Cambodia

We spent the month of March in the lovely country of Cambodia. Our new team "the Janes" worked with Pastor Joe and his wonderful wife LIza. We lived and worked at a church and school. We taught kindergarden during the days and taught Bible study in the evenings. 
It was a month of change, as usual, and probably one of the hardest months for me personally. I was challenged in a lot of ways. I wrestled with the Lord and was made aware of many areas where I need to die to myself, including my selfishness and pride. Death to self was probably the focus of the month, but the Lord continued to remind me that He is a compassionate God, and as much as I needed to die to myself, I needed to live to Him that much more. We die so that we can live. That's what He is teaching me this month. He's teaching me about life, abundant life, life that was created through Him and only exist in HIm. 
It's really a beautiful thing.

So..our month in cambodia looked something like this…

 

Wearing face masks each day we went out because the roads were covered in dust. If you wanted to see and breath somewhat normally, it was a good idea to wear glasses and masks. 

During our first week we visited the killing fields. Incredibly sad. Necessary experience. 

We learned that you can carry anyting on a motorbike..

These are three of the precious children that I had the privilege of teaching every day. We started the day with songs, practiced reading, writing, and math, and usually ended the day with games. Never a dull moment with these three.

I do miss these faces

One fun fact about the month was that we had team changes. If you can't tell, they are all really excited about their new scrunchies. Our team is now "The Janes." You know when someone dies, and they are unidentifiable by their physical condition so they are just refered to as "john doe" or "jane doe"? Well, we decided that we only want to be identified by Christ in us, not by the way we look or what we do or don't do. We want people to see us and meet us, but only recognize Christ in us since we have died and our lives are hiddin in Him. 

"For through the law I have died to the law, that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:19-20

We taught these lovely women each night, Tuesday-Friday. The church also serves as a dorm for some college students, and these are some of the girls who lived at the church. Many were believers, some were not. Pray for them as they seek to know the Lord more. 

As crowded as the streets were, we decided our last week to be adventurous and rent some bikes! This was our mode of transportation for about 3 days. We only had a few close calls 🙂

Other favorite memories from the month:
Teaching the teachers English and hearing their stories
Day 2- flooding the entire upstairs
Daughters of Cambodia
PPHop- Phnom Penh House of Prayer
Dancing with Joe
Band practice with the janes
Angkor Wat- making a music video
Walks with Joe and Liza
Learning that the Joy of the Lord really is my only strength
Olympic size pool and stadium
Understand that my obedience or disobedience isn't just about me–it affects others
Making pancakes in the dark
Losing water and power daily…always makes things more interesting 🙂

Love you all and I can't wait to see you in 3 more months!