Some of you might be familiar with the app called: One Second Everyday. One of my great friends, Kaitlin, showed me this app when I lived in Charleston. I would often participate in her video of the day. I really liked the idea of capturing a part of your day and putting all those segments into a video. This does not paint your whole day, or even how real life is all the time. Any social media doesn’t paint exactly what people are going through, people only post what you want them to see. I want to not only share this fun little video with you guys, but also share how it was outside of these few seconds.
If you haven’t been to Southeast Asia, it is hot. Hot all year long. Thankfully the time of year we are here, it is actually the “coolest” time of year. Still gets in the 90s and can be as cold as low 80s.
We had our squad-wide debrief in Siem Reap at the Overflow Guesthouse, run by Adventures in Missions. Austin and I were fortunate to stay there with a team this past month. If you see in the video, it was a really nice guesthouse, pool, AC and beds. Austin also mentioned in his latest blog post that we didn’t suffer much in the physical aspect. We were able to create better boundaries in our marriage as we pursued the team we were with and did ministry with them.
This month as far as ministry was not as busy as it has looked before. The team taught some of the Khmer staff English, which is valued much here in their culture. If you know English you are able to have a better job. Siem Reap is a tourist town, which means amazing coffee shops and English speakers everywhere. Siem Reap is known for it’s ancient temples, more specifically Angkor Wat. We were privileged to go there one day and see the main three temples. It was absolutely amazing and details everywhere and how much is still standing. If you like history and architecture you would love it.
Austin and I spent a lot of time with God and one another this past month. It was refreshing to thrive together and be on the same page. As we have stepped into squad leading, it has taken even more time away from one another. I am very grateful for this season and we are both learning so much from how to lead better, how to create boundaries and to live in more freedom that our Heavenly Father gives us.
This past month I was able to have one-on-ones with each girl on the team we were with. We were with seven girls, and yes Austin was outnumbered, even the staff and long-term adventures staff in Cambodia were all women except one guy. To be honest, I have not been the best at having “one-on-ones” with each person on the teams we have been with. I can blame the schedule, sickness, or not enough time. I am learning to say yes to the things I value and no to the things that are taking me away from those things. I love getting to know people on a one-on-one basis and this past month was so good for me relationally.
The movie “First They Killed My Father” came out when we were in Cambodia. If you haven’t read the book or seen the recent movie, it shows you what Cambodia went through just forty years ago. The people and country are still suffering from the heartbreak of the Khmer Rouge. Over two million people in Cambodia were murdered, the ratio is about one out of ever four people were effected. Austin and I have asked some Khmer people that we have gotten to know last month about it. Most people don’t talk about it and I guess just try to move on. It broke my heart seeing older men and women missing limbs playing music or selling books, art, etc. The mines were planted by children who were under the influence of Khmer Rouge. In the movie it shows a scene of people running away and people getting blown up or limbs violently ripped off. Hitting home a little closer because I am seeing men who must have been around ten years old when this happened to them. My heart broke for these people and this country.
The brokenness was also for what they are putting their hope in, some people it’s their fear. Buddhism is the main religion here. I do not too much about this religion, but they believe in multiple gods, karma, ancestors who need to be taken care of. Hearing chants and music play all day long from the pagoda, it isn’t in their language. From what I was told, even the monks don’t know what the chants say. They say them because they were told, and it was just passed down. There is no depth. We spent a few afternoons walking and praying circles around the pagoda. A monk saw us and told us to come to where he was, apparently you can get tattoos done at the temple. Who knows what all is being done. Corruptness thrives in those places. You have to pay to be blessed. Food offerings are huge and are taken seriously, if you step over any kind of offering, if is one of the biggest offenses. Feet in general are offensive. There are many cultural norms that I am still learning for Southeast Asia that are like no other place I have been to.
We were able to experience two different churches before we left. We followed up with a guy who has been a Christian for a few years and has been planting a few churches near Vietnam and around Siem Reap. It was encouraging to see Christ followers take big steps to make the Gospel known. We also went to a swiss based church and they have so many resources to reach others well. We went to villages nearby to pick up kids to take them to youth group. The church draws people not view it as just a building but as a dwelling place to play, be a kid, eat, worship, taught, dance. Overwhelmed to see what the Lord is doing in Siem Reap and knowing there is growth happening.
Cambodia was on of my favorite places on the race so far. The people and the culture had my heart.
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