I am currently sitting in a coffee shop… in CAMBODIA! WHAT IN THE WORLD!
For so long I prayed about the race. I imagined what it would be like. I dreamed of traveling with my squad, sleeping in my tent, playing with little kids, preaching, and laughing with locals.
No more dreaming… that day is here and Cambodia is AMAZING!
My team and I are located in Sisophon, Cambodia. Our ministry host, Dara, has a local nonprofit in the area so we are able to walk right outside our door and into ministry every day. In the mornings we visit the homes of people in the community and in the afternoons we teach English at a local school. Because we have a large chunk of downtime between ministry, my team has had a chance to go deeper together and bond quickly. I promise my next blog post will introduce my team in a bit more detail.
(Katherine and I in a tuk tuk last weekend)
We sit with people in their homes and get to know them. Laughing, snacking (sometimes) and praying with them, our team has met some amazing people. In a country that is primarily Buddhist, most of the people we talk with are Buddhist. They talk about how far back the Buddhist roots run in their family. While many aren’t active in the religion, they still claim it. Despite the difference in religion, most still invite us to join them at their home for conversation and some even directly ask for prayer from us.
My team met with a lady this past week who told us she was Buddhist because that’s what her family has always believed. After getting to know her a little bit she asked us why we were in Cambodia and if we could share the story of Jesus with her. Curious about Jesus and what his time on earth looked like, we were able to share the gospel with her. Since then we have been able to get her a bible in her native language and made plans to go back several times to talk with her about Jesus before we leave Cambodia.
In the afternoons/nights we visit a local school where we teach English to students and teachers. To be honest, this was challenging for me. I had never taught English before and I was honestly intimidated with the idea of doing that. I’m happy to say that it’s been way better than expected. It took some trial and error but the kids and I figured out an effective way to teach/learn. The teachers are a lot of fun to teach because they are so eager to learn!
Our time in Cambodia has been sweet for sure. As we head into our last week here, my team and I are asking for prayers of protection. We have encountered a lot of spiritual warfare and quite frankly, we are exhausted. Pray for good sleep at night, a strong breeze to cool things off and as many opportunities as possible to share the good news of Jesus!
If you have any specific questions about my time in Cambodia or just want to hear more, email me at [email protected]
In His Love, Ash
