Wow I am about half way through the race. Time is flying. I am learning so much and now we are in Cambodia. It’s crazy to think how fast each month is going! Each month I have been trying to focus on what I want to work on and grow in for the next month. This month I felt God telling me to practice being still with Him and meditating on His Word. I have a really great prayer life with God, but I do not spend enough time just sitting and listening to Him. This was my prayer and focus this month was to grow in being still. God works is such interesting ways sometimes.
On our first day of ministry one of my teammates, Jillian, was in a hit and run motorbike accident. There was a lot of pain, emotions, and exhaustion. Long story short, she was transferred to a better-equipped hospital in the Battambang Province 4 hours away. Even though this serious accident happened, I could see God working through it all. First of all, we were in Cambodia in a remote town where English is rarely spoken and God provided a way to communicate, through Annie a missionary at our site who could speak a bit of Khmer. Then there was hospital transferring, being stuck in traffic, figuring out insurance, and many more phone calls. Basically it was a crazy day, but God was so good through it all. He kept showing up! The peace, strength, comfort, and patience He kept pouring out was incredible.
I was 4 hours from the rest of the team and all my things. I have never truly been without “stuff”, and I was dependent on others around me to provide even the most basic items. I was shown so much generosity; it made me want to cry. God blessed me by placing us in a city with another team who graciously offered a change of clothes, place to sleep, even a spare toothbrush & deodorant. Giving freely without any expectation for something in return. This made me start to realize how true community should be. Being there for our family in Christ and supporting them. I feel the word thanks doesn’t even begin to cover how much of what they did meant to me. I had none of my stuff and everything I needed was provided. It made me think about how generous I am with my stuff or how aware I am with other people who are in need. I think that is something I need to work on- how can I be more generous in my life?
God is good. God provides. God always shows up.
God has been present through it all. He has given me strength, peace, and rest, as I needed it. He was near the whole time. The coolest part is, God answered my prayer to be still and meditate on his Word through all of this. I did not have my journal, so I was spending my quiet time reading the Bible and getting to practice just being still with Him. Allowing him to talk to me. I was put in a situation where I had to learn to communicate with God in a different way because I was pulled out of my “routine”. I love that even in the midst of a tough situation, God is still present and makes him known and we have that choice to continuously seek him out even when life gets a bit crazy.
God has been reminding me that I have to fight for that quiet time to sit with Him and just be. Life is not going to get less busy or quieter for me. I have to make the effort to be still with Him. Honestly I struggled taking time to be still with Him this month after our first week here. I had all these expectations and hopes for how my relationship with God would grow and looking back I did not make the time to allow God room to speak to me in that way. I let my circumstances, busyness, and tiredness get in the way. Going forward into the second half of the race, I know this is something God wants me to continually work on and grow in.
Being in Cambodia this month, has reminded me that things do not always go as planned. God still uses tough and painful situations for His glory. He asks of us to continue to turn to Him and seek Him, even admit all the craziness & chaos that comes our way.
