Team Teléo has been in Siem Reap for almost two weeks now, and we are loving it. I love the Cambodian people, the beautiful scenery, teaching English, my team, and finding Jesus in new ways. I might’ve written this before, but the colors just seem more vibrant here. I can’t quite put it into words and certainly photos don’t do it justice, but I have trouble not staring at the city, the rice fields, and the sunsets. Quite simply, it’s beautiful.
Last week, we started teaching English at the Mustard Seed School, and it was certainly intimidating. I am a teacher by nature and have taught public school for five years, but I was a math teacher. Yes, I speak English, but I am not a trained English teacher. I was so scared the first day, trying to introduce these students to new words, not sure exactly how much they were understanding. It turned out to be an amazing experience though. One of my teammates, Acacia, and I worked together to teach a class about transportation and weather words. The children were super receptive, excited, and seemed to be learning. It was a beautiful experience, and it reminded me of God’s faithfulness. Despite my fear and trepidation, He gave us words, ideas, and boldness. We bravely taught the lesson and had a blast during the process.
Despite how amazing teaching English has been, my team has decided that our ministry doesn’t stop in the classroom. Doing God’s work isn’t an assignment or a 9-5 job; it’s a lifestyle. I have watched girls on my team start relationships with those that come to serve us and others they met at the market. It would be easy to say, “we are here to teach English” and call it a day after that, but God’s love is so much bigger. He lets us find ourselves in amazing places like Cambodia where we meet a pastor and his family and a team of English teachers doing big things. We get to love on them by throwing surprise parties, hiring family members as tuk tuk drivers, and pouring out encouragement on them. Being a believer is not easy anywhere, but in a place where you are in such a minority has to be difficult. I am so grateful that God has made us all family, despite where we grew up or our nationality. These girls have been an inspiration to me, and I am so blessed that my ministry isn’t only to the kids, but also to this group of women.
Really, my ministry is to spread the love of Jesus to everyone I meet. I want everyone to know the love that I have experienced. If I only show up during my assigned ministry times, I am certain that I will miss out on so many other beautiful moments of sharing Jesus with others. So everyone reading this, the teacher in me is going to give you an assignment today. Don’t just stop loving people and doing good because it’s not Christmas when you buy an Angel tree child some gifts or because you aren’t in a developing country seeing poverty everyday. Love people. Serve people. Live. It’s amazing what’s beyond our daily assignments.
