Loving Cambodia.

What have I learned in Cambodia? 

Gosh, so much. 

 

Coming to Cambodia I was searching for a refuge from my last month in Malaysia. After struggling for a month with various things, the Lord was so great and brought me to this specific location in this specific country to do amazing things in my heart. 

 

Number 1: God told me to stop being selfish. I was being selfish with the story he has given me throughout my life. I thought I came on the race to "work on myself," essentially. It would be a year to figure out all my problems and hope God would fix them. I experienced so much freedom and redemption a few months ago and did an amazing work on my heart; he wrecked me. I thought I was going to continue to work on myself with God but I was wrong. He told me it was time for me to stop being selfish with my story, and I was no longer to keep it to myself and to my team. I had to boast about my weaknesses, so that others may know what the Lord has waiting for them. 

 

I shared my testimony the first week at church. There was a Cambodian girl, my age, sitting in the church listening. She translates for my afternoon class and I had seen her from the moment she stepped into my classroom the first day we taught. She approached me shortly afterward and expressed how she knew exactly how I felt, how her story was a secret, one big secret. I immediatly felt connected to her. I saught her out until the day we left, letting her know that I was here if she ever wanted to tell anyone her secret and that it didn't to be a secret anymore. I shared with her my freedom from shame and judgement to hopefully in return touch her heart. She never shared her story with me, but it was amazing to see that the Lord had highlighted someone in my life, as a result of me sharing my story. I had touchd someone else with the story he has given me. I prayed for the day before I left, said goodbye, and walking away from her house knowing that the Lord had brought me to Cambodia for this woman specifically. 

Number 2: God placed in my heart an amazing amount of love for people that I barely knew. The last night of my evening class my translator, Courtney asked if I would do something fun with the kids since it was our last day. I agreed and my mind raced with random ideas of what a "fun game" might be. I went into the classroom to just "wing it." We played pictionary for a while and then finally stopped and I told them to listen up! 'Cause I had something important to say. I suddenly found myself sharing the gospel with my classroom of teenagers, and for the first time on the race. I was not afriad of what I was going to say, if it sounded silly or right or wrong. But I was speaking, I was looking into their eyes and loved them. I had an overwhelming amount of love and care for these kids come over me. I wanted the best for them. I wanted them to know. I finished and asked if anyone had any questions and the first question was asked was "Can you share your testimony?" My story was no longer for me, once again.