I'm sitting here in my tent that I have set up inside the house we are staying at this month in Cambodia, because I have found that my tent works much better than a mosquito net at keeping out the bugs.
Even when I sit here in the dark, because the generator only runs for a few hours a day. Did I mention this would by far be the hottest January I have ever experienced in my life? (Think of Texas summer with no electricity or running water and you can get a feel for what the past few weeks have felt like)
Even when I would love nothing more than to have an actual shower, instead of pouring a bucket of cold water over my head and calling that a bath.
Even when my clothes never seem to smell clean even after being washed, because I haven't quite mastered the art of washing my clothes by hand.
Even when all I want to is be sit by myself in my room, instead of sharing a two room house with a bathroom that is located across the street that I share with fourteen other people.
Even when I am eating white rice and some-kind of meat/vegetable mix yet again, and all I want is a hamburger, a fresh green salad, or really anything else.
Even when I'm already sweating and it is only 8:30am.
Even when my sleeping pad leaks and 10 minutes after laying down on it there is less than an inch of foam separating me from the concrete floor.
Through all of this I can't stop thanking God for the opportunity to be here, because with every small annoyance that I could list, I realize how blessed and honestly spoiled I've been my whole life.
For many around the world I am seeing more and more that these things, the lack of consistent electricity or running water is much more than an annoyance, but is the reality of their every day life.
So far I've had an amazing few weeks in Cambodia, staying here in Speu Chom, a small village less than an hour outside of the Capital city of Phenom Pehn. My team and I are working with a YWAM contact here, and the ministry has focused on teaching some English classes to the local children in the village, and going to a local school playing soccer and simply hanging out with the kids during their break time.
We are also working with an orphanage in the area, one of the things I really like about the Garden of Joy as it is called is that it has a small farm on it, with chickens, pigs, various vegetables, and a fish pond. They have a really awesome set up with a natural gas system that works off of the waste from the pigs, a solar panel system that is used to operate the water pumps they have, and all the food is used to either feed the children or to sell to local vendors to raise money for the orphanage.
