Coconut anyone?

As I have said before...I love lists. Any kind of list, really. To-do lists. Pro/Con lists. "How-I-love-thee-let-me-count-the-ways" lists. Funny statement lists. Lists about lists (apparently). You get the idea. I love the order and logic that has to go into them. I have a long running mental list of all the things that will never get old or normal to see here in Cambodia. This is one of them:

If I ever want a coconut, I go for the convenience of a market. Mostly because I do not have the ability to climb a tree like this. If there were branches, I could maybe give it a shot. But my Cambodian friends have this almost innate ability to shimmy up a palm tree with the greatest of ease in order to retrieve coconuts.

Pretty amazing in my book.

Respond With Love...

The floods in central and northern Cambodia, the worst the country has seen in more than a decade, made an already fragile economy even more strained. In the affected provinces, homes were lost...crops were lost...lives were lost. During a prayer time in the Harvesters Class, God began to prompt our hearts to respond in some way. The students asked "What can we do to help?" The answer from God's heart came very clearly...first, He said "I am going and I want you to come with Me." And second, the phrase "Provision come with obedience." We felt like we were supposed to purchase rice to distribute to an affected village, but weren't sure how that would all look...where the village would be, where the finances to purchase the rice would come from, how we would be able to do this. But we knew this was what we were asked to do. So we said "yes" and moved forward in our plans. We stood on the words God spoke and watched as the provision came! Thanks to some very generous donations, in a very short period of time, we were able to purchase 1000 kilograms (2200 pounds) of rice, as well as some other very necessary cooking basics. We prepared 100 packages of food for the people of a small village in the Kampong Thom Province. And as we distributed the food to the families, we prayed and asked God to bless them and reveal Himself to them in a big way.

Below you will find many pictures from the weekend. In the first one, you will notice the water line around the bottom of the building, showing how high the water came...and stayed for a long time. Further down, you will see the mass amounts of rice, an example of the contents of one "package" of food, dramas, testimonies, as well as a picture of me sharing a message with the community before the distribution (and yes, I am wearing a light hoodie because it was actually cold on Sunday morning...I was so happy!)











We spoke love in words as we shared testimonies and the Sunday morning message. We spoke love as we shared the Good News of God's love and Christ's sacrifice for them. We spoke love through action as we blessed them with this food. And as we served and loved this community, many people took notice of what was happening...and who was doing these things. The village chief commented to us that he was amazed to see this group of young people that came really did care about the village and at the work that Christians do to serve and help.

Please continue to pray for those in the affected areas, especially in this village, as they move forward after this flood. Pray for miraculous provision and crops to flourish in a way that will only be able to be credited to the goodness of God. Pray for those that received the words and actions of love that the Harvesters allowed to be poured through them.

One Year...

December 4, 2010...one year ago today...

That was the day that Cambodia officially became home. I stepped off the plane and it was instant. This wasn't an outreach. This wasn't short term.

This was LIFE.

And during this past year, I have...
...woken up 365 times in a place that I love.
...been challenged and stretched in ways I didn't know were possible...or always think were "necessary."
...been misunderstood a great deal...and done a lot of misunderstanding myself.
...been hot and sweaty.
...learned to look forward to showers with cold water...and rejoice when I get hot water.
...laughed until tears were streaming and my cheeks hurt more times than I can count.
...been unable to answer grammar questions for my English students more than they like.
...accepted helmet hair as a normal thing.
...attended a lot of meetings that I only understand 50% of what happens.
...developed an addiction to iced coffee with sweetened condensed milk.
...painted church buildings.
...waited patiently (and not so patiently too) for the power to come back on.
...killed flies with rubber bands.
...paused for my sentences to be translated when I speak and teach (so I actually feel like I talk less here).
...shared love.
...missed my family and friends.
...prayed...A LOT.
...eaten more rice than I thought I could.
...learned to eat more (and dare I say...like) vegetables.
...been visited by friends from the States.
...struggled through Khmer language lessons to read, write and speak.
...cried.
...seen motos transporting a limitless variety of items including people, chickens, pigs, refrigerators, and bicycles.
...had my heart broken for the things that break God's heart.
...taken LOTS of pictures.
...fed kids in the villages.
...had my calling confirmed time and time again.
...led others into the presence of God.
...followed with a desire to learn.
...helped with rice planting.
...been stared at, talked about, wondered about on pretty much a daily basis.
...squeegeed the flooded floor of my bedroom after a particularly hard rain storm.
...been to the beach 4 times.
...made new friends that bring such joy to my heart.
..."accidentally" climbed a mountain and rocks while wearing flip flops...and have the scars to prove it.
...given in to the temptation and spoken improper, broken English.
...lived well.
...had NO doubt I am supposed to be here in Cambodia.

I could go on and on and on. Suffice it to say, this year has been full. Refining. Rewarding.

And I am looking forward to what this next year (and hopefully many more after that) will hold for me. Thanks to all of you who have prayed, supported and love me to walk out this adventure. You are a part of my testimony.