I apologize once again that I have taken the whole month to get this update to you! But Month 2 has flown by, how the heck is it November when its still over 90 degrees here?
Coming back from debrief in Siem Reap, I returned to our house in Battambang expecting nothing to be different, but with half as many people living here it was a completely new adjustment and despite struggling with the sheer number of people during month one, I quickly found myself missing the other half of my crazy, loud, God centered family and the quietness felt so foreign to me. But this past month has turned out to be such a blessing and having a little extra space while still having a large circle of racers around me has been such a sweet time. I really feel like I’ve had a chance to connect to every member of this family but I’ve also had so much time to spend with just me and the Father. So many nights this month I have spent laying on the roof, star gazing and just sitting in His presence, letting the night’s warm breezes rush over me.
Last month God was teaching me so much about community and how to actually function as an introvert amongst so much madness. He had me step out in vulnerability so many times with my team mates and I think that I have started this race off with such a tightly knit team of sisters by my side. But this month, God has been teaching me so much about intimacy with Him and how to just sit in his presence and listen.
Ministry has looked completely different than month one. While the first month was spent shopping for vegetables in the market and sweating while scrambling 120 eggs, month 2 and 3 I spend my mornings working at a trauma hospital. Some mornings we play games and sing with caregivers and patients waiting to be treated and some mornings we make homemade cards that get sold and the proceeds fund the activities program for the hospital. Month 2, in the afternoons I taught at Ezra School which our ministry host runs. We had 2 all girl classes and we had so much freedom to not only teach them English but to really dive into God’s word with them. We spent all of last week teaching on Psalm 139 and it was such an amazing experience to get to teach these daughters of the King how known and loved they are by their creator. It was so hard to say goodbye to each of my students on Friday but I was so blessed by my time with them.
This week I started at a new school in the afternoons, its a Buddhist school and I’ve definitely been struggling with not being able to directly teach the kids about the Father but I know that all I need to do is love the kids and just give them the best learning environment that I can. After 2 hours in a preschool class, I hop into the pool(fully clothed) and teach an hour long swim class. This is my absolute favorite part of my day and probably my favorite ministry I’ve had yet. It’s just me and about 15-20 elementary school aged kids everyday(don’t worry the pool is 4 feet deep, no one is drowning on my watch). I just get to laugh and have fun with them and help them build confidence in the water and It’s just the best time. How awesome is my Heavenly Father that He is allowing me to spend time with and love on His children while teaching them something that I love so much! He knew how much I was missing swimming everyday and He totally blessed me this month with a ministry made just for me! I can’t wait to tell you all about the awesome things that He does in our last month here in Cambodia!
Peace out,
Alyssa
Prayer Requests
-better nights of sleep for the squad
-healing and comfort for all of the hospital patients
-intentional time with Jesus even when our days feel busy and long
