Cambodia: Rising Like the Lotus
Faith in Action
Siem Reap & Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Restoration Home Care & Angkor Wat Discovery
1 Week of Service • Cultural Immersion • Servant Leadership
Did You Know?
The lotus is one of Cambodia's most treasured symbols. Rooted in the mud at the bottom of a pond, it grows up through murky water to bloom pristine and untouched above the surface — an image carved into the walls of Angkor Wat itself and found in Cambodian art to this day. It's a fitting picture of the community your team will spend the week alongside: young women who are rising, with the support of trained local staff, into a future defined by restoration rather than their past.
Rising Like the Lotus
The young women your team will meet this week were rescued off the streets of Cambodia and now share a home together with trained local staff who love them like family. They don't need pity — they need presence, consistency, and a path forward. This is not a home for photo ops or stories to bring back and retell; every activity your team leads is planned in partnership with trained local counselors and staff who know exactly what safe, appropriate care looks like for each young woman in their home. Alongside friendship, art, and play, your team will also help residents build practical skills through the home's microfinancing program — basic budgeting, saving, and small-business planning that gives each young woman real tools toward independence, not just a temporary visit. Like the lotus that rises clean out of the mud, restoration doesn't erase the water a life has passed through; it simply proves that beauty — and a future — can still bloom there. Students who serve alongside these young women come home changed — not because they fixed anything, but because they witnessed, firsthand, what redemption looks like in progress.
The Worldwide Faith in Action Difference
Cross-Cultural Ministry • Daily Devotions • Local Church Partnership • Child Safeguarding Training & Protocols • Microfinance & Life Skills Training • 1 Week of Hands-On Service
The Worldwide Navigators Difference

Sojourn – Gain a better understanding of the community you’re visiting. Learn about different religions or spiritual practices. How do these impact the communities? How does religion or spirituality influence local traditions?
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Savor – Will you choose sweet or savory? Take the time to visit local markets and discover unique local ingredients. Learn how to prepare traditional meals & local favorites.
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Tip of the Tongue – Each morning, take the time to learn a few basic greetings and phrases in the local language. Learn how to write greetings & your name in the local script.
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A Wrinkle in Time – History influences our present. Discover the history of the country you visit. Hear the stories of your guides & their family history. Where do they come from?
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Journal Journeys – Take some time to reflect on the day’s events and document your journey. Spend a moment journaling about the day had & day ahead. These are memories for a lifetime!
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Culture – From local dances, festivals, or simple gestures to communicate – all of these make up a country’s culture. Learn and practice cultural norms & how to show respect in the culture you visit.
1 of 1Itinerary
Welcome to Cambodia! After arriving into Phnom Penh, transfer to your hotel and gather for a group dinner. Opening devotional: what does it mean to serve as the hands and feet of Christ in a new culture?
A full day exploring the Angkor Archaeological Park, one of the most significant religious monuments in the world. Watch the sunrise over Angkor Wat itself, then explore the towering stone faces of Angkor Thom and the jungle-swallowed ruins of Ta Prohm. Evening devotional on cultivating a servant’s heart.
Travel to Phnom Penh and meet our long-term missionary partners and the local staff at the restoration home where we’ll be serving all week. Required child-safeguarding training and orientation on appropriate, supervised engagement with residents, led by our local partners. Devotional: praying for the week ahead.
Our week of service begins! Days are spent alongside the young women in structured, supervised activities planned with the home’s staff — art projects, music, games, and shared meals. Afternoons include team debrief and reflection on the day’s ministry.
Continue serving alongside the residents and staff. Team members rotate through activity stations: creative arts, group games, and supervised conversation and craft time. Afternoon: team reflection and prayer.
Team members help lead a financial literacy and microenterprise workshop as part of the home’s microfinancing program — teaching basic budgeting, saving, and small-business planning skills alongside residents preparing to launch or grow a small business of their own. Today’s devotional focuses on belonging and identity in Christ.
Continue the microfinance program with one-on-one mentoring — helping residents refine business plans, practice basic bookkeeping, or prepare a pitch for a small starter loan. Today’s devotional theme centers on being fully known and fully loved by God. Evening: shared meal and time of worship with local staff and church partners.
Our final day wraps with a closing celebration planned in partnership with staff — music, games, a shared meal, and recognition for residents completing this session’s microfinance training. Time for the team to say goodbye and reflect on the relationships built this week.
A lighter day exploring Phnom Penh’s Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda, home to a dazzling collection of Buddhist artifacts. In the evening, enjoy a sunset cruise along the Mekong River at the point where it meets the Tonle Sap and Bassac Rivers — a peaceful close to a meaningful week.
Final group devotional and debrief: what did God teach us this week? Time for last-minute souvenir shopping in Phnom Penh before heading to the airport for your international flight home.
Extend Your Trip
Add a Day: Fair-Trade Artisan Workshop
Visit a social enterprise where young women who’ve completed the home’s microfinancing program now run small businesses — silk weaving, jewelry-making, or textile arts — earning dignified, sustainable income. Purchase handmade goods knowing every dollar supports someone’s path toward independence — a tangible picture of restoration continuing well beyond the walls of a single home.
Optional Extension: Days 11–12 — Deeper Angkor
For schools wanting more time among the temples, extend the trip 2 additional days to explore Banteay Srei, a smaller temple famous for its intricate pink sandstone carvings, and Beng Mealea, a remote jungle temple left largely unrestored — giving a sense of what explorers first encountered when Angkor was rediscovered.
Choose Your Impact
Every Faith in Action trip pairs a full week of hands-on service with a tour component that immerses students in local history, culture, and faith. This Cambodia itinerary can be shortened, extended, or modified to fit your school’s calendar and budget.
- Value — 7–8 Day Group Trips
Airfare • Ground Transportation • 2.5–3 Star Accommodations • Daily Devotions & Debriefs • 2 Meals Per Day • Tour Entrance Fees • Daytime Tour Director • 1 Week of Service (Restoration Home Care)
- Classic — 9–10 Day Group Trips
Airfare • Ground Transportation • 2.5–3 Star Accommodations • Daily Devotions & Debriefs • 2 Meals Per Day • Tours & Entrance Fees (incl. Angkor Wat) • Daytime Guided Tour Director • 1 Week of Service (Restoration Home Care) + Cultural Excursions
- Epic — 10–12 Day Group Trips
Airfare • Ground Transportation • 3.5–4 Star Accommodations • Daily Devotions & Debriefs • 2 Meals Per Day • Tours & Entrance Fees (incl. Angkor Wat) • 24/7 Guided Tour Director • 1 Week of Service (Restoration Home Care) + Extended Cultural Immersion • Final Night Celebration Dinner & Commissioning Service
Interested in adding or modifying activities? All Faith in Action itineraries can be customized — extend the service week, add a second community partner, or swap in additional cultural excursions. All participants serving alongside minors complete required child-safeguarding training prior to departure.
Value
3-6 Day
Group Trips
- Airfare
- Transportation
- 2.5 - 3-Star Accommodations
- Daily Activities & Excursions
- 2 Meals Per Day
- Tours & Entrance Fees
- Daytime & Self-Guided Tour Director
- 1 Impact Project
Classic
7-12 Day
Group Trips
- Airfare
- Transportation
- 2.5 - 3-Star Accommodations
- Daily Activities & Excursions
- 2 Meals Per Day
- Tours & Entrance Fees
- Daytime Guided Tour Director
- Up to 2 Impact Projects
Epic
7-14 Day
Group Trips
- Airfare
- Transportation
- 3.5 - 4-Star Accommodations
- Daily Activities & Excursions
- 2 Meals Per Day
- Tours & Entrance Fees
- 24/7 Guided Tour Director
- Up to 3 Impact Projects
- Final Night Celebration Dinner
Interested in adding or modifying activities? No problem! All Worldwide Navigator itineraries can be customized to your liking!
In collaboration with our partners