This month in Cambodia we were at New Hope School, right outside of Battambang, teaching English to the sweetest children. Sweating all day in the heat while playing games, loving on them, singing the alphabet, and teaching them songs like “Jesus loves me” and “Father Abraham.” The vision of this ministry is something truly inspiring and the Father used this placed to teach me new layers of His character in what it means to serve and depend on Him.
If you read the first blog I posted about raising funds for the school then you know a little bit about our host, Sarith, and the vision he has for this school and the children living in his community. Due to living in poverty, most of these children will not get the opportunity to finish their education because by the time they reach high school/middle school age, they are old enough to work and earn more income for their families. In Cambodia, they don’t teach English until high school. So, Sarith’s vision for the children in his community is to provide the opportunity to learn English early to give them a boost in their education efforts, that would hopefully lead to them finding a steady job because they can speak English. A better job, leads to better income, which breaks the cycle of poverty.
Sarith truly has a great love and passion for the children and he desperately wants something better for them, the life the Father wants for them, full of His love and full of life. Sarith knows the heart of the Father and knows that these children were made for so much more. The plan the Father put in place for them does not come from leaving school at age 12 to begin doing construction and hard labor for little pay, to continue to add another link in the chains of poverty. His plan does involve giving them hope and life abundantly, full of His love and a future.
Sarith is not sure where the funding for his dream and the passion the Lord has placed in his heart will come from next month, or the months to follow. But, he is steadfast in his pursuit of the visions the Lord has given him. I want to depend on the Lord like that. My desire is to follow Him no matter the cost, knowing that He will provide. He does not lead where His goodness and love cannot provide. His divine love makes a way for us to follow Him fully, we find our rest and our identity in His love.
The children taught me this month also. I taught the pre-school class in the morning ages 3-5, and I taught ages 6-9 in the afternoon. One morning, while teaching the preschool class, in an attempt to let some energy loose through singing and dancing, I began to teach them “Jesus loves me.” As we sang the words together, and the little ones fumbled through the English, I was suddenly struck with awe through the realization of His love for these kids and for me. Jesus LOVES me. Jesus LOVES them. Jesus LOVES these people. Jesus LOVES this school. It’s something we say all of the time, but the Holy Spirit gave me a new, fresh glimpse of His love in that moment, and He danced with us in that room as we sang about His great love. I’ve been praying that His anointing would rest on the children we were with this month and that they would grow into the men and women He has made them to be, in the fullness of who He says they are.
This whole month, the Lord has been taking me to the end of myself. The end of my knowledge, my words, my understanding, my efforts. He has done a good work in me that He is still uprooting in my heart. The whole year leading up to the race He revealed to me how pride had rooted in my heart and taken me to a place of self-reliance and dependence on myself. As He healed that in my relationship with Him I experienced true freedom for the first time in my life. This month He has revealed to me how He walked me through that in my personal relationship with Him, and now, I can see how He is working in the same place of self-reliance in the relationships in people around me. Do I rely on Him in the words I say to my team mates or do I speak from my own words and knowledge? Do I trust Him to take care of the ministries that we are a part of after we leave? What about in the lives of the children we are surrounded by, does He take care of them or do I hold the key? I want to rely on him fully as He brings me to the end of my human efforts. He is teaching me that when I come to the end of myself and my human efforts, that is when His anointing can fall. As my outstretched hands reach for Him instead of meddling and trying to fix things myself, He is released to bring the fullness of all He has to the relationships in my life and the ministries I will be a part of. He is already here, I don’t have to fix it, I don’t have to know the right words, to know the answers to the problems we see all over the World. He takes care of it and I can find rest in that.
While resting in my hammock one day this month, I had no agenda. I had nothing weighing on my mind, nothing that was worrisome or bothering me. And, as I was just thinking about how nice it was to be in a place of contentment, just swaying in my hammock, I heard the Holy Spirit speak, “This is it, relax with me. You just go with me, let me lead you.” What freedom! I want to continue in this journey with Him, to come to the end of myself in all things, and witness His anointing instead.
This month was one of steady growth as the Lord gently lead me to His heart. I’m excited for what He has in store for Vietnam and all the things that will take place. Vietnam is a closed country meaning that I can’t be there as a “missionary.” We will be in the country as “students”, “tourists”, and “volunteers.” Because of this, I will not be able to make updates on social media about the ministries we are a part of and what we will be doing, since it puts our ministry hosts at risks. I will make generic updates and will fill you all in after we leave Vietnam. Please be praying that Lord makes connections for us to spread the truth and love of His gospel, that we would be aware and sensitive to the Spirit as He moves in Vietnam. I am sure and confident that Father is already moving in Vietnam and I am excited to join Him there, to follow His lead and be His hands and feet as He draws the hearts of His sons and daughters.
Thank you for you prayers, your love, and your encouragement. It is a daily source of strength to help me keep going and keep pressing in the deep places and not stay on the surface. Thank you for joining with me and for being a willing participant in the work that the Father is doing in Asia. Sending you my love from Cambodia!!
-Chelsea
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