Month one is officially over and as I look back on my time in Cambodia I think my overall feeling is thankfulness. I can’t express how grateful I am to have had the opportunity to be in Cambodia and experience more of what that amazing country has to offer. Some of my personal favorites from Cambodia are: the sunsets on the countryside (the sun is massive and looks like it’s on fire), eating unripe mangos with chili and by far the people.
As I started to think and pray about what to do in Cambodia, I felt like God was saying to continue building relationships with friends. Originally I wanted to get to know new people and places I had never been, seems like God had other plans! The first people God put on my heart was a Brazilian couple I met in 2017 while I was in Cambodia. They have a passion for working and building relationships with women in trafficking. In Cambodia sex tourism is such a blatant reality. During our time there we had such amazing conversations, listening to what God has done in their lives and where He is taking them. It felt like being with family, no expectations of what to do or how you should respond- just acceptance and freedom.
Our next place in Kampot was Choukk village, reuniting with friends that I made during my first visit in 2016. Vuthy has hosted my teams both times I have come to Cambodia. He runs a Youth Development Center (YDC) teaching English and visiting with families in the village. Along with the YDC there is a Church on the property that locals can attend. Coming to the village was something God put on my heart to encourage and love them even if it was for a short period of time. The few days we were there were sweet, living simply and seeing the changes that have happened in the last two years was encouraging for me. This village was the place where God lit my heart on fire for Cambodia and where I grew in my relationship with God. He spoke to me about my past and gave me hope for my future, and now three years later He did the same. Healing and restoring pieces of my heart that needed mending; breathing life and purpose into my future.
Siem Reap was our next stop, we stayed just three short nights but it was so good! We were able to talk and build relationship with a lady staying in our hostel who was amazing and felt like a part of our team. After our three nights we hopped on a bus headed for Bangkok to meet with our whole squad and leadership for a few days of debrief.
Today as I was journaling I was thinking about friendship and how much God has taught me through them and how He has given me a capacity to love people I never thought I could. Almost four years ago I struggled so much with the thought of having intimate friendships with people. I genuinely didn’t know what to do with people outside of partying or how to have friendships that didn’t revolve around that kind of lifestyle. I was so afraid of people getting to know me and not accepting me for who I was. Fast Forward to now, I realized what God was putting on my heart to do during my time in Cambodia was love and continue to grow in relationship with people. I am in awe of how much we grow and how God is so faithful in the places we feel the most weakness in. So thank you Cambodia for opening your heart to me and being my healing place, for the pieces of my heart that I leave behind in the friendships made and for the all the times that have yet to come.
