Space For God

Steph North's 'Experiment' to Cambodia

I've been studying at Macquarie hoping to complete a Bachelor of Health in Community Health degree since the beginning of 2006.  My two-week 'Experiment' to Cambodia was part of the MAGiS08 program - an initiative of the Australian Ignatian Congregations in preparation of World Youth Day in Sydney in 2008 and beyond.  The program invites young people from 18-30 to join together on a journey, centred around an 'Experiment', with people of different countries, cultures and language to explore and to share their experiences guided by the pillars of Companionship, Community and Service.

The term experiment comes from 'Spiritual Experiment', a part of the formation experiences of men and women joining religious congregations founded on Ignatian spirituality. The aim of an experiment is to learn how we react in different situations and so grow in awareness about our own life's meaning and purpose. Involving ourselves in very different and unfamiliar situations, we widen our horizons and learn from the lives of others to see ourselves in a new light and God at work in us at a deeper level.  Experiments are about interaction that prompts prayer and reflection. They involve having an experience, reflecting and then discerning an action.

Young Adults from Hong Kong, Cambodia, Korea and Australia, together with many Religious from all over Asia, the Pacific, Europe and South America joined together in Siem Reap for ten days to learn about each others' cultures, ourselves and God acting in our lives. It was a chance to discover a new way of living by sharing with the Khmer people of Cambodia and experiencing the rich history and culture.  Some of the activities we participated in together as part of the experiment included an Interfaith exchange with local Buddhist Monks, a night of cultural sharing, being led through some of the hundreds of remaining temple ruins of the Angkor Empire, hearing from and speaking with those disabled by landmines and their families, building and repairing houses in 'floating villages', and witnessing community-run projects in HIV/AIDS prevention and management, orphanages, wheelchair construction and textiles.

by Steph North