You know you are on the race in Cambodia when…
-you find cats, dogs, chickens, and ducks in the strangest of places— with you while washing dishes, waking up, eating and showering.
-you use paper towels, something we haven’t been able to find elsewhere in Asia, as toilet paper when you can’t actually find TP in the village
-you use a bucket to flush the squatty toilet and you throw away your TP in the trashcan
-trashcans and animal bowls are made out of recycled tires!
-your shower is also the kitchen wash area and is the only “shower” for the 40 or so people who live there. Thus, hair is washed at spigots and bucket baths are used by the Cambodians, young and old!
-you live without a true sink and mirror for two weeks and you’re completely fine!
-you fit six people in a room with 3 tents acting as our mosquito nets
-you lose your hearing at a funeral because there were so many loudspeakers set up so close to your table
-you spend your first afternoon in a Cambodian village at a Buddhist funeral, where instead of learning a good amount about Buddhist funeral rituals, you connect with Pastor, a 65 year old man who loves his Father and you spend the time connecting over worship songs you both know, even though we do not speak the same language.
-you witness the true joy that is found in Jesus on the face of an old man whose most prized possessions are his harmonica and his Bible, because these two items bring him closer to His Father in Heaven, and then see the truth in those words every day at dusk when he pulls up a chair in the garden to read the Word, sing and play his Harmonica to his dad. These are the only things that survived the Khmer Rouge genocide alongside him.
(Pastor playing his harmonica)
-you realize the blessing that comes from watching 34 kids who have authentic relationships with their Father, and night after night they sing with joy in their hearts.
-you get to see the heart of YWAM and catch their vision for Cambodia– ONE NATION IN ONE GENERATION.
-you visit a Killing Cave, a cave where hundreds of people were pushed to their death during the Khmer Rouge period (1975-1979)
-while biking home to the orphanage, you see a road marker that names a village you are reading about in your book, Killing Fields Living Fields, an account of the history of the Cambodian Christian Church and get so excited to know that less than 10 KM from where you are, the roots of the Cambodian church were planted in fertile ground. YOu never expect to recognize a village place name and as a result you ride past “home” for about 10 minutes! Whoops but so thankful to be in such a place as this!
-you get to watch the rice harvest be packed up and taken to market, some of the trucks looking like a push of a finger could push them over they are stacked so high.
-you are woken up at all wee hours of the morning by monks chanting or crazy loud music to announce that there was either a wedding celebration, or a death, in the village.
-getting to spend an afternoon with street children… washing and drying dirty little bodies, hair combing and braiding, playing, singing, and holding them for an afternoon… it was the best day of ministry on the race. I could do it every single day of my life!
(this was my buddy… He jumped into the truck that day, running to the street from the trees in which He lives, wearing nothing, but there was such joy there then! And joy was the theme of the day, and he stole my heart!)
-drawing Elsa and Anna at least 4 times for one of my “kids” once he discovered I could do it well!
-playing games on games on games!
-teaching about God’s power, strength, love, and desire for relationship with 34 kids every single day!
-watching children worship and pray with power every night for two weeks
-painting their faces on field day– spidermans, monkeys, butterflies, lions– they each were precious! Aren’t they the most beautiful kids on the planet?
-having an impromptu photo shoot around the church when two of my shadows discovered how easy and fun my camera was! (one example of many below)
-you receive drawings from the children… just because! (See below.)
-you see how though these children have nothing in the eyes of the world, they still give. Every week, these orphans run a church service and as part of the service, they collect an offering to which they contribute! Oh how they humble me, and show me how truly blessed they are!
-your Cambodian Texan, who I affectionately called Tex because one of his play shirts was advertising a speedway in Austin, gave me a silver ring!
-you receive great advice from a teammate about how prayer changes your heart towards people and situations, and feeling no other options, you begin to pray like your life depends on it. Guess what, yall! Your life does depend on prayer, and this was a revelation as I sought His face like I never had before! Prayer changes your attitude, your heart, your trajectory!
-you choose to go into the city for a day off, and because it’s just you and another teammate, your contact calls a taxi. This taxi is a late 90s Toyota sedan, built for 5. But not in Cambodia! There were 5 adults in the front and 7 adults in the back! It was a bit of a tight squeeze! 🙂
-you learn the joy that comes from praying through when you feel like there is nothing keeping you in your present circumstances unless you feel His presence. Oh, how I am thankful for realizations like this and feeling his presence ever so strongly!
-you are given roses on your last day at the orphanage, made from a twig and dried mud! Such a thoughtful gift from the resources available to them! I wish I could have carried it with me!
-when your consistently poor internet connection makes you forget that you have this blog and you find it again 5 months later, so THEN you post it!
