My time in Cambodia is coming to an end. What a beautiful month it has been.
Each morning, I wake up from the heat of the sun seeping through the mesh roof of my tent that rests on the fifth floor of the language school we partner with. Every night, I fall asleep to the sounds of people doing Zumba in the park below. And each morning I wake to the sounds of call to prayer.
Every day is an adventure. We don’t ever really know what to expect when we arrive at the restaurant for breakfast. We just know that food will show up between 7:00 and 7:30, and ministry will commence shortly thereafter.
Our morning ministry has consisted of going to schools, orphanages, and prayer walks. While our afternoons and evenings are spent in the schools teaching English classes to youths of all ages.
Morning ministry is my favorite. I especially have loved the days where we have gone to the homes of locals to pray. Sometimes prayer was the planned ministry for the day, and other times it happened because our other plans fell through.
On days when ministry plans fell through, God came through for me in big ways.
There was one morning in particular that was completely a gift from God. I had been considering staying back from ministry that morning to work on organizing our team budget. I had several transactions to record online, so it seemed logical. But somehow, God gave me peace to let it sit for another day, and I chose to go with my team to do morning ministry instead. I am so glad I did!
We were supposed to go to the schools that day, but our plans fell through. Our ministry friend, Rachel, walked us around the streets of Sisophan to pray for people instead. Rachel speaks next to no English, so we really had no idea who we were going to meet with, or what we were going to do when we got there.
Onward we walked, with open hearts and minds for whatever God had in store.
We stopped at the homes of two different people. Rachel spoke to each of them in Khmer for 10 or so minutes, looked at us and said “Now we pray.” We did so obediently, unsure of what the needs were, but expecting God to fill in the gaps. The people were kind and thankful for our presence. We exchanged smiles, bows, and hand holding. It was special.
At one of the homes, as we were leaving, Rachel and the woman were pointing off in the distance, saying “friend” and “anglaise.” I gathered that we were going to the home of someone who could speak English. “Sweet! This will be helpful,” I thought.
We kept on walking in the hot Cambodian sun for 20 more minutes. I was internally laughing to myself at the humor of this situation, and how World Race it was to walk around with someone who speaks no English and pray for people who also speak no English. Thankfully God extends beyond language barriers, and prayers are still answered.
After quite a bit of walking, our last stop brought us to the location of the “Friend. Anglaise.” We walked up the steps of a two-story building to find two white people sitting on the veranda. We said hello, discovered they spoke English, and quickly struck up conversations. As I was greeting the local Cambodians, one of my teammates said, “Oh Liesl is from up there!” I quickly whipped around and shook the hand of the white gentleman.
I said, “Hi, my name is Liesl! Where did you say you are from?”
He said, “Pat. This is my wife Penny and we’re from Minnesota.”
“No way! Where in Minnesota?”
“Rochester.”
“What!? No way! I have family that lives there. I’m from North Dakota”
My mind melted. Not only was this man and his wife from my home, everything about them felt familiar. He looked Minnesotan. His sounded like my Uncle Brian. If I had creepily smelled him, I bet he would have smelled like the Midwest. Everything about him reminded me of home.
God had just emotionally transported me back to America, to a weekend at the farm with my extended family, eating turkey and chatting about God and life. I kept thinking “is it Christmas?! Because this feels like the best Christmas present I could have ever asked for.”
I spent the next hour talking with Pat and Penny about their reason for being in Cambodia, if they knew my aunt and uncle who live in Rochester, what church they are affiliated with back home, etc. it was the most beautiful morning.
Why were they in Cambodia, you might ask? Low and behold they have a ministry they started here in Sisophan several years ago. There is a big problem with sex trafficking of young girls here in Cambodia. Many women are single moms. They have no skill sets, no sources of income, no one to support them. The only thing of value they have is their beautiful young daughter.
Pat and Penny saw this and saw an opportunity to change lives. They built an organization called Retained Lives. Retained Lives works to end this injustice, by helping the moms learn a skill and employs them so that they can support themselves and their daughters. They teach the women how to sew, and the women produce these amazing queen-sized quilts. Pat and Penny bring the quilts back to America, sell them, and the profits go right back to the Cambodian women, allowing them to buy food for themselves and their daughters, pay for their shelter, education, etc. It is a beautiful ministry.
The building I met Pat and Penny at is the site where the women gather to work on quilts. There were a dozen women there when we arrived. They were circled around two massive quilts, with needles and thread working on the artistic stitches by hand. Each line of the quilt was exactly as it should be. Not a single point was out of place.
All I could think about was my aunt who also lives in Rochester, who loves Jesus and quilting. I kept thinking that if she didn’t know these people, I want her to meet them. They have beautiful hearts, and their ministry is changing lives. Spending those few hours with Pat and Penny was like spending the morning at her house. It was medicine for my soul.
I am praying that God continues to bless Pat and Penny and their efforts, that he opens the floodgates of provision for them, so that their ministry can grow and expand. That he sends partners who can come alongside them, and that more girls can be saved.
I am so thankful that God brought me out that morning. I am so grateful I got to meet them. I am so grateful we got to pray over them. And I am grateful that I have their contact information, so that when I get back to the states I can stop in and say hi to them.
I am excited, because this is a connection I get to keep when I get home. The World Race is a season, but some of those relationships will extend far beyond the 11 months of the trip.
I want ministry to be part of my life when I get home, and I had been struggling to see how that might happen at the end of it all. But God is so good, and I have no need for worry. When I least expect it, He puts little presents like this one in my path. He has a plan for everything, and as long as I keep showing up and saying “yes,” He is going to continue to amaze me with his provision.
If Cambodia is any indication of the goodness He has in store for our team, then our time in Laos and Thailand is going to be incredible. I’m praying big for opportunities, and for an even stronger “yes” in my Spirit.
Fam and friends at home: Thank you again for making this whole thing possible. We are six months in, and I don’t regret a single day. It has been the best year yet.
Prayer Requests:
- If you want to pray that I don’t get too anxious about the time on the field slipping away, I would appreciate that. I want to be fully present here. I love it, and don’t want to miss a single second.
- As we continue our time in Southeast Asia, continue to pray for good health. We were all sick this month. We are on the mend, but our immune systems could use some amping up for the rest of Asia.
- Lastly, we are heading to Laos soon. Laos is a closed country, so it is illegal to share Jesus there. My team will be doing Ask the Lord ministry, so be praying for us as we seek out ministry opportunities. Reaching unreached people groups, finding an underground church, working with women stuck in sex trafficking and sports ministry are high on the list of ministries we think we would like to do. If you want to pray that we find open doors for those, or for whatever else God has for us, that would be great.
Thanks for all the prayers you have already prayed. I am incredibly grateful for you!
Sending you my love from Asia,
Liesl
P.S. If anyone is interested in learning more about Retained Lives, send me a PM, or contact Pat and Penny directly on their website: https://retainedlives.org
Please be praying for them as well to find more partner churches to expand their realm of influence.
