I’m Emily Werness and my last update had me in Phnom Penh, but now, I am just outside of Sisophon (SIS-AH-POWN), staying at New Life Church in Mongkolborey with my team, Burning Joy! I do apologize in advance as this blog is going to be more long-winded than usual, but please bear with me.
It was a LONG few days of travel complete with 4 flights, an 11 hour layover in LA, a 6 hour layover in China, a night at a hostel in the capital, and a 6 hour taxi ride to our final destination. Overall, it was about 70.5 hours of travel from when we left Atlanta to arriving at our ministry site here in Mongkolborey. WHEW.
Below is a glimpse into the weary and travel-laden minds of my teammate Caitlin and I right before we boarded plane #3 to China:
This is just the first of several VLOGS (video blogs) I will be posting to capture what’s happening on the Race and provide a glimpse of how God is moving and working.
It’s hard to believe we have only been at our ministry site for five days! So much has been going on! Our contact’s name is Dara and he is AMAZING. There is a bit of a language barrier, but we make it work. He has us staying at three different churches while we are here in Cambodia, the first of which is here in Mongkolborey. Ministry looks different day to day and even hour to hour here. We go with the flow and play it by ear based on what Dara and the Pastor of New Life work out and what would be most beneficial to the community.
The church we are staying at – we live upstairs in our tents
So far we have:
-Gone out into the villages meeting people
-Visited families of the youth who stay at the church
-Sang and shared during Sunday service
-Seen where Dara works and heard more about his vision for the Church in Cambodia (more about that later guys)
-Gone to a night market
-Led a Kids Club in a nearby village
-Taught children in the community about hygiene and introduced some classic fun games like Red Light Green Light, Duck Duck Goose (it’s actually grey duck), tag, and musical chairs (The lovely voices of Martha and myself served as the stereo and yes, we sang some Frozen and Disney!)
-Learned the basic hello, goodbye, and thank you in Khmer (COO-MY) (the language in Cambodia) and struggled to learn a lot of other words….
-Eaten a lot! We have been blessed to have three meals prepared for us each day, mostly to the tune of a rice, meat, and vegetable combination of some sort with fruit for dessert. DELICIOUS.
But, throughout all of these long days, there is a common thread I see as to why we are here: to do life with these people and build relationships with the youth here at the church. They are some of the most thoughtful and servant-hearted people I have ever met. They are teaching me about love through action. There is a language barrier to a certain point, but their actions break right through and show me one thing: LOVE.
Four ways they have shown me what love looks like:
- Several times we have been standing around just hanging out with the youth under the shade of some trees jamming to some Justin Bieber, One Direction, or worship music. Then, out of nowhere comes one of the boys with a stack of chairs heaved over his shoulder. He sets them down and places them all in a circle and urges us, “Sit! Sit!”
- After almost every tuk tuk ride (big open cart-like vehicle we use to get around) and visit to the village and different families, after dinner, or just in the middle of the day standing in the heat of the Cambodian sun several of the boys look at us very seriously and ask “Are you happy?” They are always looking out for us to make sure we are taken care of. It’s so sweet!
- As we were leaving one home, we encountered a little spat with a man who may have been a little drunk, pointing at us and forcefully speaking in Kumai. One of the boys, Meng, got off the tuk tuk and stood between the man and us – an act of protection. We were struggling to follow what was happening and one of the men we had just visited hesitated and a look of deep concentration and thought crossed his face before he said with a smile, “He wishes you well on your journey!” Sparing us the details of what was actually being said.
- One morning we ventured to a local café/restaurant for breakfast and ate noodles and meat. Yep, for breakfast. (Gotta get that protein in there!) Also served with that meal were these deep fried dough-like pastries that we dipped in sugar and ate up like it was lemon fluff at Christmas time! Ashley named them Benyes. This morning at breakfast, we sat down and with big smiles they plopped down two giant bags of the Benyes. They pay attention to the details.
I see Christ in these people and especially the youth! Not only in their servant love, but they worship and pray with such passion for the Lord that their desire to serve him is a bold statement rather than a nice thought. Music broke our initial awkward language barrier – J Biebs and then praising the Lord together and even breaking out the soccer ball for a game. In these short few days I feel we have become friends with them – but it is deeper than that – we are family in Christ. We are here to love them and do life with them. One moment that confirmed this for me is one of the sweetest moments I have had so far in Cambodia – riding on the back of a moto with one of the boys, named Sunday, on our way to a village to lead a Kids Club. We just exchanged simple questions and answers with each other, laughing and getting to know one another as the cool breeze whipped our hair and the beautiful green rice fields and dirt roads of Cambodia passed us by. God is good.
Sunday and me before our ride
I’m Emily Werness and it is just so lovely to fall asleep to the sound of squeaking/howling/screeching lizards….Lord God, only in Cambodia 🙂
