Shalom brothers and sisters in Christ, first and foremost, I’d like to express my appreciation to GCMW and SIAC MW for giving me the opportunity to join this program. Aside from being my first time going to Cambodia, it is also my first time joining an international program. Honestly, I felt overwhelmed and nervous. As we reached Phnom Penh airport, we were well taken care of by Wesley Zaidan in terms of hospitality and security. In the first day, after registration, orientation and having Gala dinner together with the other participants, we started to bond as sisters. My nervousness started to subside and I wanted to give my best to learn and gain new experiences from this program.
On the second day, we started our day with morning devotion led by Malaysia team (Grace and myself). Then, we had our first bible study and lecture of the program by Rev Hikari titled “Where is Hope?” and “You are a leader”. One of the words by Rev. Hikari that I remembered the most were “It is okay to pray free willingly (with anger, frustration, sadness or in shame) because God created human with emotions and He wants us to be honest. For in Isaiah 40:31, Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.” These words reminded me on how much God wants us to include Him in all circumstances with all the feelings that we are in. Before lunch time, Grace and I introduced some Malaysian snacks and we shared it with everyone. After lunch, for country sharing, we discussed on the challenges that women faced in each participating country. For me, the most eye-opening sharing was by Laos team where they shared about child marriage. Teens aging between 15 to 19 were being married off by their family to whoever that can pays the dowry. To determine the dowry, the teen will be weighed. The lighter they are, the more expensive the dowry will be. Example given, for 15kg girl, dowry is around 2000USD. For Malaysia team, we shared about women’s career limitations, earning disparities and difference between status when compared to men. We were given the task to creatively present our sharing, therefore, we made a song called “Women of Malaysia”.
On the third day, we went for site visits. We visited Killing Fields of Choeung Ek, Jars of Clay Café and Phsar Thmei. Choeung Ek was one of the approximate 300 Killing Fields, where the Khmer Rouge regime collectively executed over one million people as part of their Cambodian genocide between 1975 and 1979. One of the spot in Choeung Ek which hit me the hardest was the Killing Tree, where Khmer Rouge executioners killed babies by smashing the babies’ head against the tree before tossing them into the mass graves with their mothers. It was indeed the darkest historical site I have ever been to. As I talked to one of the Cambodian participant about this, she said it was very painful for all Cambodians however they must accept and being open to sharing this dark history to the rest of the world so that everyone, especially the younger generations of Cambodians can learn from this history and bettering the nation. After the sorrowful visit to Choeung Ek, we had our lunch at Jars of Clay Café. This café was founded by Barbara Neale, a missionary from United Kingdom in 1998, with Christian values, to help vulnerable young women and girls by providing a safe workplace for them after being rescued from human trafficking or prostitution. The café is beautifully decorated and the environment was lovely, friendly and comfy. I am felt grateful and inspired for their effort in helping the women of Cambodia. Next, we head to the Central Market (Phsar Thmei), one of the famous attractions in Phnom Penh. I got to see amazing various kinds of jewelleries, clothings, food and crafts were sold there. It was mindblowing to see the sellers promoting their products in many different languages including Bahasa Malaysia! Although Cambodian Riel (KHR) is the official currency of Cambodia, most places accept USD while some places accept other currencies too. I was dumbfounded to see how the sellers were able to convert the prices from KHR to other currencies like USD, Thai BAHT and even MYR in split second. Going back to Era Hotel, everyone went quiet in the bus. Most of us took a nap to recover from the rollercoaster of emotions during this site visits. We ended the day with reflection session and night prayer.
On the fourth day, we dive deeper in understanding the meaning of hope with Bible Study session with Rev. Dr. Yani Yoo and Lecture Session with Ms. Chamroeun Tuy. During these sessions, we were tasked to draw and present a symbol or metaphor that represents hope to each one of us.
Some drew a ray of light in a tunnel, birds, trees, clouds and everyone shared their drawings. We really felt the sisterhood when we laughed together at the funny drawings and admired the pretty ones. We were also divided to groups and was tasked to share stories to each other on difficult situations we ever encountered, how overcome it and find hope. We ended the session with group presentations in the form of acting. Some presentations brought sadness, some brought anger, but mostly at the end of each acting, we laughed and gave big claps to each group. At night, after dinner, we had a sharing show. More of like a talent show. Laura, participant from Indonesia persuaded me to join her in emcee-ing the show and I agreed to give it a go. We kicked off the show with our own performance, “Malaysia + Indonesia Performance” where Grace played the guitar while Laura and I sing and dance to “Yesus Pokok” and “Hari Ini Ku Rasa Bahagia”. We invited everyone to stand and join us with the dance and everyone was so supportive! Each team took their turn to perform, Japan, Cambodia, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, China, Philippines, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Laos. We sang, we danced, we laughed, and enjoyed each other performances wholeheartedly.
On the fifth day, the last day, each of us were given certificate of participation then we had our closing worship. We delegated responsibilities prior to the closing session, Eg: Leader of Worship, Scripture Reader and Praise & Worship team and everyone gave their best in the worship. One of my favourite words by Dr Yani Yoo when she shared about “Hope Takes You to the Next Level” was “Reasonable love will give reasonable result while unreasonable (unconditional) love will give unreasonable result”. These words had a huge meaning, and I will always keep these words in my heart. After the closing worship, we hugged, took lots of selfies and said our goodbyes to each other. I couldn’t believe that five days had passed. One by one, we left the venue with the lingering thought of, will we ever meet each other again
AYWLD gave me the opportunity to search and see hope in a different light. It was so refreshing, and I believed that joining this program was not by chance, but it was God’s plan for me. From this program, I learnt that hope is everywhere around us. It is only our perspective that limits our vision to perceived hope. When serving to others in church, it is understandable that we will get tired at some point. When we do, never immediately go from 100% to 0% because even the slightest gesture can give hope to others. Once again, thank you to everyone that made this program possible and I will always treasure the beautiful memories, experiences, knowledge and the sisterhood that we built in this program. God bless!
(Verse 1)
In Malaysia’s land of dreams,
Where progress gleams, but it’s not as it seems,
Women face barriers, unseen,
Their hopes and dreams caught in between.
(Prechorus)
Traditional roles, expectations high,
Confine their dreams, up to the sky,
Family first, they’re often told,
Longed profession paths put on hold.
(Chorus)
Despite the strides, the progress made,
Women’s careers still in the shade,
Glass ceilings loom, a barrier tall,
But together, we’ll break down the walls.
(Verse 2)
Women’s status’ a hidden maze,
Navigating barriers in countless ways.
Earning less for the same grind,
Recruitment bias and promotion’s plight,
(Prechorus)
The goal is set, we hear the call,
Empowering women, we will stand tall,
Let justice prevail, with all its might.
To break the chains, Women’s light shine bright
(Chorus)
Despite the strides, the progress made,
Women’s status still in the shade,
Glass ceilings loom, a barrier tall,
But together, we’ll break down the wall.
We’ll break down the wall
(Bridge)
In the digital realm, women shine,
STEM and tech, their stars align,
Entrepreneurial spirit, burning bright,
Innovation leads them to the light
Lead them to the light
(Chorus)
Despite the strides, the progress made,
Women’s voices still in the shade,
But with determination, we’ll stand tall,
Breaking barriers, for one and all
For one and all
“The fact that I am a woman does not make me a different kind of Christian, But the fact that I am a Christian does make me a different kind of woman.”
Elisabeth Elliot
