The other day I was crammed in the back of a truck with 9 other people. We were headed to a church that sits in a little village town in the bush of Cambodia. The drive reminded me of my time in Africa. There were little children running alongside the truck waving, horrible pot holes and red dirt roads. Although here they have rice fields, bamboo huts and houses that sit on stilts. We were half way to the church when it started to down pour. It rained so hard that our driver pulled over for us to take cover under a hut.
As we were sitting on a bench made out of sticks I had this sudden urge to go play in the rain. There was something about the gray skies, thunder and water falling from the sky that seemed to invite me into the storm. So after a few minutes of innocent persuasion I convinced my friend Carly to go with play with me.
I wanted to dance. I wanted to sing. I wanted to twirl. I wanted to laugh. I wanted to run.
And at one point I realized I was doing just that.
Dancing, singing, laughing, twirling and running in the rain in the middle of nowhere. I was embracing the storm. I didn't care about tomorrow. I was in the moment. I saw the adventure that the storm could bring and went for it. I was facing the rain clouds with childlike joy and innocence.
So much of my life I have run from things. Run from fears. Run from failures. Run from pain, questions, and dreams. I like that I'm learning not to run anymore. I like that Jesus is teaching me how to rest despite my circumstances. I like that I'm finding peace and joy in the midst of a storm. I like that I get to be a little girl that plays, runs, dances, sings, and laughs in the arms of my Daddy, un-afraid of the storm.
After an hour of playing, the rain eventually slowed down. And we hopped back into the truck to make our way further into the heart of the bush and stopped in front of the little church. There were about a hundred Cambodian children and adults waiting for us with grins on their faces.
For the next couple hours we got to minister to these local village people. We told them how Jesus had sent us from America to tell them how much He loved them. We prayed for the sick, gave a talk on prayer and hearing God’s voice and performed a skit about Daniel and the Lion’s Den to 75 children.
It was a beautiful. I got to experience the beauty of a storm and share Jesus. On the way home I was just thinking how crazy it is that I am traveling the world with Jesus. The people were so thankful that they gave us about 25 coconuts as a way to bless us on our jouney. I will never forget that day.
Here are a few pictures that captured those memories. Photo credits: AJ Levan.
