I made it! I arrived in Battambang Cambodia Friday the 14th. It feels like its only been an hour but a year at the same time. Our days has been packed full. The first couple of days consisted of riding bikes through the insanely busy streets and markets, trying new foods, 38 girls in one room, sweating more than I ever have and getting to really know my squad mates. I love Cambodia so far, the people are so kind and love it when you try to speak Khmer to them. I know that I am butchering their language but they greatly appreciate my efforts. While in Cambodia I will be doing ministry Mon-Fri, Saturday is adventure day to explore the country and learn more about the culture. Sunday will be church, rest and team time/planning.
My team and I will be working with Ezra ministries for at least the first month. We will be teaching 3 English classes per day. The age and skill level of the students varies, they are anywhere from 5yrs old to 22yrs old, some being intermediate and others knowing little to no English. I am so blessed to work with this ministry that allows us to freely preach the gospel to all of the students. By learning English so many opportunities arise for these kids. They get to come to a safe place to further their education, for free, all while, learning about Gods unfailing love for them. Since I teach the more advanced kids I can sometimes get discouraged, feeling like I’m making a fool of myself. I mean I learned what a reflexive pronoun was 10 minutes before I started teaching on it haha. But then God reminds me, He doesn’t call the equipped, He equips the called. Plus, in all honesty it doesn’t really matter how much English they learn that day, its about so much more. Its about loving on Gods children and letting them know how worthy and beloved they are. Showing them Gods love by showing up early to read them 7 books before class or being willing to play another game of soccer even if it is 1,000,000 degrees outside. Its encouraging them to say “through” one more time so they can get the “th” pronunciation correct. Its all about loving them like Jesus would.
My first week was really hard. I knew I would have hard days on the race but I didn’t expect them to happen the first week. Its hard living with 50+ people. On all of my other mission trips I have had at least 1 person that Im comfortable with, someone who already knows me and my story. But this is all so new, the people, the place, the routine. The Lord turned all of my worries into excitement though!!! Instead of focusing on why this new season is so challenging I am going to focus on the moments that make me feel pure JOY. Things like biking through the flooded streets with water up to my knees, seeing my students smiles when they finally get the memory verse right without looking at the board, sharing a carton of ice cream in a tuk-tuk while cruising down the busy street with my teammates, playing volleyball and dancing in the downpour, hearing the shocked yells of encouragement when I make a goal in street soccer and one of my favorite moments was when Terra, a 10yr old street boy just walked into our building during our quiet time. He came and sat down next to me. I was painting and he was so fascinated. Before ya know it, Im teaching him how to use watercolors and 8 pages of his masterpieces are now in my journal. A sweet memory I will keep forever.
Im sorry that this is my first blog post since arriving, I have really been trying to be present. Trying to soak everything in. But to sum things up, Im here, had a really hard first week, but doing great, loving my students, loving the food, and loving see God move already. Thank you to everyone who has gotten me to this point! I’m so appreciative of this opportunity. Keep spreading the word because I still have about $4,000 to raise in order to stay on the field.
Sending my love from Cambodia,
Grace
