Three MAGiS08 Experiments were held in Cambodia, at Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Battambang from July 5 – 11. The participants shared living out Ignatian Spirituality with the Jesuits missioned to Cambodia (Heribertus Pardjijo Bratasudarma (IDO), Manoj Kumar Ekka (RAN), Domisius Bayu Marsetyawan (IDO), Dennis Gabriel Leon Lamug-nañawa (PHI), Oh In-don (KOR), Kim Tae-jin (KOR), John Kim Du-huyn (KOR), Kwon Oh-Chang (KOR), and with the Jesuits from their own countries (Pedro Chia Sze Siong and Tran Dinh Thuc from Chinese Province, and Ludgar Joos and Marc-Stephan Giese from Germany), who accompanied them on their pilgrim journey to World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney.
Siem Reap
Participants, five from Germany, six from Taiwan and six from Cambodia, were able to find God in the variety of religions practiced in this predominantly Buddhist country. They were able to join a Muslim community, known as the Cham people here, for prayers in the mosque in Siem Reap and dialogue with them. On Sunday, they joined Fr Heri as he went to celebrate mass at one of the "floating churches" on the Tonle Sap Lake. Participants also visited the Angkor Wat, an important "Wonders of the Ancient World" that has great influence on Cambodia society, even today. Fr Heri’s reflection points – to remain "pilgrim" rather than "tourist" – set them well for the visits to the Angkor Wat and to another of the villages/training centers under the care of the Siem Reap Church.
While the participants saw the many works with the poor that this Jesuit mission station has reached in the last eight years, some of them dwelt deeper in their reflections. Going beyond the initial experience of poverty, they asked probing questions that may perhaps hold hope to overcoming poverty itself. Such is the richness of their experience.
Battambang
The youth of Battambang, especially those from the Catholic Church in Tahen, a poor farming community, were active in hosting five participants each from Australia and Germany and six each from Taiwan and Cambodia. The international participants gained much insight into the lives of the Tahen youths, spending a day with them as they practiced traditional Khmer dances in the church. Yet, it was the visits to the homes, basic wooden huts, of the youths that brought out the richness of the Experiment. The participants were able to see, to touch and to be touched by the essence of their simple lives. And, to make the Cambodia experience more complete, the participants joined the youths of Tahen in planting rice, as it was the planting season. 
The initial squeamishness of stepping barefooted into the mud ponds was soon forgotten. Everyone had an enjoyable time – mud and all!
Fr Gabriel Je, Delegate of the Korea Provincial (Cambodia Mission), who visited and gave reflection points at each of the three Experiments, encouraged the participants to reflect on the spontaneous smiles of the Cambodians, and on how much happier they were despite having less material things than people in the First World countries. The visitors gain much humanity from their many encounters in Cambodia. Humanity is Cambodia’s gift to the many from First World countries who arrive hoping to give. They receive much more in return!
Phnom Penh
Six participants each from Taiwan, Germany and Cambodia stayed at Banteay Prieb, a school for the handicapped that marks the start of the Jesuits in Cambodia. The ladies were housed in the wooden cottage for volunteers, while the men stayed in the same building as the teachers, an old building that was given by the Cambodian government to start Banteay Prieb in 1990.
One of the German participants shared how pleasantly surprised she was to live in such a rural place, instead of busy Phnom Penh City. Her group had arrived at Banteay Prieb in the darkness, as the electricity generator was already shut down at 10.00 p.m., and she could not make out the place. But she was greeted by a most serene scene the next morning. Each day started with the freshness of the morning as she looked into the idyllic grounds with the lotus pond and pavilion, a sight that tells of God’s presence amidst the poverty that the participants would encounter each day with the handicapped students at Banteay Prieb, with the poor children at the Garbage Dump
, in the villages, and at the historic sites (Tuol Sleng Prison and the Cheung Ach Killing Field) that marked the genocide rule of the Khmer Rouge.
For one of the Cambodian youths, a student at the Catholic Church Student Center in Phnom Penh, MAGiS08 was his first deep experience of Ignatian spirituality – one that spoke to him about how it was to be a Jesuit with an intimate relationship with Jesus that would bring him to experience God in all things. It enlightened him on why 18 Jesuits have left the comfort of their home countries to serve God in Cambodia and encounter God there.
Most of the participants left for Sydney for World Youth Day 2008, bringing a little part of Cambodia in their hearts. For the remaining Cambodian participants and many other youths, they would treasure their experience of the universal Church. MAGiS08 did bring more youths to experiencing Finding God in All Things, in Cambodia.