Hi guys! I am currently in Siem Reap Cambodia on month 2 week 4 of my race.
I am very behind on blogging but my hope with this blog is to catch everyone up on whats been happening and from here on out doing weekly blogs. Blogs have been a struggle for me because 1.During month 1 of my race I tried to stay off of electronics as much as possible and 2. I would sit down to write a blog, be writing so much detail, then I would take a break and never go back to finish it. I currently have 6 unfinished blogs.
So you guys all know from my last blog what a day in the life in Battamang looked like, but a lot more than that happened in Battambang and I’d like to share some of that with you.
So after leaving home on September 9th I went to Atlanta Georgia where I met up with my squad of 54. We stayed in a hotel together with a lot of my squadmates’ parents. We had sessions with everyone and did some last minute training before going on the field and saying goodbye. I met my team’s alumni leader, Rachel at launch, and she’s amazing; my team wouldn’t be the same without her. Launch was a nice last 3 days of comfort before going on the field.
Then on Wednesday September 12 we left with a long day of travel ahead of us. We had an 8 hour wait in the Atlanta airport, then we flew from Atlanta to San Fransisco, that took 5 1/2 hours, then we had a 3 hour layover, then we flew from San Fran to China which took 15 hours, then we had another 3 hour layover, and then we had a 3 hour plane ride and officially arrived in Siem Reap Cambodia. Then we took a 3 hour bus ride to Battambang. It’s crazy to me beacuse 1. we completley skipped over the 14th with the time change and 2. thats not even the longest travel day that will happen on my race.
So we arrived in Battambang where we lived for month one. Month one was an all squad month, so we lived in a house with 54 people. My team got the small room upstairs, so we slept on our sleeping pads on the floor for all of month one. I’m so thankful for my sleeping pad, it’s very comfortable and durable. Since you know the daily life in Battambang and my ministry there from reading my last blog, I’m going to skip ahead to some things I learned and how the Lord has been working on me.
So leaving home was hard, I had to give up a lot of things that I thought were my comforts. I”m about to share the tough thing I learned very quickly into my race: entitlement. There are so many things I felt entitled to: electricity, air conditioning, being able to choose what foods I eat, showers, clean clothes,free time, information, cold drinking water… these are just some of the things that I learned very quickly, I’m not entitled to. 1 Peter 5:6-7 says, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” NASB version
At first while we were in Battambang, I was not choosing in. I was not choosing to be uncomfortable and I was holding on to every last piece of comfort that I could find. In the mornings on month one on minitry days which were Monday through Fridays, we had to hand in our phones until after team time that night. The hope in that was so that it was easier for us to leave home and to be present and making the most out of every moment. Not having my phone was not a problem for me. It was very easy, I would spend the times late at night and early mornings talking to my friends and family back home, so that was fine. The problem was that I was not choosing to abandon my life back home so that I could build community here. During the day every free second we had, you could find everyone out exploring or playing with the kids, not me you could find me in my room reading my kindle. I noticed that I was doing this after about week 1 of being in Battambang, so I voiced to my team that when I handed in my phone, I would also be handing in my kindle… that’s when things started changing. I was taking the small steps in choosing to be with my squad and it was very scary at times, but it resulted in dance parties and playing soccer in the rain. The Lord helped me in taking the small steps in choosing community, and He gave me an abundance of joy and laughter whenever I chose in. Some days it’s still a struggle to choose in, but it’s easier to say yes. I haven’t handed in my kindle in so long and I also don’t have the desire to read it anymore. During free time I have the desire to do fun things with my team like have dance parties or play banana grams.
While we were in Battambang I learned what sabbath actually is. I always thought the sabbath just meant Sunday, the day for church. It means so much more than that. Sabbath is a day to rest in the Lord,it’s a day to refocus on Him and intentionally spend time with Him.
I could talk for hours and hours about everything that happened in Battambang and everything I learned, but then we would be here for a while. If you would like to know more specifics or have questions about Battambang you can message me and I’d be happy to share.
Next I would like to share about debrief…
On October 9th we had to say a hard and sad goodbye to Battambang. I loved Battambang, it was where I decided to fully choose in to the World Race experience, and I had made it my new home, I will never forget my time in Battambang.
So on the 9th we took the 3 hour bus ride back to Siem Reap where we would be having squad debrief for 1 week and then the rest of the squad would leave and my team would stay. Getting off the bus we had to walk down this road that the bus couldn’t drive down because it was to bumpy. It felt like it was never going to end, it was hot, we had all our stuff and I was very nauseous from the bumpiest bus ride ever. Then I started seeing my squad pointing at a building. I was starting to get worried because everyone knew that overflow (which is the name of where we’re staying) was amazing and I had high expectations. Expectations is something you should never have as a racer. The whole time I was staring at this building I was thinking, don’t judge a book by it’s cover, and that’s exactly right. I now look at this place and those thoughts don’t exist. Overflow is so beautiful to me now and it’s a place full of saftey, peace, and rest for me.
Debrief was a week of rest,sabbath, processing, and family time with the squad after month one.
Debrief was a time that I was able to spend putting sabbath and processing with the Lord into practice. I was also able to have some one on ones with some of my leaders and get to know them better.
While at debrief we were able to spend some quaility times creating the family relationship with the squad. We had nights out where we ate tarantulas, had dinner and ice cream out together, had the dead skin eatin off the bottom of our feet together, and many other special things that the town of Siem Reap holds. We also had some sweet nights in where we had a halloween party, which involved team dance offs (yes, my team won the title of best dressed, we went all out), dressing fancy and taking photos, or just spending those sweet moments worshiping on the roof together. At the end of the week we had to say the hard “see ya laters” to our squad mates. We would be staying in Siem Reap for our last month of ministry and the other teams would be going back to Battambang, to Kampong Thom, and Kampot.
Debrief ended and our team month started in Siem Reap. Also the overflow house got MUCH quieter. Our ministry hosts were gone for two days, they were out church planting, so we were taking care of their dog, chippy! That was such a blessing, I didn’t realize how much I missed my dogs until chippy had come and gone. It was great while it lasted, and I even get to visit him sometimes! 🙂 So after our squad left we had two more days of just watching chippy, then our ministry hosts would come home and we would get our “official jobs.” I say official jobs because, as we may have had official jobs to help out at overflow, and scrub the algea filled pool and deep clean the guest house before it opened, and using the afternoons to go into the town and evangelize; ministry mindset is not just a switch you can turn on and off. This is a little bit about what I’ve learned about missional living.
*I’m not on a 9 month mission trip. I’m at a 9 month training camp for the rest of my life.
*Ministry is not a switch you can turn on and off, you should be doing God’s work in everything you do, wherever you are.
*Live missionally daily, wherever you are.
*Daily living out love through the Holy Spirit
*It’s a choice you have to make everyday
*When you’re not considered a missionary, what will your purpose in life be?
So for month one of being in Siem Reap a summary of how our days looked is this:
Breakfast 8-9 (Provided by Overflow Wednesday-Sunday) (Always scrambled or fried eggs, toast, watermelon, and a banana)
Deep Clean/Scrub Pool/Fill Pool 9-11
Morning Devotionals 11-12
Lunch 12-1 (Provided by Overflow Wednesday-Sunday)(Always Fried Rice or Fried Noodles,Fried egg,and veggies)
Evangelism Training/Evangelism Activtion 1-5
Team Time 5-6 (Feedback,story telling, debrief, journey markers, free for all, worship)
Dinner 6-7 Not provided (Really getting the Cambodian food experience, Expert Chopsticker)
Free for the rest of the night, usually in bed by 9
We also have a rotation schedule where 2 teammates are on security, that looks like: going around at 11:30 and making sure all doors are locked and sleeping in the office downstairs on our sleeping pads, this will change month 2)
~Our off days are Mondays and Tuesdays~
Month 2 summary of how our days will look and have looked for the past week:
Breakfast 8-9 (Provided by Overflow Wednesday-Sunday) (Always scrambled or fried eggs, toast, watermelon, and a banana)
NOTHING SCHEDULED* 9-11
Morning Devotionals 11-12
Lunch 12-1 (Provided by Overflow Wednesday-Sunday)(Always Fried Rice or Fried Noodles,Fried egg,and veggies)
NOTHING SCHEDULED* 1-3
IM A TEACHER** 3-5
Team Time 5-6 (Feedback,story telling, debrief, journey markers, free for all, worship)
Dinner 6-7 Not provided (Really getting the Cambodian food experience, Expert Chopsticker)
Free for the rest of the night, usually in bed by 9
We still have a rotation schedule where 2 teammates are on security, that looks like: going around at 11:30 and making sure all doors are locked, checking to make sure all guests are back, if not keeping the doorbell ringer close, helping guests that might need something in the night, and sleeping in the office downstairs on our sleeping pads, putting chemicals in the pool at night, and waking up at 5:30 to open the gate and vacuum the pool.
~Our off days are Mondays and Tuesdays~
*There is a lot of free time this month and we are practicing using our time wisely, still choosing in and going the extra mile even if there is nothing scheduled. We will spend this time getting to know guests, going out into town and evangelising, and coming up with other ways to spend our time the way Jesus would spend His time.
** I’m a teacher from 4-5 and I spend 3-4 doing lesson plans. I volunteered to spend 3 days a week teaching the overflow staff english, that way I can build relationships and share the love of Jesus with them, and see if I’m meant to be a teacher. 🙂
Thank you all so much for the love and support you have all shown me. I will post another blog by Monday and keep them coming more often after that. I love and miss you all so much and I would not be able to do this without you!
SUPPORT UPDATE
I am $2,283 away from being fully funded! That’s amazing! At the beginning of this journey I couldn’t even imagine being this close! I cannot thank you all enough for the financial and prayer support you have all shown me! I have 68 more days to be fully funded. That time is going to go by rather quickly. If you are feeling lead to donate it would be very much appreciated! Prayer support is just as appreciated!
Ways you can donate:
Venmo: @kaelan-blowers
Paypal: paypal.me/kaeblowers
Website: kaeblowers.theworldrace.org just click donate and it will take you through step by step
Through the Baptist Church of Northville
Again Thank YOU and God Bless!
