Jack Eans continues his dispatches from Cambodia, where his travels took him to an amazing school that's never in the same place twice.

We began our journey around the “loop,” the road that goes from the capital Phnom Phen through Siem Reap, then Battambang and back to Phnom Phen. The first leg to Siem Reap was uneventful (except for the tarantulas they tried to sell us for a snack).

Siem Reap literally means “The Leveling of Siam,” and by leveling they mean defeat. Siam is the old name for Thailand, and the Siamese ended the rule of the Khmer Empire in the early 1400s. Near Siem Reap is the famous temple city of Angkor Wat. While the English were building their cathedrals in the 12th century, the Khmer King was building a vast temple complex in honor of the Hindu gods.

Over a million tourists visit this temple site each year, and today we were part of those numbers. I’ve seen the Mayan temple ruins but this was impressive. And the Cambodians are certainly proud of this ancient heritage. It’s always good to get an historical perspective of the cultures we work in.

But a far cry from this proud heritage is the floating village of Mechrey. An hour’s drive and boat ride from the city is the Mechrey Floating School, where we are helping minister to 220 children. The school is literally on pontoons, floating in the vast marsh of Tonle Sap Lake, the largest freshwater lake in southeast Asia. A series of wood buildings are tied together but not anchored so they float and move with the current – they say it is in a different place all the time. The children live in simple homes tied together to make a village. Wooden boats are the only form of transportation.

Yet they must eat, so to supplement their rice diet they hunt rats, catch snakes, and eat just about anything else they can find. Of course most of them still fish illegally. Besides the food insecurity (which is the formal term for not having enough to eat from day to day) the children are in constant threat of waterborne diseases. The water they float on, swim in and drink is also everyone’s toilet.

The Mechrey Floating School really is a miracle. Without it the children would have no chance at an education, and certainly no chance at hearing the Gospel or receiving any nutrition or health care. However, parents rely heavily on their children to help the family survive. The biggest struggle for the project workers and teachers is keeping children in school. Parents often pull them out to help collect food. To encourage families to allow their children to stay in school, the project often provides rice.

The Floating School only goes to 6th grade. In order to continue to higher grades, the children must go to the city to attend middle and high school. Most children in the Mechrey area don’t get this opportunity. However, if they graduate from the Floating School there is hope… which I'll write more about tomorrow.