My Definitions Have Changed
The other day as my team leader Darlene and I rode down the street in a tuk-tuk (cart pulled by a motor bike), we saw men building a house. This house was set up on stilts, and will probably have some form of beds or hammocks hanging below when it is finished. It was about twice the size of my dorm room at college. Over all nothing you would really comment about in America.
However we aren’t in America anymore. As we drove by Darlene looked at me and said, “That’s a really nice house.” Instantly I agreed with her. Then we both realized what we had said and laughed at how absurd that would have sounded back home.
My definition of nice has changed so drastically.
Nice is having a fan pointed at my face, and if there is air conditioning we are entering fancy.
Nice is having a bathroom to bathe in, bonus points if there is a shower.
Nice is having ice for drinks.
Nice is having a bed, not sleeping in a tent.
Nice is having a toilet not a squatty potty.
These are the things that are nice in my world now.
This month we are in Siem Reap, Cambodia. We are staying in a small church outside of the city. Our pastor is awesome and his love for his congregation is so fierce. In the mornings we go out to pray for those who are sick and hurting within the church. We get to pray for sickness, for provision, but mostly I find myself praising God for these men and women whose faith is awe inspiring.
One of the men we have been praying for just had surgery. He has had 3 surgeries in the last 3 months, yet the moment I set my eyes on him I saw the Father within him. This man is so full of joy and happiness. We have watched as he has recovered over the last week. We have seen him go from laying down, to sitting up in bed, and then on Sunday morning he walked into church. Every time I see him I can’t help but smile. His faith is so enormous, even through pain and difficulty I have seen him love his family. I have seen him interact with his granddaughter. I have seen his joy through his eyes and smile, and I have been inspired to be a bit more like him.
In the afternoons we teach English to the kids who live around the church. Surprisingly they are very advanced, and can almost always read what we have written on the board. We work with them on basic sentence structure, improving their vocabulary, and pronunciation. We get to be silly and dance with them. We get to show them love, and make each of them feel like they are special.
I entered this month coming from a really “nice” ministry in Thailand. We had running water, toilets, and beds. We had fans and constant access to wi-fi. We had everything that would have made us comfortable, but it’s here in Cambodia that I feel most comfortable.
I don’t know if I will ever be back to Cambodia, but part of my heart will be staying here when we leave.
One last thing, you all have been wonderful at helping me to be fully funded before I left, but one of my teammates needs a little more love to make it to our next goal on April 1st. Check her blog out, and please consider supporting her! Danielledakil.theworldrace.org
Love you all!
Audrey
