A week ago was my last day of ministry in PoPeyl Village, Cambodia. Quite possibly my favorite day, and hardest day all at once, as we said good-bye to our Cambodian family! The day was full with hygiene program, climbing coconut trees, Zumba performance, David & Goliath skit, and feeding program for lunch. Then we went to another village to do the feeding program, and sing and play with the kids.
This blog is just an overview of our amazing time in Cambodia… and only a very small part of what we really did, and how much God was changing and growing us.
- We lived in our little tent village with no running water, electricity, or internet- this is a blessing folks, a good way to make good connections with the team.
- We got to become part of everyday life in the village, helping with chores- sweeping, meal prep, dishes, and cleaning toilets! The pump is a great place to do dishes!
- One of the little projects we got to do was paint the Life and Light Centre. We painted the bottom part white, then for art class the kids painted designs with stencils. Very creative and lots of fun! Our team also got to leave our mark by painting a wall!
- On a daily basis, we had the privilege of leading Bible Studies, teaching English, and playing with the kids!! I think I learned more from them then they learned from me, such as #1-10 in Khmer, a few chords on the guitar, and some new games (that had no rhyme or reason, but lots of competition)!
- Our last evening in the village, we had a talent show. After a balut (duck embryo) eating contest, it was awesome to see the kids take pride in singing and playing guitar. One of the translators showed us his karate moves, Marin showed us how she can pick her nose with her tongue, Bekah played the ukulele and sang a duet with BJ, and Brady and Nick had a competition to see who could have the most Cambodian kids hanging off of them. We ended the evening with our team doing the “Everything” skit, followed by an evangelistic message for the villagers there that do not know Jesus.
Week-ends were our down time, we went back to Siem Reap, and stayed in a hotel room, WITH AC!!
In our down time, we had time to:
- work out on the roof
- get my first pedicure, EVER
- explore Siem Rea by bicycle
- check out the next door fruit market
- the guys played some basketball
- have dinner at a lovely buffet with authentic Khmer dancing
It’s hard to believe that we have already moved on to Thailand, and have been here 5 days doing debrief as a squad. We got to enjoy some lovely down time, and explore Chiang Mai. A couple of girls were up for adventure on Tuesday, and we set off to rent some motorbikes. We had a lovely ride up into the mountains were we discovered a beautiful waterfall! Small little issue, when I took a misstep, slipped on the rock and face planted into the waterfall. No big deal- only 2 chipped teeth and a swollen lip (really, it could be much worse-rock is hard apparently:0)!!! Seriously though, it was an amazing day with some lovely woman!! I also had the privilege of meeting with a friend here that lives here, and she showed me around to her part of the city and her life here.
Thailand has already been amazing, and I am so excited to start ministry here today and see what ministry God has for us, and how He is going to stretch us here.
May God bless you all abundantly today!
