How is our time in Vietnam already over? Vietnam has been so full of wonderful rest, sweet conversation, and trying new things (vlogging, strange fruits, octopus…). One of the biggest lessons G0D taught me here in Vietnam is the importance of choosing the good things, even when the good things are also the hard things. G0D put me in a lot of situations this month where I had the opportunity (because G0D never forces us into any of it) to choose the good. I had to choose to invest in my team even though we worked long hours and were tired by the time we all got home; I had to choose to dig into the conversations at the coffee shop even though we interacted with some… interesting people; I had to choose to prioritize me relationship and time with the L0RD, even though it meant getting up even earlier and not being able to stay up as late. I messed up more times than not, but I’m so thankful for the grace extended because of the Cross and the knowledge that I can get up each day and try again.
In about 12 hours, we will be traveling to beautiful Cambodia. As you pray, please continue to pray for incredible success for the coffee shop with which we were working and for another couple to step in and commit to serving alongside our hosts, for conversations at the coffee shop to naturally and easily move towards talking about the L0RD and for a surge of opportunities to share the W0RD of the L0RD, and for unity, vulnerability, and increased connection throughout Team Themelios.
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Throughout Month 3 of our Race, we will be working with New Light Church in Phnom Penh. The vision of New Light Church is to change the way the surrounding community and the younger generation knows J3SUS as their SAV10R, as well as help the community and younger generation build a foundation in the L0RD that will stay strong throughout the rest of their lives. Each weekday morning, our team will teach preschool, and each evening, our team will teach English. On the weekends, we will do worship with the youth group in the mornings and participate in soccer outreach in the afternoons.
According to The Joshua Project, only about 3% of the people in Cambodia have a relationship with G0D and profess Christianity, and out of the 42 people groups in the country, 31 (about 71%) are unreached (1). While the church in Cambodia is growing, it is growing slowly due to many years of religious hostility and persecution that took place throughout the past 40 years. Cambodia’s tourism industry “has continued to grow rapidly, [but], nevertheless, [Cambodia] remains one of the poorest countries in Asia and long-term economic development remains a daunting challenge, inhibited by endemic corruption, limited educational opportunities, high income inequality, and poor job prospects… Approximately 4 million people live on less than $1.25 per day, and 37% of Cambodian children under the age of 5 suffer from chronic malnutrition. More than 50% of the population is less than 25 years old. The population lacks education and productive skills, particularly in the impoverished countryside, which also lacks basic infrastructure” (2).
Genocide also ravaged the country under the Khmer Rouge Regime of the 1970’s; Historians estimate that “between 1.7 and 2 million Cambodians died during the 4 year reign of the Khmer Rouge, [which was] extremely brutal. The regime generally singled out doctors, teachers, monks, journalists, the rich, artists, anyone with an education, and ethnic or religious minorities. But they also executed people who could no longer work, those perceived to be in opposition to the party (whether or not this was true), as well as the families of those were deemed undesirable so that they could not be chased down for revenge. Unlike in other genocides or conflicts, no one was immune from being branded an enemy of the state. Even if one was considered to be on the right side, that could change the next day – many Khmer Rouge members were also killed during purges. Children and babies were not exempt from their cruelty; it was often noted to stop the weeds you must also pull up their roots” (3).
Please pray for us as we prepare to enter this country full of poverty, heartbreak, and sadness; pray that we would be able to share the all-consuming love of the L0RD and the assurance that H1S strength is made perfect in the midst of our weakness and lack.
For more information about Christianity and/or genocide in Cambodia, please see the articles I quoted from below:
(1) https://joshuaproject.net/countries/CB
(2) https://omf.org/asia/cambodia/cambodia-profile/
(3) http://endgenocide.org/learn/past-genocides/the-cambodian-genocide/
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As I get ready to leave Vietnam and journey to Cambodia, there are a few final things I would like to share with you:
-Thanks to you all, I am officially FULLY FUNDED! Thank you so much for all you did to get me to this point. I feel so blessed by your generosity and obedience to the L0RD’s calling. Thank you!!!
-If you haven’t already, consider subscribing to my blog! It’s easy; all you have to do is click on the orange “Subscribe for Updates” button directly under my picture and enter your e-mail! This will ensure that you get updates sent directly to your e-mail in case you ever miss a Facebook update.
-One of the blogs I hope to post in Cambodia is a Q&A blog! If you’ve ever been curious as to what life looks like on the World Race, from anything to how we do laundry to the weirdest thing I’ve eaten, please submit your questions in the comments section of this or any of my previous blogs, and I’ll answer them from Cambodia!
-One of the things that Adventures in Missions encourages Race participants to do while on the Race is enter into abandonment of the things while have previously given us comfort and identity. Like many others, one of those things for me is connection back home. Let me explain; connecting with friends and family at home is not a bad thing. In fact, I place a very high priority on communicating, and communicating well. But after some hard moments of looking at my heart this past month, I’ve decided that I need to cut back on my internet use this next month. With the help of my team, I’ll be connecting to Wi-Fi to post blogs, answer Facebook messages, etc. once a week. I just wanted to let you all know so that no one gets nervous or thinks I died if I don’t respond as quickly as I have in the past. But please, continue to reach out, send up updates from home, snapchats, memes, gifs, and all the other wonderful things! I am not suggesting that I want to cut people out of my life; I simply want to communicate in a way that prioritizes quality over quantity.
-All that being said, if you need to get a hold of me quickly, please e-mail me or send me a message via GroupMe. If you need information regarding how to get in touch with me through one of these channels, please let me know!
