Merry Christmas from Cambodia!

This Christmas I’m spending the holidays in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. This month is ATL for team Freedom Writers, have I mentioned we got new teams?! Before I say more about ministry this month, meet my new team: Freedom Writers. 

 

(From left to right: Amanda, Sharonne, Tay, Me, B, Megan) 

Why Freedom Writers? We want to be known for freedom! God has written FREEDOM over all of our stories and we want to share that freedom with everyone we meet. We want others to know that Christ offers them from freedom from anything and everything in their story. We want to bring freedom to the nations. 

Team Freedom Writers is made of 6 girls from 6 different states and backgrounds. There’s a little blurb about my teammates at the end of the blog, so read it all if you want to get to know my new team better. You can click everyone’s name and it will take you right to their blog!

 Back to ministry. So what is ATL? ATL stands for “Ask the Lord,” which means we’re not assigned to any specific ministry or set up with a host this month. We prayed as a team and God led us to the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh. This month looks a lot different not having a host. We wake up each morning, gather together as a team, and spend time in prayer asking God what he wants us to do. We then share what we heard, if we heard anything, and then go do whatever we felt like God was telling us to do. 

Obviously, each day looks different. We’ve gone to a floating village, where we played guitar and sang songs for some of the locals. We’ve gone to the market in search of a girl named “Samantha” (they didn’t find a Samantha, but they met two girls from Europe and got to share about the world race). We’ve gone to a village to teach Bible stories, play with the children, and give out food. We’ve spent time in a local coffee shop to work on various things, while remaining interruptible to anything God may ask us to do. Everyday looks different and some days look totally different for each person on the team. It’s been cool to see the things God can do through ATL. 

I just wanted to write up a quick blog to update you all with what life is looking like these days and to say thank you for making it happen. Without your prayers and donations, I wouldn’t be able to say “Merry Christmas from Cambodia!” And it’s such a blessing to be able to say that. To be honest, it’s a little sad not being home for Christmas and Christmas is definitely looking much different this year, but I have this insane peace knowing I’m exactly where God wants me to be in this moment. God is really good and gives amazing gifts, like getting to spend a year telling people about Him while seeing so much of His creation. Really loving life these days. 

Merry Christmas to you, from Cambodia! 

 

 Meet the Team:

 

Taylor Brisebois

Meet Tay, our team leader. Tay is 23 and from Oklahoma. She just happens to be my “world race best friend,” but I also consider her a real world best friend, too.  Tay is probably the most real person I know. She is very unapologetically herself and I love it! She is so goofy and silly, but at the same time she has so much depth and wisdom. She’s a natural leader who people look to when they need someone to talk to and I am beyond excited to get to be on her team!

 

Sharonne Torres

Meet Sharonne, our team treasurer. Sharonne is 29 and from Arizona. Man is she filled with the Holy Spirit! Sharonne hears the voice of the Lord very clearly and loves to use that gift to encourage and uplift the team. She is consistently pursuing growth and desires to understand others on a deep level. On top of all that, she is so much fun and so sweet. I’m so pumped to be on her team and to get to know her better over these next few months! So far, she’s already proving to be a stellar roommate. (Also, Sharonne is still fundraising so if you’d like to help her out, you can go to her blog to donate!)

 

Betzaida Mendez

Meet Betzaida, or “B.” B is from Texas and she is 22 years young. B is so full of life and puns. I’ve only been on her team for a few weeks and I can already see how amazing she is at seeing people. Like, really seeing them. Seeing them as someone hand-made and loved by God. She loves everyone she meets so well and becomes friends with whoever she happens to cross paths with. B loves to laugh and is so intentional with pursuing relationships with her teammates. Super excited about being on a team with her. (B is also still fundraising. If you’d like to help her out and donate, you can do so at her blog.)

 

Amanda Kretsinger

Meet Amanda. Amanda is 30 and from Missouri. Amanda has a heart of worship and is a woman after God’s own heart. She is incredibly encouraging and one of the sweetest people I’ve met. Amanda has a huge heart for people and connecting them. She is amazing at getting to know people and investing in them and their story. Amanda loves to know people deeply and pursues them beautifully. I know I have a lot I can learn from her and I am so excited to get to do that on a team together! 

 

Megan Oliver

Meet Megan, or Mego. You might recognize Megan from team Submerge and I am so excited to be on her team again. She loves and pursues her team so well. I got to see this so much the last 4 months and I’m excited to see this continue with Freedom Writers. She constantly prays for each one of us and is always writing us encouraging notes. Megan loves to serve others and to bake (she’s always baking gluten free treats, and it makes my heart SO happy). It’s truly a blessing to be on her team with her again!