As my team wraps up week 3, it becomes increasingly apparent that the daily grind is getting real — and the luxuries of anywhere but “the Dirty Cham” seem that much sweeter. I gotta say, the gentle breeze of A/C, beds with soft bedsheets and plush pillows, and a succulent 3×3 In-n-Out Burger with just cheese and spread often swim in my dreams. It’s a natural thing, really, to want what you don’t have. I’m not the only one here who daydreams over the finer things in life.
Jack says stuff like “I could go for a big bucket of KFC right now with some chocolate drizzled brownies for dessert” as we munch on PB & J’s for the 3rd week in a row. Or, as we marinate in the sticky afternoon heat, Jack declares “A blue raspberry snow cone sounds great.” But we can’t just get a blue raspberry snow cone. Dang it Jack… always stirring dreams of the endless entrees of the 1st world.
But ya know, one thing I really appreciate about Jack is that he loves to live abundantly. From him and the present living conditions, I have ironically discovered that KC is the best place to learn to live to the full.
Even while it’s so easy for me to fantasize the future, especially when so much lies in store for me personally in only 6 weeks, I am discovering the unique beauty of this place.
Here are three tidbits of life I am (re)discovering this week:
1. My discipline has made leaps and bounds here. I made goals so that I could spend downtime building myself physically, mentally, and spiritually everyday. Plus, sleeping well, getting up early, and working at better spiritual practices are added to that. When it comes to mentality, I need to daily tell myself “This place is home.” I am learning to believe it. “Home” for me is a place I belong to and its a place that belongs to me.
This is home!
The “this is home” mentality inspires me to take every opportunity to love the people I get to spend time with here. For example, learning Khmer from Malen who helps teach English has been a blast. They crack up as we try to pronounce “ngo’s,” “bp’s,” “mp’s,” and so on.
It’s been a good time hanging out with Sipha and Nate playing soccer and fishing or just being goons. Sipha loves taking us around town, showing us the side of Cambodia largely unknown to tourists. Plus, Nate and I have been teaching him slang words such as sketchy, dope, cool, its chill, goofy, cop, etc. We’ve also been able to disciple him in his walk with Jesus.
We told Sipha this ladder was “sketchy.” He knew what we meant.
The lovely Mekong River is only ~200m away. Fishing is a good time with Nate
2. Kampong Cham has shown me that I don’t really need much to be happy. I’ve had some of the most happy moments of my Race here. A few are: jamming out to Paramore as I clean the worse-for-wear kitchen, biking into town with the team for lunch, and buying $2 hats at the market just for kicks. Life found in the little things.
Renting rinkadink bikes for $1 to go to lunch
One reason for the joy is the newfound healing I’ve been walking through the past half year, but another is that I’ve had a sweet taste of the little things since I don’t have the luxuries I’m used to. If I’m so happy without all the nice things, I don’t really need the nice things after all.
3. I am learning the art of living with agenda-less plans. What do I mean by this? Well, plans — in my mind at least — consist of dreams and hopes for what someone wants to do. Agenda, on the other hand, consists of a more structured, “I’m doing this here at this time, then this at this time there…” approach. You feel me?
With agenda, a person may feel chained down to time constraints. With plans, a person lives to accomplish their goals but don’t worry as much as when or how they happen. In Jeremiah 29 God says “I know the plans I have for you…” God, however, very very often doesn’t tell people about agenda. Maybe you can relate.
Sometimes he does say when and where, of course. But oftentimes he speaks his dreams and heart into us and empowers us to pursue them. He’s not a God who pressures his people, worried about his plans failing or questioning his trust for us.
Love is full of agenda-less plans.
When Jesus did life on the earth, so many things he did just happened. People came up to him. “Good teacher! Heal me!” they would say. He stopped and listened. Was he ever like, “Sorry man, I really gotta get going. My crucifixion is tomorrow and I really have to be in Jerusalem.” No! He never turned away a cry for help because loving people was his life. He may have had plans to go this and there but agenda wasn’t a big deal.
When people sin, they may feel like they are messing up God’s plans. My old pastor John Dickerson once said that when we make mistakes or whatnot, God is like a GPS that says “recalculating” when we take a wrong turn. There’s always room for redemption.
Here in the Cham, I am slowly discovering the art of agenda-less plans. It’s not easy; it takes faith. I’m learning to take time out of my day to do what really matters here — loving people and falling in love with Jesus. All the cool goal-setting stuff is great but that’s not why I’m here.
Challenging myself helps me stay present, but what makes me realize the value of me in KC is who Jesus is and his reality in my life. Often times I free myself when I trade my agenda for what’s better.
As a month 8 out of 9 Racer, my heart writing this was to help racers stay in the now in the last couple months. It’s so easy to cop out, but it’s so worth it fight to the end. After all, you fundraised for this next month. Heck, you fundraised for each day. While it’s not about being obligated to money, each day has literal, spiritual, and emotional value to claim as your own. Each day you are where you’re at, so that’s where you’re called to be. I submit this to you — I hope it helps!
Where you are, God is. Where God is, a complete life awaits. I want to encourage you, whether your sitting in the US or Cambodia or wherever, to soak in where you are. Buy into what you have, because it’s all a gift from above.
Receive it!
Believe it!
Be free!
By the way, my teammates are troopers. This blog is dedicated to them for their endurance!
Thanks for reading folks! Be blessed and stay classy,
Brandon
Nate and I wind up at a Carnival. We were told we were going to see “drummers.”
