Once in a lifetime; my experiences, the opportunities I have had. I realized what I saw today some people may never see in their lifetime, so I count it a privilege. We arrived in Cambodia and I knew I would leave a piece of my heart here. Today, just a few days in, it was confirmed.
42 village; one village, one of thousands that exist here in Cambodia. A place I never would have gone to or known about in my entire life, a place people wish didn’t exist, but it does. A place where children run naked, if they have clothes they are dirty and ripped. Their faces are dirty and full of mucus. Their bodies are all scraped up without cleaned wounds or band-aids. Kids take care of kids and parents seem to be MIA for the most part. The facts are that these kids may not even get to go to school, because money won’t allow, or parents don’t care enough to get them educated. Pens, crayons and notebooks are hard to come by. This is their life, maybe all they will ever know.
The prettiest little girl greeted me as we walked up, probably five years old. Her smile won me over right away and she clung to me for the first twenty minutes. We don’t speak the same language, or have the same color of skin; our lives are worlds apart, our up bringing completely different. I don’t understand, and it doesn’t seem right or fair, but reality is Jesus loves these people and so do I. I don’t know how loving strangers can seem so natural, but love overwhelmed me.
Are we willing to get dirty to love people? Is love comfortable? Is it easy? Are we willing to do the things that don’t make sense to a majority of the population? Are we willing to love the unlovely? The facts are that I may get lice, or get peed on; I come home with dirt on my clothes and sweat on my face but really who cares. The eyes I looked into, the smiles I saw today will have a lasting impact on me. The babies I held were more precious than anything. To be climbed and tugged on is all worth it. To hold dirty hands, and kiss dirty faces fills my heart with joy. Today was real life. Today was a cold hard slap of reality with the living conditions people live in around the world.
Today was one of the hardest things to see so far on the race, yet it felt so right to be there, like it was always meant to be. I knew without a doubt that the Lord had me exactly where He wanted me to show me what I needed to see so that I couldn't walk away unchanged or unaffected.
