“…I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.” Philippians 3:8 
It has almost become cliché on the World Race, this idea of “coming fully alive.” I have sat through many a message from our leaders on how they desire for us to come fully alive, to not settle for the ordinary, and to strive towards excellence in our lives.
I nodded my head, smiled, and even agreed. I don’t want mediocre, I don’t want mediocre for my new friends and family, and I want to be alive. But I really kind of thought I already was alive. I did not really buy into the excitement and the concept because in my eyes I was fully alive. I am living the dream, I sold my house, quit my job and left friends and family for a year—if that isn’t fully alive what is?
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Colossians 3:23-24
I have spent the previous five months working joyfully for the Lord and wrestling with this “coming alive” concept. What was coming alive and would I know it when I had it? Would I ever really “come alive” as everyone described? Maybe I already was alive and just didn’t know it.
Then Cambodia happened.
As mentioned in previous blogs, I knew that the Lord had called me to pray this month. He was stretching me and growing me in this area and I am so thankful for the patience and teaching He is pouring into me this month. Interspersed with the praying I have been doing a little “real” ministry here and there.
I have attended a Youth Party at the church, visited a local orphanage, done some “aerobics ministry”, prayed for teammates, etc…It has been fantastic to dabble in a little bit of everything.
Yesterday started out as a normal day and I had a breakfast scheduled with a teammate. We sat down over pancakes and coffee to pray and chat about life. The conversation eventually wound its way around to a little discipleship and prayer. I was blown away that she would come to ME for advice and truly valued what I had to say. I had been silently praying over the entire conversation and when it was my time to offer some thoughts I can honestly say it was not me speaking, but the Lord through me. I was so confident in what He had to say to her and was able to boldly encourage and challenge her. We parted the restaurant on our respective Motos and as I rode through the streets of Phnom Penh I marveled at how alive I felt just from that one conversation. It was one of those moments where you feel that you are doing EXACTLY what you are designed to do.
I had a few hours of prayer time before the afternoon visit to the slums. I used the time to praise God for my morning and thanking Him for using little me in His mighty ways. 
While on the World Race I have visited slums in just about every country and most are very similar. There are interesting smells, lots of flies, naked children, puddles of unknown water sources, and the ever-present sense of hopelessness. We went with the intent of entertaining some children while their parents attended a Bible Study.
Through a series of events I actually ended up leading the Bible Study; I pulled out the always-ready Romans 8:28 discussion. There were 8 women and their babies/toddlers sitting in a tiny room with Katey, a translator and myself. We led some worship, prayer and a short discussion. I felt the Lord leading us to pray individually for the women and their families.
(No Bible study is without incident, as one of the little boys peed on the floor and Katey and I promptly kneeled in it as we prayed. This life is anything but glamorous! Haha)
We went around the circle and prayed for everyone and by then all the kiddos were getting anxious and our time was coming to a close. One of the ladies asked us to come to her house to pray for a sick friend. Along the way she also mentioned that she had demons in her house and could be pray over her house as well. Time flew and we prayed for sick people and kids along the way, prayed over the 4 corners of her home, prayed for her ailing friend and many, many others.
We left the slums tired and empty, but at the same time I have never been so full. I don’t think my feet touched the ground for hours afterwards. Again, I was living life FULLY ALIVE! I had the sense once again that my afternoon was spent living exactly as the Lord intended me to. I was confident that I was living in His will and acting only where He directed. It was amazing! Words in this blog can not possibly express how much i LOVE MY LIFE!
Jesus’ words to the disciples ring so true in my fully alive life here in Cambodia:
“Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, preach this message ‘the kingdom of heaven is near’. Heal the sick, raise the dead, and cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” Matthew 10:6-8
