Crystal, Catherine, and Charlotte usually attend church at the International Christian Fellowship of Phnom Penh. ICF is an international, inter-denominational, and independent English language Christian church in Phnom Penh. The people who make up the church come from multiple nationalities and many denominations.

As for Caleb and I, we usually visit a variety of Cambodian Churches across Phnom Penh. In the past, I primarily visited churches that sent IVEP/YAMEN participants or received SALT/YAMEN participants, as well as churches that MCC has partnered with like Phnom Penh Mennonite, Calvary Chapel, and New Life Fellowship. But this year I started a new initiative to join a service at every church that MCC national staff attend. I’ve almost visited all of them now – there’s just a couple more to get to.

So, basically, I usually attend Khmer language services at many different churches across Phnom Penh. It’s a good use of the Khmer church language I learned during three years of living in the countryside and attending church at the Prey Veng Christian Center. Sometimes Catherine or Charlotte join me, but more often than not it’s Caleb and I.

It’s a delight to visit different Cambodian Christian Churches to witness the vibrance and diversity of Christianity in Cambodia. Christianity was only legalized 34 years ago so it’s a young and passionate Church. It’s also important for MCC to maintain a broad relationship with the Christian community in Cambodia and to promote our exchange programs, especially recruiting Cambodians to go out and host families for volunteers coming in. As I shared before, MCC wants to know and be known on the community level. Part of that is me visiting churches in Khmer language and building relationships there.