cambodia. Seeing beggars on the streets trying to get money or piles of rubbish lying around on the road opened my eyes to how people lived. My whole perception on life changed because I saw what people didn't have and how different it was.
The most impacting experience was teaching English at the Light of Hope Children's Village. I am not a very confident person and tend to hold back but teaching in front of a classroom actually helped me become a more confident person. I didn't feel afraid to speak in front of a group of people and most of all, I saw how these kids didn't care if I messed up. Instead, they took in every opportunity to learn and it has made me more grateful to attend school everyday back in Australia.
Most of all, I am very happy that I got to go to Cambodia and see something different rather than staying in my comfort zone all the time. Honestly, I am eager to go back if the opportunity comes around again.
- Ashtyn
Cambodia truly was an amazing experience. Going overseas to a foreign country with a heap of friends to go and do Gods work, in my mind it couldn't really get much better. As cliché as it sounds, this trip really was life changing. As soon as I arrived in Cambodia a strong compulsion to give hit me, the hardships many of these people face confronts you as soon as you step out of the airport. And it really Is confronting, kids begging when they should be getting an education, people living on the streets struggling to make a living. In stark contrast you then have Rolls Royce's picking their way through the never ending traffic, accentuating the huge gap between the rich and the poor. My own selfish thoughts and 'problems' were quickly washed away, replaced with a powerful sense of compassion. But strangely enough, the biggest thing that I've come away with after this trip is a sense of joy. Seeing the Kids at Light of Hope being given an opportunity to get an education and be part of a family was the most incredible thing. Their happiness was infectious and really made me wonder why I dwell on all the small, irrelevant hardships in my own life. After all these kids have a heck of a lot more reason to be angry and sad than myself and probably most of the people in Australia. These kids have taught me to make the most of the life. After all, you can't change the past and I really believe that if everyone had the attitude these children have, the world would be a far better place.
- Ben
My experience in Cambodia passed by so fast I feel as if I went only for a couple of days. My highlight from this trip would have to be 100% the kids. Teaching the kids was hard but I loved it so much. They were so beautiful, and playing with them between classes was so much fun. So many smiles beaming back at you wherever you went was a bit overwhelming but so inspirational because of what the kids have gone through. They barely have anything and yet they are the happiest kids on this planet. It really makes you think before you buy something or see things in a negative light, like school for example. We are so privileged and yet we are not as happy as the children at Light of Hope. Cambodia has opened my eyes to view the world in a different light. Through this trip, our class of 22 has become closer. This trip was so amazing and I am definitely going back, there’s no doubt about it.
- Georgia
I loved Cambodia. I went with high hopes and I left more than satisfied, as the trip was so much better than I could ever guess. There’s so much that happened, words alone will not be able to tell. No matter how many paragraphs I write, you won’t fully understand or really feel amazed by anything until you yourself experience it. I know I didn’t. Before Cambodia, I had heard of the poverty that the Cambodians, and many others, faced, but it had meant nearly nothing to me, then I saw it with my own eyes, and I felt so overwhelmed. It boggled my mind, especially going through the luxurious, rich, expensive areas in Phnom Penh, that poverty could exist in such extremeness when some appeared to be gazillionaires. Before this, I saw poverty as something that only existed in a far away land, however now I was close to it. From going to Cambodia, I can suddenly see the world through a different lens, the lenses of the new sunglasses I bought (haha, lame joke). In all seriousness, though, I now see things differently, and although we didn’t go to live in poverty, it was so close that I could touch it. I’m now not only more grateful for so many things (ie. Air conditioning, Tap Water, Strange Melbourne Weather), but I can now see that you can in fact live without those things.
Thinking back on the trip, I can say for sure that it wasn’t the place that I have become attached to, it’s the people. The people had a strange ability to enjoy their lives, even though it was tough. Even the children seemed to be mentally mature. I envied the children at the orphanage, and how they all looked after each other, as if they were a family. Even though, in actual fact, we did very little to help them while they were there, most of what we did for them was through fundraising, it was the greatest personal experience ever, and it has inspired me to want to do this again.
Would I return? YES, CERTAINLY!
- Quinn
Cambodia to me was one of the most rewarding and most amazing thing I have ever done! I look back at all my photos and I am just in awe of the trip and I have so much desire to do it all over again! For me, my biggest highlight was forming connections with all of the kids at Light of Hope; seeing how much love you are capable of giving and how much love someone with so little can give! To see these kids with so much joy just makes you realise how much you have and how little we really should complain about! If someone had asked me before the trip if I was nervous I would've said "absolutely" but now, fast forward nearly a month, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. If you have the opportunity to do it, forget your concerns and just do it! It is absolutely incredible!
- Georgie
Cambodia was an amazing experience, we all grew so much closer and so many new friendships were formed. The experience was once in a lifetime. I had so many people tell me to really enjoy it because to get to do something like that at such a young age is truly amazing and that they wished they could have done the same. So I took this opportunity to really embrace the opportunity that we had to help people. Overall the trip was incredible and I am so glad that I went.
- Jasmine
When we first arrived in Cambodia, all I could think about was going home. I had a real sense of entitlement, and I was so selfish, only thinking about my own needs. I was content with nothing because I had everything. Meeting the kids at Light of Hope village really changed that for me. Though they had nothing, they were content with everything. They showed me what it meant to humble myself and really love others around me. TheCambodia Mission Trip was such a journey of discovery for me, and it is something I will take with me for the rest of my life.
- Sofia
The Cambodia trip was one that I will never forget. I got to see a different side of all of my peers and I became closer to a lot of them. It was a real eye opener going to Light of Hope. The children there were absolutely incredible and I met a lot of amazing people. The highlight of my trip was being able to spend time with the kids. Even though they didn't own very much, it was amazing to see how much love and happiness they had for you and they made me realise how blessed I am. I wouldn't change anything that happened during this trip and I feel like I have grown as a person. Thank you to all of the staff that accompanied us and for keeping us safe during the trip.
- Breanna
For me, Cambodia was a massive eye opener and an incredible blessing. As someone who had never left Australia before, I was in awe. I knew places like this existed but actually being there for the first time was crazy. My favourite part of our trip was hands down the children at Light of Hope and I know that I speak for the rest of my class when I say that leaving them was so hard. As cheesy as it sounds, I can honestly say I fell in love with the children at Light of Hope. I learnt so much from them about life and I could never thank them enough for being a huge blessing in my life.
- Sophia
Before I went on this trip I thought I knew exactly what to expect. I mean I have been on mission trips before, I thought I knew the drill. Poverty levels were high and suffering was even greater. I began to have doubt in my mind as to whether or not our effort would actually make a difference. Issues seemed to be so entrenched in society, it seemed inescapable. I mean what could a group of students do that they haven't already tried or done. What gives us the right to go and invade people's lives to try and show them a better way.
These thoughts in my head were silenced after we went to Nupic's feeding program. It was late afternoon and we were at a program that feeds the kids off the street and from the dumpsters. They started coming in and all of a sudden the whole place was flooded with kids. Before we knew it a mini riot had started and we were all running around with kids and playing with them. We would throw them in the air and catch them, piggyback them and play tiggy. It was there I realised what we were doing could be seen as insignificant in the eyes of others, but these kids don't know or care about that. If I could help one child to be happy and smile for a moment, I would have made the whole trip worth it. We were there to impact the lives around us, and even though it might only be for a brief moment that we helped these kids smile. It was only then I realised we could in fact make a huge impact with the little things. It changed my mindset; I was no longer searching for some great big thing to do but rather I was in the moment enjoying every second of it.
- Aaron
Cambodia was one of the most raw and real experiences I’ve ever had. To see these kids who have nothing, make the most out of everything, was so inspiring and really humbling.
My favourite part was meeting the beautiful children at Light of Hope. Teaching them and watching them finally pronounce something correctly or shout their answers in confidence filled my heart. Though it was only for a week and they might not remember every single thing we taught them, they taught me so much. I know that I will never ever forget their lessons. Leaving them after receiving so much affection and really becoming close friends for a week absolutely broke my heart, and if I had the chance to go back and spend even 1 more day with them I would go in a heart-beat.
The way they appreciated going to church and singing along to worship showed me what praising God should look like. Not half-hearted humming along to the tune and texting the rest of the service away, but singing each word so loud that your throat hurts and absorbing every word that the speaker is teaching. They were so happy to be at church and happy to be in worship, and that just proved to me that God’s love really is for everyone, healthy or sick, black or white, rich or poor. Like I said before, they might not remember every class we had with them, but I’ll always remember what God’s love is thanks to those beautiful kids.
All in all, Cambodia was the most incredible experience I’ve ever had in my whole life. I’m so thankful for the teachers and their patience for us, and for each of my classmates for making the trip so memorable. But mostly I’m thankful for the kids, and for all of the joyful and loving moments I had with them. It’s really something I will never forget.
- Hayley
Our trip to Cambodia is no doubt one of the most rewarding things I've ever done in my entire life. Now that I think back I really regret not putting even more effort into the fundraising activities before the trip. I realised during the trip, how much help was needed and how meaningful is was to simply give.
Interacting with the kids at Light Of Hope was definitely the highlight of this trip. I learned so much more about what is happening in other parts of the world, and how Christ has changed their lives through amazing people at ICC who work to bring these kids to safety. Seeing all the kid's happy faces was unbelievable for me - how much they've been through and how incredible God is. In the toughest situation, God brings back these children and gathers people from all around the world to see how they're given hope in His love.
This trip was unforgettable and I would give anything to go back again.
- Eunice
I figured all the other Cambodia reflections from my grade are mostly going to be the same, saying how it was the best time of their lives, and they would highly recommend it to everyone who has a chance to go, but I wanted to do things a little differently. For me, Cambodia was an amazing experience and all that, but it was also just a great chance to go on a holiday and a mission trip, with all your friends and have a great time in a completely different culture. I saw things that I have never seen and never will see again, felt new emotions, smelled new, and not always good smells, but most importantly, felt God’s hand in everything. The trip has inspired me to want to travel the world, and make the most of my gifts and talents.
- Joel
