Welcome to Cambodia!
Since my last blog, I have taken a train to Chiang Mai, seen my Dad for 6 days, spent a week with my co-leaders, and then another week with our entire squad at debrief.
Thailand was so full, so busy, so much like life in the states.
We were almost always accomplishing something, or scheduling something, or talking about the rest that we needed. The reality is… that is our culture back in the States… even in the church. Accomplishments and checklists equal success, and the more exhausted you are, the more “productive” your life must be.
But I’m going to be honest, I really don’t think it’s all that glamorous. To live a life where the unspoken, hidden expectation is to accomplish as much as possible, in order to see… in church terms… “fruits”. Because working yourself dry for the sake of the nod of another human does nothing except dry out your tree.
So fast forward to today.
April 6, 2019
I’m in a cafe with my squadmate Rachel. We arrived to Kampong Thom, Cambodia approximately 3 days ago and settled into our home for the next 3 weeks. Life is a lot simpler here in comparison to the States. It is a lot slower, most likely because of the heat, but I also think it’s because of the lack of influence western culture has on this area of this country. Yes they use USD here, and most people have some sort of cell phone, but there is not that rushed feeling of life.. that I’m going to miss something if I’m not always “on the go”.
For example.. a few minutes ago.. the power went out. While the sweat on the back of my neck started to drip and feel kinda gross, there was a sweet sensation of peace in the building. Conversations kept going, orders were still being taken, and there was no sense of urgency to get the generator running again. Now, to my realist friends out there.. yes.. that violates some things in terms of food service. But think about the chaos, the fear, the frustration, and the anxiety that would have settled in had this happened in the States.
It’s hot here, like.. really hot.. like I almost attempted to compare this to the Israelites walking through the desert until I realized “they probably didn’t have access to chocolate ice cream” hot.
So this month, while we are out here in Cambodia, myself working at a preschool, (GOD IS SO COOL GUYS!) I want to challenge everyone back home in the States.
I want to challenge you to look around and allow yourself to slow down. Because if I’ve learned anything about the Kingdom over the last 9 months it’s that it is COMPLETELY upside down. And it’s upside down in ways that I think we just gloss over sometimes. The Kingdom is completely counter-culture.. it’s upside down, backwards, and whatever words you can come up with to mean the opposite of what society says we need to do in order to be considered praised. Slow down, do the opposite of what the Facebook article tells you to do in order to find rest, and praise God for the freedom we do have.
Love, Nico
