The teacher said to the two boys: "You need to go back to Kindegarten because you don't know your Khmer alphabets"
Me: Oh! No! (saying in my heart after hearing the comment)
Chanda & Vaan said to me: But English alphabets are easier to learn.
Me: *Double oh no!*
The conversation above just illustrated an interesting encounter I had recently with two 1st Grade boys. In the midst of helping the kids to have better opportunities in the future through learning English, it had somehow made them feel less interested in learning their own mother language. This is not good. Their mother tongue is their culture, it's their identity.
The above encounter triggered some thoughts in me as I reflect my journey as a Christian. I’m sharing the following from the perspective of being a Chinese.
When I was a young Christian, fellow believers told me that now that I’m a Christian I must “change” my name, meaning to have a Christian name (by the way is there really such thing as Christian name?). The explanation given was that the Christian name reflects that I’m a Christian. How silly! The Bible said people will know that we are Christian or disciple of Jesus Christ by our fruits, our lifestyle. For the Chinese, names (which also include the family name) are very important, you don’t simply change them. In that name is one’s identity. In that name one could tell whether a person is a Cantonese, Hokkien, Teow Cheow or any other Chinese ethnic groups.
Now, if you wonder why I still called myself Christine that’s because I realized too late that I don’t have to “change” name and “Christine” is kind of stuck with me now. LOL!
I use to also hear people making comment saying “If I became a Christian I have to live like a Westerner, eat with fork and spoon and use only plate.” (No offense to any Westerners just that typical Chinese view Jesus as the westerner’s God).Why such comment? Because they were told that they must change to identify themselves as Christian.
May us be very careful with what we taught and model for others through our lifestyle. Certain things are just cultural. People don’t have to change what is cultural to identify themselves as Christian. It is good to let them keep what is cultural ‘cause that’s what makes them unique.
So, what happen to the boys mentioned earlier? They have to start learning Khmer and we have three older girls who are more than happy to teach. 
Sokkhan using the flashcards to teach.
Games time with Tina
Why is Jesus hardly in the church but was always with the people and at different villages? Apart from him loving the people, I think another reason could be because he really wanted to understand them and by understanding them he could communicate effectively with them.
One of the best ways to get to know or even to understand a person is when you visit their homes. I find this very true for myself.
Yesterday two of us visited the homes of our kids at their village. It took about an hour motorbike ride on the highway to arrive at the village. The first home we visited was Kim Sung’s home. It is a nice simple wooden house by the paddy field. We met her parents and family. During our conversation they never stop praising God and sharing testimonies on how God has been so good to them. Then we head out on the bike for another 20 minutes to visit another girl. This village that we went to is called Bon-lit.
As we rode into the village I saw many youngsters and little children. It is the Cambodian All Soul Day (something similar to the Chinese’s All Soul Day – Qing Ming. During this time the people will visit the temple with offerings (food) to offer to the ancestors.). There’s a BIG temple located in this village and because of the celebration many people gathered at the temple, some to perform their religious duty and some especially the children and youth gathered to have fun. As we rode further in I saw men and young people gathered in groups blasting loud music and playing snooker.
Then we arrived at Imm’s home. Her house is a simple wooden house on stilts. Comparing with the houses around hers, you can tell that they are not very rich. We sat and chit chat and they began to share how their neighbors would laugh at them for being Christian. But still they never stop believing in Jesus.
As we were heading home, we made another stop at Ramorn and Sokvanah’s home. Their parents are church leaders and they work as paddy farmer to feed the family. During the conversation, they kept praising God for the good things that He has done for them especially for their son, Ramorn. When I first knew Ramorn, I couldn’t understand why he is such a challenging boy. I was told that he used to smoke and drink and was thinking how is that possible. But now that I’ve seen the environment where he grew up I begin to understand. In this village, young people gathered together for fun, and in the fun there were smoking and drinking. So, it is very easy for young children without proper guidance to follow what the majority is doing.
It was a worthwhile trip although riding on the bike under the hot sun for an hour and having to ride through some VERY bumpy roads were no fun at all. The trip gave me a glimpse of another side of Cambodian community and helping me to understand them better.
