"I have but one candle of life to burn, and I would rather burn it out in a land filled with darkness than in a land flooded with light." – John Keith Falconer
(My teammate Lauren and I riding our tok tok!)
It's a rather cliche thought-process to own, isn't it? The thought that I am going into some dark place to help light it up and fix what is so wrong, when, come to find out, it is me that is so dark and has it so wrong. My thought process was to fix their brokeness; the reality is they are fixing mine.
I live with thirty girls and four housemoms (I am envisioning a new soap opera called "40 Women, 1 Bathroom") in our cute little threehouse. The house is basically an orphange; the girls are brought to live here because their father or uncle or someone was very likely to sell them into a trafficking ring. They rarely (if ever) see their families and aside from their family at the house, they have no one but themselves.
(Cambodian custom is to take your shoes off outside: inside, everything is barefoot. Some of
the girls' shoes make it here, but most (including all of mine!) are in a huge pile outside.)
What's amazing about this is how eager they are to follow Jesus, how much they love Him. They can't get enough Bible stories and we are always writing verses and hanging them up on the walls. They are also so unbelievably eager to serve Him and us; I can't tell you how many times I've gone to see if the bathroom was open, noticed it wasn't, and tried to sneak away so they didn't notice me needing it. Within two seconds I hear, "Ahleezah, you bathroom? Showahh?" and they absolutely insist that I use it first. It's precious.
I hope that if nothing else, I communicate to them that the Lord loves them. Secondly, I hope that they know that they move me with their love, humility, and desire to serve. I love playing with them, talking with them, hugging and cuddling with them; they are the epitome of beauty. I can't wait to share pictures, but in the meantime, envision little girls that are so in love with God that you want to be around them just to feed off of their love and enthusiasm. They have a life of light to burn out, and they are burning through my darkness.
God, thank you for these precious children of yours that I get to be around. Thank you for sending me halfway around the world to meet them. They are worth every moment to you and to me. Lord, I pray that you would bless their lives, and that they would be consumed with a desire for you, so strongly that they will follow you anywhere. I pray for purity and a love for instruction in their hearts. Thank you for developing my team and I through them; help us to always see you and your blessing in this opportunity. I love you, Lord. Please help my light to shine brighter as I grow with you. In Jesus' name, amen.
