It has been hard to fully put this month into words, which can account for my lack of blog posts recently. So I guess I will start from the beginning.
This month was what we call on the race “womenstry” or “manistry” month. Teams were separated by genders and went our separate ways for the month. This was a different and exciting change for me, as I have been on coed teams my entire race so far. My team for the month consisted of eight wonderful lady friends and I had the privilege of being their leader.
We arrived at our home for the month at four in the morning after a thirty-six hour travel day from Thailand. My team settled in to our camp style bedroom complete with bunkbeds, an extensive lizzard farm, and a squatty potty. We were told we had the first two days off so we quickly got acclimated to the Cambodian culture through exploration of the city in“tuktuks”. We found the huge markets where we took a swing at bartering, ate some interesting fruits, and even found a delightful coffee shop with great wifi.
Our ministry began on Wednesday where we jumped right in, teaching English and art class, playing soccer and getting tours around the neighborhood with our new youth group friends. We were told our ministry for the month was simply to build relationships with the students, in order to share Christ with them. Our task was not hard, as the students were eager to be our friends and they welcomed us into their lives from the very beginning. We started planning birthday parties, movie nights, and art projects to have fun with our new buddies.
An exciting part of our month happened when a new friend from the USA arrived to spend the month with us learning about missions. Her name is Sarah and we instantly loved her and enjoyed getting to know her story. She gave our team such a beautiful reminder of the beauty and excitement of being in a foreign country.
Living with an all girls team this month was one of my favorite parts of the world race so far. We bonded having late night chats and laughs and became a beautiful sisterhood that looked after each other no matter what. We had a bunch of struggles this month including sicknesses, accidents, theft, and heartbreak but the Lord has proven himself faithful to us in our weakness.
My favorite part of the month happened on Saturday mornings,when my team and I would walk to a nearby village to wash and pick lice out of the hair of the children who live there. At first, I was not very excited about that part of our ministry, as I had just endured a whole month of lice in Thailand, and I was sure that I would have it again if I participated. I realized though after arriving at the water supply in the middle of this village, that if I could relate to these children in just a fraction of their suffering, I was the right person for the job. So every Saturday we washed hair, loved on the babies and played games with the kids running through the mud.
I learned a lot in Cambodia and I am looking forward to what He has next for me and my team. On Saturday, my team travels to Vietnam for the month, please continue to pray for our team for an abundance of energy and refreshment of mind.
Abby- in Phnom Penh Cambodia
