DAY 5: BLESSINGS & BOXES

TEAM A

Team A visited ‘Water for Families’, which is a project of Samaritan’s Purse, designed to provide clean water for families in remote communities. The team visited one village in order to install several Biosand filters. The work the students did will provide water families can use for drinking and washing food, ultimately improving their quality of life. 

The Afternoon saw the team visit ‘Safe Migration and Trafficking Awareness’. We were able to meet men and women who have formed cooperative group that allows them to pool their financial resources and through that establish buying power the community uses to buy food and other necessary materials. This is vital as a means to remove the need for people to pursue work ‘opportunities’ that are actually fronts for trafficking.

Thinking back on what we did today, I realised that even though we have a lot and are so privileged, everyone here is so willing to help other people. Not for our benefit, but for theirs. The weather was overcast, the humidity was off the charts and the longer you stood out there, the hotter it got, yet everyone was incredibly willing to change the locals lives forever. It gave me an overwhelming sense of pride to be representing Rouse Hill Anglican and to be representing the school with this group of people. It is never about us, it is about changing people’s lives for the better. - Amie

Today group 'A' went to families in villages to help provide them with clean drinking water. It strange to realise how just because you are born in a certain country will depended on what rights u have and what opportunities you have. For me it's not until I went and saw what it meant for these people to get clean drinking water for me to realise that these people work harder then me yet, they aren't giving drinking water when I am.

When I was watching the demonstration it was very easy and I left wondering why these water filters aren't put all around the world for other deserving humans. It really left me thinking why isn't more being done to such a life threatening problem especially when it's so easy to solve. - Riley

 - Preparing Biosand filters - 

- Listening to members of the community sharing stories of hope from their cooperative project -

- Praying for the cooperative group/community in their Buddhist temple - 

 - Preparing food for a chicken farm that was funded by the cooperative group -

TEAM B

Team B visited a remote small village school near the Thailand border. Our students played games and did crafts in rotations. Excitement was building as the Operation Christmas Child box distribution began. The local school children sat in rows and heard our team sing, My God is so big,’ and ‘Do the Hokey Pokey.’ Jacob then spoke admirably about why westerners assemble these boxes for them. Eager faces soon overflowed with real delight and joy as they opened their boxes. Words can’t convey the happiness the children and their community experienced and nor can they adequately communicate the emotions we felt as we watched them. It was a very special moment to get alongside a little child and show them how the contents of their boxes work. This once in a lifetime opportunity will be etched in the memories of everyone. 

I found the game rotations intimidating at first but I realised how much fun the kids were having by the smiles and laughter in the room.  - Emma

Today I was drawing, stencilling and making paper fans with the kids at school. It was interesting to see how excited they were to play with the paper and pencils we Australians take for granted. It was an experience I will never forget. - Ben

The children of the school we visited today were full of energy and willing to give us all of their ginormous energy waves. They were brilliant at soccer and gave us some second thoughts about them. The best part overall was the distribution of the ShoeBox’s to the children. Despite if a girl received a boys box or a boy received a girls box, it didn't matter because the look on their faces were unforgettable as possible their first ever gifts were now theirs. I found a little girl and showed her what to do with her gifts, she was absolutely thrilled. Not many people get to see these sorts of things and words cannot describe any part of the experiences as much as first hand. I cant wait for more to come. - Dean

As I watched these children open these boxes I felt a glimpse of the profound sense of joy that a shoebox can bring. Seeing the light in their eyes as they saw their gifts was humbling. That moment was special and it’s sad to think that those who packed the boxes may never see the impact that they had on a child’s life.  - Jacob

DAY 4: INITIATIVE AND BLESSING

Today we visited two Sunshine Centres where each of our teams displayed initiative, resourcefulness without resources and leadership skills as they ran games, dance, drama, songs and even taught the children how to flip a water bottle. All RHAC students stepped up to lead the K-6 students in at least one activity. These wonderful interactions stretched our students in positive rewarding ways. The Sunshine kids performed songs in Khmer for us. Our stationery gifts were gratefully received. Students discovered how richly their smiles and games blessed them as well. 

Walking away from the Sunshine Centre, I have a huge smile on my face, seeing how children in poverty live and how happy they are despite their circumstances. When we arrived we played ‘duck, duck, goose’ and the kids were really involved and understood how to play very quickly. When we gave them their gift packs, they were extremely happy and showed each other what they got. Every child had a smile on its face the whole time, which made the students from RHAC happier. I enjoyed giving the children the gifts and showing them how to use the bubbles. I feel like I have helped them and they have definitely walked away with a sense that we love them, and they are not forgotten about. - Ethan

The day today was filled with many games, a performance by us of the story of Joseph and song about God. The games included duck duck goose, stuck in the mud, captain says (with an Australian twist) and Simon says. With each game we had to come up with creative ways to communicate the rules and show them how to play. We also did the hokey pokey and head, shoulders, knees and toes. When explaining and showing the kids the game, they all understood pretty fast. 

The kids inside the Sunshine Centre have next to nothing yet they are always happy, willing to laugh, they're smart and they are willing to sacrifice the little they have for the people they love. This experience showed me what type of people live here and I am so grateful I got to see this as it truly opened my eyes. – Denver

I was part of the group that went to the Sunshine Centre in Phnom Penh. It felt a little awkward at first, trying to entertain a group of children with little preparation or confidence, but after a while, our group and the kids grew a bond. We acted out the Bible story about the Lost Sheep, and taught them about our country. I played our National Anthem on the flute and a few other pieces. We described our weather and I drew our native animals and country shape on the white board. We got the children to dance, sing and play with us. By the time we had to bid goodbyes, the RHAC and the kids had made friendships and memories that can last a lifetime. The reward for us after the experience, was knowing that we gave those kids joy, laughter and fond memories of today and probably made the highlight of their week. - Laura

Today is the 3rd day of our Service Trip around Cambodia. Our trip today took us to one of the sunshine centres many schools around Cambodia. It was the task of myself, the rest of my group members and the teachers to entertain and help teach the children ranging from the ages of 5-14 about Australian culture. In my personal reflection it was my favourite and the best experience I had on the trip so far. As Mr Conoulty said in his reflection of the day, what you put it you really get out. I felt this particularly applied to me. I felt I put in a lot of effort and what I received was an experience that can't be replaced. I experienced some unforgettable exchanges with the children and it was really eye opening to see how similar they are to children just like you and me in Australia. These children even with their hard lives were so eager to enjoy themselves and have a good time. This was great to see and after they left, the feelings they left with me were still there as I was still smiling hours after they left. The experience was unforgettable and will stay with me forever. As the trip progresses I hope for more just like this one. - Harry 

A delicious lunch was enjoyed at Jars of Clay before our quick flight to Siem Reap. A two hour bus trip took us out to Svay Sisaphon.

PICTURES FROM TEAM B

- A game of Duck Duck Goose -

- Heads and Shoulders, Knees and Toes -
(Chris & Dean)

- Bottle Flipping in Cambodia -

PICTURES FROM TEAM A

- Duck Duck Goose - 

- The Story of Joseph and his colourful Krama/Scarf
(for when you don't have a coat) -

- Pretending to be Australian cockroaches -

- Giving out gifts -
(Aime)