Sorry Friends & Family for the late post on this one! I didn’t have WiFi in Ethiopia and I forgot to post this blog and the one on Vietnam. I can’t wait to fill you in on all that the Lord has been doing. I love sharing my experiences to the most detail extent possible because it helps me keep the memories alive, thus I wanted to share the third ministry I had in Cambodia; Outreach.
Outreach in Cambodia always felt like an adventure! We were able to go to the slums to hang out with children, preach the gospel and do some ATL. ATL is a term we use for ASK THE LORD. Our teams sometimes felt led to do what God was putting in our hearts for the day. This would look different every day; one day we would be praying people, another day we were sharing the gospel and other days it was playing with children in slums.
One day our translator said let’s just walk around and talk to strangers. We left the slums and met a friend of hers that was in college on a bridge. We also met two young men that were taking pictures of each other for their Facebook. Our translator asked us to share the gospel with all three so we did! Mikayla worded it so perfectly and I felt prompted to ask if they would accept Jesus in their hearts. They freaked out and said no. I asked what would it take for them to believe in Jesus. They didn’t say anything. By then, I knew most people in Cambodia won’t accept Jesus without a dream or a vision; they need a sign because it’s not easy to leave their traditions. I asked them if I could pray for them so that God would show up in a vision or a dream. If He did, then they would believe He is their God. They said YES! We prayed for them and gave them our translators information so they could follow up with her. I am reminded about the Bible verse that says “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father” in John 14:12. I’ve learned that God can show up if we are just willing to pray for a miracle.
Earlier that week we were invited to the Governor’s House, a historical museum, where tourists weren’t allowed inside it. How did we get in? God’s favor & just by asking! We were able to share the gospel, give out our info to strangers about our blogs and dance in the Governor’s house while praising Jesus. It sounds surreal when I talk about it. I posted some videos on my social media and the afterthought hit me. I have become one of those people that is foolish for God. I don’t care to be dancing in public to glorify His name. I don’t mind talking to strangers about the God I serve. Maybe I have become “crazy” but I am finally in a relationship with the Creator of the universe. I am in LOVE. Isn’t that what you do? Isn’t that what happens when you’re in love. You show off the crazy and fun moments? I am thankful for these moments of ministry that our spontaneous.
On our last day of Outreach we were able to work with children that lived in the slums. They received balloons from our team; animals, swords and flowers. We sometimes taught them stories about the Bible. Most children knew the stories because previous teams had gone to the area. It was so evident that God was already working in this community. Also, a nearby church comes to pick up children on Sunday to take them to church. The parents weren’t Christian but they enjoyed us putting a show for them. Sometimes this included my Team Leader telling the story and I would reenact it in the background. Other times we would play with the children and buy them cookies. Each day it looked different. I was reminded of the Bible verse in Matthew 19:14 “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
Other ministries for our teams included cooking, teaching English (in schools and outside of schools for children that can’t afford it), café ministries, remodeling schools, and empowering women that were at risk or sex trafficked victims. Overall it was a busy month with lots of Kingdom work. I am reminded that this is impossible without your support.
Thanks so much for your financial support, prayers and love. There is impact on people because of your outpour of love. I don’t take for granted being here in the mission field. Everyday I wake up thankful for this opportunity and work hard out of the overflow of God’s love in my life. I strongly believe we are of impact in these communities with the work we do. Even if it’s for a short period of time that we get to come alongside these ministries. Thank you for being the hands of Jesus and letting me be His feet.
“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ…Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”
1 Corinthians 12:12-27
