CHANGE, CHANGE, CHANGE. SEASONS, SEASONS, SEASONS.
- Change from Team Komboa to Squad Leading
- Change from Philippines to Cambodia
- Change from KIM Ministry to 7 different Cambodian ministries
I have
absolutely realized in a new way that I miss my Team Komboa. 5 great
girls, and my buddy David Shaw. We laughed, cried, sang, prayed,
slept, traveled, healed, rejoiced, and loved together. We’ve slept in
bathrooms together. Traveled on planes, jeepney’s, troopy’s, trikes,
vans, and cars together. We almost hit kangaroos, we had many timtam
slams, got lost in the aussie outback jungle together, bowled between
our legs, heard each others life testimonies, cried about missing our
families, and about healing from family and friend wounds….there’s so
much we experienced together. We all grew through struggles we went
through. We fought together, always kindly :), apologized, and grew
closer because of it. I don’t think any of us realize the deep bond
that we do have with each other. In years to come we will realize it, I’m sure.
For the rest of our lives we’ll be able to visit, email, call, and
share many life joys with each other, simply because we spent three of
the most impactful, hard, and joyous months of our lives together.
Team Komboa, this change is hard, I’m going to miss you.
Team Komboa. 3 months of smiles, tears, and love.
But a change, a new season, has come upon us all…
We fill up planes, buses, and tuk tuk’s. M Squad!
I’m
excited, but also nervous to step into this new role as Squad Leader.
The Lord has prepared me to walk in this role, not because the role is
important, but because the people to whom I will serve are important.
I am stepping into using more wisdom, more teaching, and more
encouragement, all wrapped in God’s love, for the other 51 m squad
racers. A new season has come, a new time, let’s see what happens, ya?
The Philippines
flew by too quickly. There’s so many blogs that I could write about my
experiences there. I would promise to share those with you, but the
reality of this race being a whirlwind, actually prevents me from
writing these blogs. I will share with you right now two things. 1)
The orphanage where I served brought so many joys and hardships. The
hard part, being a person in their lives that came and went. Isn’t
that what orphans unfortunately have to go through? Then why was I too
one of those people? I don’t want to be and I don’t know why. Only God knows. But I do know
this, the time I spent with my 30 new friends was in God’s love. I
hugged them, played many games of basketball, monopoly, twister, jump
rope, and chase. I read the Golden Books, Clifford, and Bible
stories. I helped serve them food, feed them vitamins, and resolved
many many fights between them. I observed how they love each other,
how they look out for each other. I forever will love them. 2) I met
an awesome man named Errol. He is around my age, and needs good
Christian friends, but those are harder to find where he lives. He
chooses to live passionately for Christ despite his lonliness. He
leads the young people on mission trips to provinces in his own
country, he works as the P.E. teacher, and disciples these young boys
and girls, he also finds scraps for his family pigs, which bring his
family income so they can eat and drink and live. He smiles all the
time. He has the joy of the Lord in him. We had several talks. We
bonded. And I miss him already. He’s a lifelong friend.
But a change, a new season, has come…
I’m
now in Cambodia. I will now head out tomorrow morning to go to 5
different provinces in Cambodia. I will go to encourage, challenge,
and live with 6 different M Squad teams. I will travel all month. I
will see much of the country. I will continue relationships, start new
ones, and I’m pretty sure have to say goodbye many more times to
Cambodian’s I will meet whom I will become friends with. My heart
breaks for this country. Why? The average daily wage for people here
where I’m living for this day in Phnom Penh is $1/day. $1/day! Astounding isn’t it? More
than 50% of the population are young people. Millions of their parents
and grandparents were killed by the Khmer Rouge. Have you heard?
Please read more on it. This country is a country of children, of
youth. And guess what? This country is Budhist. Not jesus
followers. These youth are lost. My heart breaks. They live hardly
making money, the women are sex trafficked, the men are struggling to
provide, the kids are hungry and sick. And I’ve only been here 4
days. Change, so much change. This mission is a whirlwind of change.
But I won’t change a thing.
I will accept the
new season of squad leading, of moving to Cambodia, and of opening my
heart in new ways to new people and to new experiences.
Along the way I hope to involve you as best I can to this whirlwind.
I
still want to tell you about amazing Roger Latham in Australia, his
music ministry. About Vivienne and Bron, two amazing missionary women
we served with. About how I prayed for healing of legs, of stomach
aches, of blind eyes, of evil spirits in a child. How I’ve seen God
heal physical ailments. About personal hurts and healing my team has gone through. About so much. I want to share with you so
much, show you pictures, and create videos, but I can’t do it all. What
I can do, is every day spend time with the Lord. Sit and listen to
Filipinos, Cambodians, or Teammates. Encourage a friend. Wash dishes,
clean bathrooms, preach, pray as I travel, and on and on and on. I’m learning how to prioritize on this mission. I will make loving God, loving my neighbors in each country, and loving my squad the top three priorities. I pray you are able to be drawn into this experience going forward through the blogs I share.
But for now…
I
hope this blog helps paint a vivid picture of where I was at, where I
am at, and where I am going, externally and internally. More will
come. All I know is,
This race is a WHIRLWIND…of changes, of seasons.
“Let Love and Faithfulness never leave you, noe, and blog readers. Bind them around your neck. Write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will favor and a good name in the sight of God and men.”
Lia Huy
goodbye in cambodian
