Part I. “We’re going to Cambodia, See ya! See ya!”
“We’re going to Cambodia… See ya! See ya!” Sang Ian, a full grown man with a wife and children, incorporating full hand and leg motions with his song as we waited for our taxi to head to the Hong Kong Airport. It was a welcome and humorous moment after the devil launched his first obvious attack on my spirit… I had decided to go to the bathroom while my team waited for everyone to gather, and upon returning to the meeting site a few minutes later, I found myself alone. Our team was supposed to meet after fellowship outside of the meeting hall and during the three minutes I was away, they had already gone on to the second meeting place, a home in an unknown location, unknown to me anyway. Being completely new to the hemisphere, and in a pre-prayered spiritual and emotional condition, my blood started to boil a bit and I felt like the trip was already starting to weigh me down with resentment. I was so angry I wanted to cry.
Shortly thereafter, following a series of uninteresting events, we reconnected and I had to let it go, as others did not appear to see it as I did. I recognized it for the spiritual attack that it was, prayed through it, and moved on.
The two-hour flight from Hong Kong to Vietnam was a blast. Christina and I bonded considerably as we sat next to each other. Her husband Michael was hilarious. He kept us laughing the entire time. I haven’t laughed so hard since I was home with my sister and mom. In fact, they are the only people I can usually laugh with until it hurts and I’m breathless.
We stayed in a nice hotel in Vietnam. Considering the shady looking neighborhood, it was a very nice hotel. The next day, while we waited for our taxis to take us to the bus station to head to Cambodia, we decided to take a tour throughout the city. We each climbed onto a small carriage that was connected to a bicycle. We were pushed by the bicycle, sort of. I’ll post pictures. We were taken all throughout the city and it was an experience like none other. They took us to a memorial for the Vietnam War.
I never knew much about the Vietnam War besides the resulting PTSD and prostitution among some American soldiers and some Vietnamese women.
At first, I thought the Air Craft left behind by the United States was cool, that is until I stepped behind a wall into the prison remnants. I immediately saw a tiger cage made of twisted barbed wire, approximately 14 inches tall, 16 inches deep, and 36 inches long. It was a cage that the American Soldiers kept the Vietnamese prisoners in. They could only hunch over. There was not even enough room for them to sit upright. My flesh and bones ached for their flesh and bones.
Then, I saw a prison room. It was a small, dirty, room with a small peep-hole for soldiers on the outside to look through. When I looked in, I screamed and jumped back. There was a life-like replica of a prisoner sitting up on the bed. There was writing all over the walls. I wish I had been able to understand it.
I spent the rest of my time there reading the plaque on the wall that described the many torture techniques that the American Soldiers used on the Vietnamese. My heart broke. I know there is more to war than meets the eye. I also believe that there is a time for war, but there is never an excuse to torment people, ever.
When we got back from the tour, we all agreed that the trip was totally worth it even though the tour guides tried to double the price and rip us off… they tried to tell us that the price they quoted at first was only the price to get us there, not to bring us back too!... ::sigh:: the life of a foreigner.
Part II: Cambodia--Coming Soon
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