On Sunday the 16th my team and I traveled from Phnom Penh to Kampong Cham where we started our ministry for the month. We spent a week in Siem Reap with our whole squad getting to create our norms and establishing how we want to look as the first all women’s World Race squad. We also did prayer walks and street ministry in our time there. It was a nice transition from home life to life on the field, but my whole team was beyond excited to get on our own and dive head first into life in Kampong Cham.
Let me start by recapping the last 36 hours:
Sunday October 16
- My team and I had a 3ish hour bus ride from Phnom Penh to Kampong Cham that left at 12:45. You had to board by 12:30 to be able to leave and according to the tuk tuk drivers the bus station was 15 minutes away from where we were staying. Fifteen minutes in Asia can actually mean 2 hours and we left at 11:55. So you already know the logistical leader in me was quickly freaking out.
- At our first pit stop about 1.5 hours in, I had to go to the bathroom. I knew it was going to be a squatty potty, I was fine, I went in prepared. I cannot fully recap the events because it all happened so fast. But one second my glasses slipped down my nose, I couldn’t see, my foot slipped, and the next thing I know I peed on my foot and the bottom of my jeans. Life- am I right. An hour and a half left on the bus and I wiped of with a baby wipe, laughed it off and got back on the bus.
- We get to our hosts house (they’re great people) and they take us on a tour of the city and then out to dinner at their favorite restaurant, Home Café. Everything on the menu looks good so I decided to venture out. I accidentally ordered tripe. This is in italics because if you don’t know what it is you need to look it up.
- After dinner we get back to our house, Madeline’s bag is infested with ants.
Monday October 17
- We started our children’s ministry in a nearby village at 8:00, and to sum it up in one word my whole team would choose hard.
- For almost 4 hours we all had about 6 kids on us at once and language barriers were very high.
- I held an adorable baby who just happened to cover me in pee – two days in a row, I’m on fire.
- And to top off the day- my team has lice.
Now, I am not writing this blog to highlight all of the bad. It’s not to bring light to all the negative things. I think this really shows the reality of a life of ministry. Not just on the race, but our daily lives as Christians. Our daily lives of picking up our cross and following Christ. It is hard. There are obstacles we have to over come, trials we have to face, and honestly some days (or a couple) we might get covered in pee.
The Lord and I have really been talking about what this next nine months is going to look like for me. I’ve struggled with abusing social media and only highlighting the adventures, just showing the easy pretty stuff that I know will get views and likes. But I was not created for that, I was created to be in communion with our God and to share His love and bring glory to Him wherever I go.
So yes, we almost missed our bus, but my team got to speak life into me and encourage my logistical point of view but also bring me back to Christ and tell me to cast my anxieties on Him. Yes, I peed on my foot, but we got to laugh together and soak in the reality of squatty potties. Yes, I ordered tripe, but this year’s all about saying ‘yes’ – right? Yes, ants invaded our bedroom, but we used deet and got creative and laughed and joked while it happened. Yes, ministry was hard, it was overwhelming, but I saw Christ in the way those kids smiled, I heard it in their laugh, and I was pushed. Yes, a baby covered me in pee, but you know what- I got to hold him and love him and I prayed the whole time he was in my arms. And, yes, my team has lice- but what better way to bond then combing each others hair every night.
Life is hard. Ministry is hard. It all may not sound or look ‘pretty’, but it is beautiful and perfect because it is all being done for Him and with Him.
