Transportation in Cambodia

For the first couple months of my time in Cambodia, I mainly got around by car or tuk tuk (pictured below)...

It looks like a small motorcycle with a cart on the back because that is EXACTLY what it is. Brittany and I felt like we became professional hagglers when it came to price. The drivers would always start at some ridiculous amount and we would laugh at them and tell them they were crazy...in a very polite, culturally accepted way. We would then work our way to a reasonable amount and hop in.

The second half of the trip, we got brave and began riding the motorcycles around town (and even sometimes on slightly longer trips). There were a few particular people that I would trust with my life on the moto...

And the helmets did nothing to help out the hair situation...

Remember those pictures I promised...

I realize I have been back in the states for something like 6 weeks and have yet to follow through with my promise to post pictures from Cambodia...

Well, here you go, my friend...


It was almost guaranteed that we would be getting paint on lots of other things besides the walls...this is Phally (pronounced Paulee) and I during our first painting service project that we took the class on...and Titi's eye in the background


Vuth and Neth (pronounced Whut and Night) with me at the airport the day I left Cambodia...the smiles are deceptive...


The Harvester's class on the top of a mountain. They thought it would be "fun" to climb up more than 800 steps. The view was beautiful, but my legs were a little shaky by the end of it all.


A woman with her baby in the province


Sisters


We fed over 150 kids in the province after leading games and songs and Bible stories


My team leading songs


Painting a church wall on the second missions service trip


Speaking at the Wednesday night church service, with my dear friend Titi translating for me


Preparing food for lunch with Pisay (pronounced Pee-sigh). I loved to help and wish that I had mastered a couple of the recipes to make here in the states. I love Cambodian food!

Coming to an end...

Four days left in Cambodia...I can hardly believe it. I have so many pictures that I want to post...and I will once I get back to the states. I am once again having problems with uploading them. So I will be on a mission to post a lot when internet is a little more reliable.

This last week has been busier than I thought it was going to be. We didn't really have anything planned, but every day, someone calls and asks if we want to go to their house for dinner. I love spending time with my friends here. Not only that, but I love the food. My mom would be so proud...and a lot of people would be surprised...to know that I eat all my vegetables here ;-) I am actually going to miss the food a lot when I get home...

Please be praying for me and my friend Brittany as we are finishing out our time here. When I first arrived, I thought six months was a long time, but in reality, it has flown by faster than I could have imagined. I know there have been so many blessings along the way and I am standing in faith that the last few days will be the same.

"Just..."

It's just painting...
It's just playing games...
It's just telling stories...
It's just visiting a church...
It's just giving them some food...

It's not "just" anything...it is so much more!

Yeah, all of these things are good to do and even standing alone, they are of some merit. But we don't come in to do "just" anything. We come to do these things to open doors and allow God to open hearts.

Last weekend, our class went on a missions trip to Kampong Thom, a province about 3 hours to the north of Phnom Penh. We "did" all those things in that list above, but like I also said -- it is so much more. We came to serve. We came to share the love of Jesus. We came to bring encouragement. We came bring to hope to children that have very little to look forward to.

We came to change mindsets.

From the very beginning of my time here in Cambodia, my goal has been to raise up these people to share God's love...to empower them to step out in boldness of how they are made. And through our teachings and putting them into practice, I think that is happening. But it was on this trip that something more struck me....here is a group of missionaries, serving and loving their own people.

When the people of Cambodia think of missionaries or teams coming to serve, they most likely will picture a group of foreigners. This group is the opposite. Each one of these students has a heart to serve and see their own nation come to know the truth of God. And as we step out and serve the churches in the provinces, something sparks inside of them...this is something they can do too. It doesn't have to depend on foreigners. They are missionaries. They can speak into the lives of others and see the results.

They are seeing the example set by this group that God has named the Harvesters. These ten young people have God's joy bursting from inside of them...and they are learning how to pour that out into the lives of others. It's hard to believe that I only have one more month to work with this team. But the good news is that they are planning outreaches to go on...after I leave. God used me to help establish this work, but in the end, it is God's work and He doesn't stop because I am leaving Cambodia.

No...He's just begun.


(I will be posting pictures of the trip in a day or two, so please check back soon!)

Upcoming Outreach

This picture of Cambodia shows the different provinces that make up the country. I live in Phnom Penh, the capital...and really the only "city." Anything outside of Phnom Penh is called "the province" and is pretty much what we in America would call the country. I have been to Sihanoukville (south), Takeo and Kandal (the one that surrounds the city). And next weekend, January 31-February 1, I will be going three hours north to Kampong Thom for a missions outreach with my class. I will keep you updated as I get the details of what we will be doing.

I love all the things that God has taught me and then asked me to teach the students in the class. This last week, though, Brittany and I taught on something so very near and dear to my heart. Each of us has been created with a design...a unique way that God has reflected His character in us. After a teaching session, we sat down with each of the students on an individual basis and prayed, sharing with them how God made them. It was an powerful afternoon as God opened their eyes and hearts to what He says about them. Please pray that those things wouldn't just be words, but truth in their hearts.

One year

A year ago today, almost to the minute, I was stepping into Cambodia for the first time.

There are so many memories that I could type here about that first trip. Some good, some not so pleasant...but I am amazed at God's faithfulness through it all. Thinking back, I guarantee you that in the beginning, I wasn't considering coming back on an extended outreach. But here I am.

I could tell so many stories of things not going as planned, sickness and any other struggles as I led that 7-week outreach...and while they would "justify" why it was hard and how I was being stretched in a drastic way...I have learned that that is not what God wants me to look at. Of course He wants me to learn lessons from the situations He walks me through, but more than that He wants me to see, know and completely trust that He is the one walking me through the situations. And they all serve a purpose if I seek after Him.

I can pinpoint a few key things that happened during that outreach that changed my life...because I feel like my eyes and my heart were opened to a love for Cambodia that went beyond a "good" missions trip. It is something deeper. And as strange as it may sound to some reading this, I believe that love is deeper because I had to "fight" for it. It was something that was planted in my heart like a seed. It struggled to crack the surface, but as it did, it began to grow...both the tree above ground and the roots underneath.

And it is still growing.

Late Night Thoughts

Today was our first day back to teaching in the Harvester's Class after the Christmas/New Year's holiday break...and I think it started off well. The pastor spoke on outreach and a general word of encouragement that when the class is "over," it doesn't mean that their calling to be harvesters in Cambodia has ended.

This is something that I have actually been thinking about a lot lately. Before all this began, I said that my vision for this 6 months was to impart things that I have learned. My goal, if you can call it that, was to see the students step out in boldness to share with others around them. While I believe this has been happening, the word "impart" has been in the forefront of my mind.

I don't want to just tell them things I know...to teach them lessons on different topics. I want there to be broadening of their view of God and of themselves through God's eyes. I want there to be a change in the lives of each on of them. My hope is that this isn't just something they will look back on as an "accomplishment," but that there is something planted in the heart.

I can hardly believe that I am here for only two more months. Time has gone by so much faster than I anticipated. And while I say "only" two months, I should be saying "still" two months because there is so much that God is asking of me. He has asked me to love these people...this church...this nation...in a way that can only come from Him. And I do. And I want to see God's truth to shine here...through the students He gave to me teach and lead.