Pailin

After Kampot, I took the bus first to Battambang, then to the small town Pailin. There I met Ka Lun, the missionary from HK, and Panneth, the local pastor there.

Ka Lun is a typical HK girl, just finished her hotel management degree. She has been in Pailin for short term mission a couple times before, but this time she's staying here for 1 year. Her living condition is same as Panneth. There's no running water. Water is collected into a huge jar during rain season, then using a bucket to pour out water for different uses, like washing dishes, flushing the toilet, or taking a bath. There's no air conditioning or hot shower. Those are OK when nothing happens. But when you're sick, those things could become very valuable. There lots of diseases, and medical care is not good. I thought I was tough going to Cambodia on my own, but living in Pailin for a year, or even stay here for life, is just unthinkable for me! On the other hand, Ka Lun is considering staying here as a missionary for an even longer term! It is incredible how the Holy Spirit can stir up a person to give up so much in HK to come to a place like this to serve Him! I'm completely humbled by her example.

Panneth, whom Ka Lun is working with, is a very quiet man. When you talk to him, his response is always very short, and often lack elaborations. When I talked to him the first time on the phone, I thought he didn't want to talk to me. Later I found out he was a former Khmer Rough soldier, that explained a lots of things. Later when I had more chance to talk to him, I found that he's just as friendly as any other people there. I didn't ask him about the war, or how he became a pastor, because I didn't have time to build up the relationship and I didn't want to be too intruding, but I'm sure he has gone through a lot of things!