So many people are jealous of me right now.
They see my life as this glamorous affair, where I wake up in the morning and have sweet times with the Lord, then I spend my day loving on children who may otherwise be neglected, abused, or trafficked. At the end of the day I pick up some street food and then spend my evenings in fun fellowship with the group of people serving as my family in this season.
Get a grip.
This life is anything but glamorous- it’s real in a blood and dirt kind of way, not in a “I’m a cute little missionary who knows how to rock chacos and ponytails like a pro.”
My mornings start too early, usually just before 6. I drag my sorry butt out of bed and into the hallway, where Rachael and I do a DVD workout in the predawn heat wave. Following a quick shower, I swallow a peanut butter sandwich, grab my Bible, and meet my team for a quick planning meeting (we’re talking maybe 30 seconds) and then hurried prayers, then we march out the door down to the church.
Some mornings Allison, Andrea, Elaina, Rachael and I stop for iced coffee. At 2,000 riel (or 50 cents) I can’t complain that it’s really just instant coffee and sweetened condensed milk. 😉
Morning lessons start at 8 and are usually slow and bumpy, occasionally followed by team worship. Then we head back for lunch (hello, peanut butter sandwich) and return for afternoon camp, where I teach dance (video coming soon). As soon as these lessons are over, we race home to quickly shower and change for the more formal evening lessons, barely making it back on time.
Each person has their own personal contributions here. Daniel sits with the guys and helps them, Rachael leads the intro class, I’m in charge of grammar lessons and Elaina provides excellent comic relief. Dave and Andrea are readers and classroom monitors, and Allison has been painting the downstairs room.
By 7:30 we’re finished, and we make the journey up the hill and down the street to our ‘guest house’ for the last time, sometimes stopping for street noodles or ramen at the ‘convenience store’ for dinner, otherwise its- you guessed it- peanut butter sandwiches. Part of the Race includes nightly team times, so we all pile into Andrea and Rachael’s room for a debrief- these usually go from 8:30-10, which, as some of you may have heard, is this month’s missionary midnight.
Is it glamorous? No. We’re squished in rooms with a bed and our stuff strewn across the floor, living out of backpacks yet another month, unable to properly wash our clothes and trying to ignore the fact that as every hot day passes we reek just a little more than the day before.
Is it easy? No. Teaching for 6 hours a day is draining, and then adding building and maintaining a healthy community on top of that while we’re living in 90+ degree temperatures with our main diet staple being PB&J is exhausting.
Is it fun? There are definitely moments when I want nothing more than an escape, but those moments are surrounded by laughter as we teach kids about “abbrevs” and try to explain the American obsession with candy.
Is it worth it? Absolutely. Standing in the back of the room watching a group of teenagers dance their heart out before the Lord is worth the sweat pouring out of every pore in my body. Hearing a young man pray for the first time (and in English!) makes the early mornings a distant memory. Knowing that these three weeks are providing a bit of relief for the missionaries who have dedicated their lives to this neighborhood in Phnom Penh cancels out every moment of claustrophobia in a room surrounded by mess and people.
This is life here in Cambodia: real, messy, joyful life.
It’s hard and it’s fun and it’s temporary. Tuesday morning we ship off to Australia, where we get to start the whole thing over again.
