Special Trip to Soun Sobin

In May most everyone got several days off for the King's birthday. This month everyone got the day off work and school for the Queen's birthday. :) There was no conference planned like last month, but we did do something fun with that free time. I found out last Sunday night that quite a few of the church people were planning a little outing to a hangout spot with a beautiful environment, a big pond, fishing, swimming pools, and a little zoo. Deborah and I were invited last minute and totally accepted the invitation! :)

Our destination was a place called Soun Sobin (the Dream Garden). It's a really nice place! It's got a big pond, several bridges, lots of trees, and even a very small zoo area with a baby alligator, rabbits, birds, monkeys, ostriches, and turkeys. The pond has fish in it and fishing rods are for rent. There's also a closed in area with a kid pool and an adult pool. There are little rental huts along the pond.  Each little hut is separated in half, so we rented just one half.  The huts are literally setting on the water. They're not floating, but they are just above the water. There was such a beautiful breeze!

Around 8 a.m. last Monday morning (the 18th), Sopiep and her husband along with baby Rachel picked Deborah and I up at our house. We picked up several more people along the way, as well as met up with some others who followed on their mopeds. By the time everyone was picked up there were 9 people squished into the five-passenger car. Baby Rachel and preschool-aged Ezra sat on people's laps. :) You may remember me mentioning a lady in our church who gave her testimony at the Bible Conference in May. Her name is Sopiep and she was the organizer of this little excursion.

This place called Soun Sobin (the Dream Garden) is only about 45 minutes away, but there was some confusion along the way about where people were supposed to meet up. We ended up getting there around 10 o'clock. We looked around for a nice place, then started settling in. We busted out some snacks and discussed the plans for the day. First off after the snacks, we had a brief service led by Hawn (Sopiep's husband). We all sang some songs while he played guitar, then he led during the testimony time. It was brief, but sweet. I got to know my siblings in Christ better and I think that's a wonderful thing!

Here's the view from our little spot in the hut.

Since we were right next to the bank we saw a nasty lizard with long stripes down its body. He kept crawling around the entire bank like he owned the place, so I was keeping an eye on him just to be sure he didn't try to join the party. During the testimony time, someone pointed out a honeycomb right behind where Deborah and I were sitting! There was a bunch of big ugly wasps literally 2 feet behind us! I was not about to return home with a dozen bee stings. No way. We changed seats and one of the boys sat there instead. :P No one got stung though, thank goodness. 

Next we ate lunch, which was mostly rice and seafood. There was crab, fish, pork, some kind of chicken soup, and some other stuff that I'm not entirely sure of. I should've taken a picture of it, because it was interesting (as is all the food here)! We had a good time of fellowship during that as well.

Once lunch was over with we played a few games. We played a few I had never played before and therefore won't try to explain them. They were fun though and we had a great time! :)

After all that -service, lunch, and games- we decided to walk around some and take pictures for a while. That place is gorgeous and offered great picture-taking spots!! We spent a good amount of time strolling around the entire area taking pictures next to trees, on bridges, on little paths, next to the pond, etc. We took a lot of pictures, so I'll only share a few.

Hey, that might be the same monkey that was at our house -the one I told about in "Life as a Teen MK"! Doubtful, but ya never know. :P

Basically, we had an amazing time last Monday (thanks to the Queen)! There are several other hangout spots similar to this place that I really want to go to now. :) I'll be sure to post about it if I do. I need to mention one last thing. Comments on my posts are very welcome and I enjoy them! However, I've been getting a lot of spam comments and such, so if you want to leave a comment please let me know who you are, otherwise the comment might not get approved for publishing. Thanks so much for reading and vote whether this article was funny, interesting, or cool! I look forward to writing up another post soon. Have a great day!

Unwelcome Guests

Our family has definitely had our share of "unwelcome guests" in our house and church. Some of them are small and pretty much go unnoticed since we're so used to them, but other ones demand immediate action. I'm going to share with you the top 5 household pests that we've had.

Many people envision missionaries as living in little huts with no running water or electricity. They also assume we practically live with all sorts of spiders and snakes. Well, I can't speak for other missionaries in more remote places, but for us this is a big misunderstanding. These are the top household pests in our house in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

1. Cockroaches

We have lots and lots of cockroaches. We have really big ones sometimes, but usually we have average sized ones. I hate them when they're alive. I hate them if I have to kill them. I also hate sweeping up a dead one. I do not feel sorry for them though! I really hate the ones that fly!! I know there are cockroaches in just about every country of the world, but this is the top insect in our house and church. 

In 2014 the missionaries were having a get together for July 4th. The weather wasn't great that day and it was raining off and on almost the whole day. It even rained later in the day while we were trying to do sparklers. :( When it rains it's not uncommon for a cock roach or even a rat to run in your house if you live on ground level. The rain floods their homes in the ground so they try to go somewhere safe. During the service all of us teens got up to sing some songs. Right in the middle of the song a huge cockroach came casually strolling up the middle aisle toward us. It kinda sauntered over to Abby Freeze who tried to kick it away but it ended up going to the back row of boys. One of them kicked it back obviously trying to get rid of it as well. We kept right on with our song during this whole episode. :) I think it got kicked around a couple more times before Blake Ruppel reached over and tried to crush the whole thing under his foot (I can't remember if anyone was wearing shoes since we were inside). Well he got part of it then kicked it right back towards the door. That poor thing limped out of there probably deciding to never step foot into a missionary gathering again! Take that! :)

2. Common House Geckos

If we were still living in our old house I would've put these as number one. Oddly enough, since we've moved we have not had many of these. For all the years that they've been around our old house all the time, I felt like they deserve at least second on this list. 

I believe that the proper name for them is gecko, but our family has always called them lizards. I'm not even sure why. Maybe it sounds less threatening. At our old house we had porches around three sides of the house. There was a light on the front porch and several on the side and back porches. Every night there were tons of lizards around each light waiting to eat the bugs that were attracted to the light. Lizards aren't even worth being scared over. It's pretty fun to scare them away. :)

There are way bigger ones in some places in the city, but mainly in the province. Those geckos are big and ugly, yet strangely attractive. We've had some at our village ministry in the past and even recently. 

3. Mice and Rats

Because of so much garbage and flooding, mice and rats were a big problem at our old church. I don't think I mentioned this before, but our old place was a big villa. We lived on the top floor and the church was on the bottom. The stairs going up to our house were not in the building, but they were on the outside of the house.

Once again, since we've moved we have not had any mice or rats. We rarely had anything bigger than a mouse in our old house, but the old church has had plenty of rats! Big ones! The rat problem got so bad at one point that my dad and the landlord put out rat poison every night in the courtyard around where the rats were coming from. We never knew how big the rat colony was, but within a couple days the whole property began to stink of dead rats. It was gross. There must have been more rats than we had realized!

To deal with mice and rats we've used all sorts of traps. We've used the regular mouse traps that snap shut. We've used glue trays. We've even used big rat cages which catch the rats alive and then we drown them. :( Kinda sad to think about. During this time when the rats were real bad, my dad used to put out glue trays in the church throughout the week and would send us downstairs to check on them. 

One Sunday morning I was the first one to go downstairs for church. I had just unlocked the door and was about to step inside when I noticed something. A glue tray was full with not one, but three rats!  I would've stepped right into it had I not seen it! The biggest two were obviously dead and the smallest one was barely alive. It looked up at me with sad little eyes begging for help. At first I was surprised, then disgusted, then I kind of felt bad, but in the end I decided that rats are nasty and don't belong in our church. The site was rather pitiful. Apparently those three amigos had struggled quite a bit before two of them gave up the ghost, because one of the rugs we keep at the door was all stuck in the glue. The glue tray was originally set out in the hallway, but ended up by the front door. My guess is that the first one got stuck and the next one came to help only to get stuck himself. By then the tray might've been halfway to the door. Then the littlest one probably came along to help only to create more of a struggle which ended in disaster and eventually death for all three. Dad took care of it. 

4. Centipedes

Centipedes here are very common especially in the bathroom. I've never been bitten by one, but I've heard that it is very painful and stings a lot. Centipede bites can sometimes cause more serious issues. I clean bathrooms in the church every Saturday and have come across a lot. I usually drown them with toilet cleaner until they die, then spray them down the drain. Works every time. I don't have any interesting stories about centipedes, but I definitely think they make this list.

5. Spiders

This is at the bottom of the list because we don't have big spiders very often being in the city. We have had several though. We don't always get a picture of every spider, but I found one. This thing was as big as my mom's hand and the body was really big, too!

My sisters and I visited our friends, the Freezes, in the province a couple years ago. While we were there, we encountered four huge spiders! They were all the same kind. The first one was in the pool room, but ran off before we could do anything about it. One was in the school room where we had all our blankets and pillows. Luke came to the rescue and killed it. :) I had a difficult time sleeping that night though! The other was in the bathroom. Luke killed that one, too. The last day we were there, we stayed up the whole night. Around 3 a.m. most of us were in the kitchen playing a game. Then out of nowhere a huge spider suddenly appeared on the wall. I screamed (obviously)!! In 2 seconds flat we were all in the living room on top of furniture. :) We sent Elizabeth to wake up Luke who was nice enough to get up at 3 a.m. and kill yet another spider for us. Thanks, Lucas! 

In conclusion, we have had lots of unwelcome guests in our house over the years. Sure, we have the usual ants, flies, and mosquitoes, but these ones are a bit more exciting! If we lived in the province like the Freezes we would probably have more spiders and beetles and such. I'm so glad we live in the city! :)

Thanks for reading and comment below if you'd like. Also, please take a quick moment to vote whether you found this article funny, interesting, or cool. Have a great day!

Life as a Teen MK

The past several posts have been about specific activities that have happened recently, so this one is going to be a little different. I have way more viewers than I had originally hoped for - which is fine with me 😄- and I know for a fact that lots of you know very little about me. So I thought a post about me and my life might be nice so everyone can know who all these posts are coming from. :)

As you may have already seen from my profile, my name is Emma Benefield and I'm a missionary kid in Cambodia. Cambodia is located in southeast Asia between Thailand and Vietnam. My parents and 2 older sisters arrived in November of 2000. Candace was 18 months old and Deborah was 6 weeks old! That would of course make me nonexistent...yet. 😜

I was born in April 2002 before our first furlough. I truly have been raised entirely in Phnom Penh (except for occasional furloughs). Because of Cambodia's sad history-which includes the Pol Pot Regime-the medical standards here weren't very dependable or trustworthy at that time. Thank God that recently a nice hospital opened not too far away from us and will hopefully have the proper treatment should an emergency ever arise. Because of the medical standards back then, my family went to Bangkok, Thailand to ensure a safe delivery. Several MKs here have been born in Thailand at the most well-known hospital among the missionaries, Bumrungrad Hospital, in Bangkok. I am proud to say I was born in Thailand and raised in Cambodia. :)

I know different MKs have different views about their lives in their respective countries and I'm not trying to belittle any or say any are wrong. For me personally though, I won't say I've loved every moment of living here, but overall I definitely think it's cool and I'm blessed!

As a youngster I had no idea what life in America was like. I wasn't aware of how much my life differed from the lives of my cousins in California. I didn't know what it was like to permanently live in a house with a rug attached to the floor. To me that was unthinkable! I've always lived in a house with tile while here. So carpet to me was such a foreign idea. :) I didn't know what it was like to run over to McDonald's for a McFlurry on a hot summer day or swing by Taco Bell to grab dinner if Mom didn't want to cook. I was always so confused about things like offering envelopes, highways, mail delivery systems, dryers, dishwashers, vacuum cleaners, lawn mowers, drive-throughs, drinking fountains, automatic opening doors, automatic toilet flushers, chimneys and fireplaces.  I could think of more if I had time. 😂

My life was simple and unique. My siblings and I were content with our surroundings. We loved to play outside in the courtyard where the mango tree is and we also loved spending time indoors with a book, movie, piano, or game. As we got a little older we looked for more opportunities to spend time with other MK friends and had lots of birthday parties and missionary get togethers with them! :)

Our family quickly grew which to me meant more playmates. :) Pretty soon all us 6 kids were old enough to enjoy playing outside together. Our landlord who lived on the property has several grandkids our age. They loved to play with us and even taught us some Khmer games. We taught them some games as well. The times we spent playing outside with the landlord's grandkids and also some neighbour kids are some of the best memories I have from our old house.

The more I think about it, the more sure I am that God definitely placed us in the right country. Being here for my whole childhood has definitely had an influence on me. True, I grew up a lot different than other American kids, but having that opportunity has helped shaped me into who I am today and who I will be in 10 years. I have had experiences that tons of kids in America have never had.

"What is it like being an MK?" I got asked this a lot on furlough and I never could come up with a very intelligent answer on the spot. :) However, I've thought about it a lot while writing this post and I believe I've come up with 5 things that most MKs will think of when asked to explain how our lives differ from others and how that in turn affects us. These things have impacted me in some way during my upbringing. Some are definitely positive; some may be considered negative, but I'm trying to cover all of the bases. Maybe some of these will relate to some of you reading who are MKs as well.

1. Front-row seat to missions

Permanently living on the mission field is definitely different from your average American family. I've gone with my dad on tons of visits. I have seen first-hand the hunger in people's eyes to know more about the living God. People who have been left empty and hopeless by a false religion and long for the truth are so intrigued when the Gospel is presented to them! Their souls have been starving for so long and then finally someone shares with them God's plan of salvation. They listen intently as my dad teaches them several times and at last the moment arrives when they are asked, "Do you believe that Jesus is God and that He died for your sins? Would you like to ask God to forgive your sins and trust Christ as your Savior?" Most of the time the person will say they do. Then with head bowed and eyes closed and perhaps a few tears, they call on the Lord to save them. Joy fills their face as they lift their eyes!!! They now have a home in Heaven!! I've seen this time and again and it's always thrilled my heart to witness it. For generations and generations these Cambodian people have been spiritually blinded by the devil. He made them believe they could save themselves by doing good things, going to the temple, and praying to idols. But now...now they have eternal life! They now know the truth! Christ lives in their heart now! Remembering how spiritually dark this nation is always makes me even more excited to see someone get saved! That's another soul rescued from hell! Being around this during my upbringing has made me more aware of missions work and how important it is to "go...and teach all nations". The Lord has really softened my heart living here among a spiritually lost country and I pray that God's will for my life includes missions.

2. Culture shock!!

You're probably wondering why I said that when I've lived here my whole life.   Well, I'm talking about culture shock when we go back to the States. :) Despite the un-American surroundings, my parents make sure to keep an American aura alive in our home. We eat American food, we sleep in beds not mats on the floor, we decorate for the different seasons, we still celebrate American holidays, and we homeschool instead of us being enrolled in a Khmer school. Yet, we still seem to go through some culture shock each time we take a furlough. A million questions run through our minds as soon as we arrive in America. Why is it cold (even if we technically arrive in summer)? Why is no one staring at us? What are those machines that people are getting soda from? Why is everyone wearing closed toed shoes? Where are their flip-flops? Why is everyone actually stopping at the red light? Why isn't there a handle on the door? Oh, it's automatic. On and on the questions go inside our heads. If one mystifies us too much then we ask, but we usually come to the conclusion by ourselves. Many people (especially people of my same age group) will be rather shocked if I ask a question like, "Is the tap water fine to drink?" They might look at me really weird and finally answer, "Umm...yeah" kind of hesitantly. Well, sorry for asking, but if we drink the tap water in Cambodia we'll get sick. So just making sure. :) That's honestly a big fear a lot of MKs have. We are scared of asking a really stupid question. A lot of people though are gracious and will politely answer and explain to us what we have just been brave enough to ask.

3. Cool experiences! :)

Living in Asia has been fun and exiting!! I have lots of interesting experiences on a regular basis! Not many kids in America can say they've ridden an elephant or had monkeys personally visit their front porch and even steal an air-conditioner remote control and a pair of ear buds. :) Who else rides around town on the back of a moped with Dad or in a tuk tuk? I also think it's neat that I'm fluent in an Asian language. Can many other people say they sat one table away from the prince of Cambodia while at a Swenson's Ice Cream Shop? That happened to us once!!! What about things like the markets I've posted about? Things like that are so intriguing! Man, life here is never boring!

4. Missing a teen group

While we were in America from September 2016 through September 2017 my older sisters and I really really enjoyed being part of the youth group at our home church. We don't have a youth group here so it was really special to be a part of one. We're asked a lot during furlough, "What do you miss most about America when you're in Cambodia?" Well, to be entirely honest I would have to say being in a youth group. I loved the way our youth group did activities together and just hung out to talk or play a game. We all served the Lord in some way whether it was on the bus, in choir, going out on Saturdays, helping in junior church, or helping prepare things for church activities. Being involved in the ministry with other people my age was really encouraging. We were all pushing toward the same goal and striving to please the Lord. I have really missed having that type of thing.

5. Homesickness in reverse

We do really enjoy being in America with relatives and friends, but I got really homesick while on furlough. This is my home-Cambodia. No matter if we move tomorrow back to America (which we aren't) my heart will always be here. When I eventually move away to college I will miss this place a lot. This is where I grew up. Whenever we go on furlough people say, "Welcome home!" I always think to myself...this isn't home. This is my home away from home, because Cambodia is my home. :) My entire life has been wrapped up in this country. I've grown to love the people, language, culture, weather, and even some of the foods. So for me just to move away to America when I go to college will be hard.

Us on the elephant having a blast even though Deborah and I were a bit scared. :)

The monkeys coming to play around our house!

They loved to go across the wires. It was fun to watch. :)

This guy is totally cool! 😎

Deborah and I on the moped with Dad. 😊

Me and some guests from America in a tuk tuk. 

This is the most recent picture I have of a tuk tuk. 

You might remember this picture from the post about my sweet sixteen. :)

Thanks for reading! I've shared my heart as best as I know how. I really do love being an MK; I feel so blessed! Comment below if you'd like and have a great day!