Easter weekend in Cambodia: singing, laughter, tears, lots of tears, sleep, and fasting. This month’s ministry has been a much lighter schedule, unlike my past three months, which has been hard to accept. Being a “missionary” over seas can look a lot of different ways and it doesn’t always have to be pouring out to the poor communities. Sometimes the people right in front of your face are your mission, and that’s what this month has become all about.
The last four days have been a ghost town in Phenom Pen. One of the biggest Holiday’s in Cambodia is celebrate April 12-18th, known as Khmer New Year. Basically everyone goes home to their providence to celebrate and be with family, including our ministry host and students. So that left six girls with not a lot to do the last week.
This weekend, we fasted all Good Friday, did a three day bible study on Jesus’s road to the cross. Enjoyed a whole day at the pool, eating, dancing and listening to old school rock. (Basically being Americans). Slept in-way longer than normal, watched the Passion, and went to a very short church service.
One would think that being in Asia on a mission trip, I’d be in the foothills of Cambodia preaching the gospel and loving on orphans while celebrating my saviors resurrection. Not even close.
Honestly, there was anxiety and guilt that hovered over me yesterday and this morning as I flipped through Instagram and responded to texts, thinking I was a terrible “World Racer” for not have done much ministry in Cambodia.
Monday night the Lord revealed his words and his purpose for us going forward this month. Don’t underestimate one another. Don’t overlook the hurting faces right next to you.
We had been talking about washing each other’s feet for a while so we finally sat down and did it. We prayed for one another, washed each other’s feet followed by communion with grape juice and banana bread.
The Lord showed us what loving one another looks like and how important the faces we see on a daily basis are.
Something shifted in our hearts. We ended the night in a circle sharing the deepest darkest parts of us and the struggles some of us have been drowning in. The tears, the “me too, you’re not alone” followed by long hugs and hand holds is what community is all about.
That’s what the World Race is all about, better yet that’s what being a believer, living in Community is all about. The raw vulnerable tear -jerking moments of trusting others to see the ugly parts of our soul, is what this year is all about.
if there is one thing I underestimated going into the Race it was community living. How the Lord was going to break me to my core with my teams and show me just how important it is to choose Him daily. From the words of John Piper, “You don’t know Jesus if you only give him two minutes of your time a day.”
My team and I laugh and joke about how much our living situation is like marriage with the moto, “you can’t run and you can’t hide”. They are the first faces i see in the morning and last good nights I hear.
My girl KK said it best:
“We have been through a lot of hardship, desiring to love each other like Christ commands us to, but keep running into our own selfishness. We have had a lot of hard conversations, but also late night dance parties with nothing but laughter. We all desire to pursue God and walk in freedom He died for, so we continue to push each other in that direction, with much Grace, patience, kindness, and forgiveness.”
Thanks for staying with me through this post, my thoughts are a bit all over the place. 😉
please be praying for my team and squad as we are a quater of the Race done! Prayers for protection and nurishmemt of our minds to be soaked in truth from the Lord.
Love,
J
