Serendipitous Encounters

I had several while I was in Cambodia, starting on my first day! I would like to think serendipity is defined as divine intervention rather than simple good luck, because I know every serendipitous event is a gift. My ‘hug’ from the Lord🤗💕.

I believe I told you about Taai, and Richard… my ‘brothers’ for my first three days alone in Phnom Penh, which were spent with the two of them. Well I was able to meet up with Richard again at the airport, as we both flew back home on the 25th. As I was walking with my team members down to our gate, Richard, waiting for me, shouted, ‘Hi Erin!’

The five team members I was with looked shocked. Irene said, ‘You’re in Cambodia walking through an airport in Phnom Penh, and you just happen to see somebody you know?’

With a huge grin, I headed over to where Richard sat, while glancing back at Irene with a gleeful ‘YEP!’ 😂😂 The team followed, and we all had a good chuckle, as I explained how I knew Richard . I was able to introduce the group to him, as he’s been following the Blog and had seen their faces on several posts. He was leaving on the same flight to Seoul, which is where we initially met on my arrival in Cambodia, so he spent the final two hours at PHN with our group.

Big Brudders🤗

Now back to the story. While we were in Angkor Wat, an Asian gentleman approached and asked if he could take a picture with me. I imagine they don’t see many Americans in Cambodia, as we certainly didn’t. So I smiled, touched by the request, and his son took a picture of the two of us. We smiled, laughed a bit, and then went our separate ways. Fast-forward two days, while we were on the streets of the little truant laden sidewalks of Pub Street (not their fault, I know😔), I felt a soft tap on my shoulder. Turning around to see who it was requesting my attention, I came face-to-face with the very same man! He had our picture there on his phone and was showing it to me. I don’t think he spoke much English, because our words exchanged were few, but his smile held all the words I needed. Laughing at the serendipity of that moment, I asked if I could take his picture with me. He nodded brightly, and this is the one I snapped…

It is these moments that leave lasting impressions on my mind…not the beauty of Cambodia itself, but the beauty in the people I meet along the way! 🙏