Have you been curious what I am doing this month? What country I am in? What in the world I am up to? Well if so it’s your lucky day, because here is a little summary of what this month of my life looks like!
My 10th month on the World Race has been spent in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The city is world famous for ‘Angkor Wat’ the oldest known religious structure in the world. Once you scale back the bustling tourist front, you discover it’s really a mid-sized SE Asian city with people in desperate need of help, hope and Jesus Christ.
The team I am with this month gets to partner with a church called ‘C3 ministries’. The church is only a few years old and pastored by Mark and Marian, an amazing couple that moved here three years ago from Australia. A huge portion of the church, along with most of the leaders, are young…most in the early 20s. We meet in front of a house, under a huge metal structure that is rigged with lights, a TV and sound equipment. The congregation may be young but they are on fire for the Lord!
Here are our main areas of ministry:
Village Visits
Every morning about 3 or 4 of us get to go do some house visits in the poorer villages nearby. We sometimes meet with a member of the church congregation and get to encourage them, other times we will be bringing the gospel to someone who doesn’t know who Jesus us. Some afternoons we get the chance to come back to the villages and assist in some medical outreach along with rural English classes for the kids. The people in these villages come from absolute poverty, some have horrible health issues, but they are some of the most beautiful people I have seen this year.
English Classes
Every evening we offer free English classes at the church. I help teach the younger age group, most of the children are from 6-14 years old. It’s a great way to get kids into church, help them learn English, and also invite them to youth night and church on Sunday. I am thankful to teach this age group because they remind me of teaching my elementary kids in Korea last year!
Youth Night and Church services
Every Friday night we help host their youth night. A night of worship, games and a message is wrapped up with some snack and fellowship. It reminds me of growing up in the church youth group and I love to see the excitement and joy that fills the place every Friday night! On Sundays we have church from 8-11, help with children’s church in the afternoon and then get to take part in an evening worship session that usually closes out with an outbreak of prayer. Sundays are pretty busy, but amazing days!
Manual Labor Around the Church
We have had the chance to paint and clean some of the church property and also the house that some of the church staff live in.
Spending Time With the Youth
It sounds pretty simple right? Hanging out and spending time with a bunch of 18-21 year old Cambodians who love Jesus and are trying to learn English. One of the best things we can do is hear their stories, pray and encourage them, be inspired by them, share our testimonies with them and build friendships that will last for life. It’s going to be a hard goodbye at the end of the month because I’ve become friends with some incredible young men and women here!
Being in Cambodia this month definitely has its advantages too. I mean, it’s not roughing it like parts of Africa! Although my room is stuffy and hot I get to at least share a bed. There are nice places to eat all over town and I signed up for a gym membership at a nearby hotel that even comes with a pool!
The best thing about months can often be the surprises, and this month one surprise has come in the form of our tuk-tuk driver. We hired him for the month, so he drives us to ministry and around town every day. He can speak a little English and just this past week he said he has been listening and watching us all month…and asked if we could give him a bible so he could read about this Jesus we talk about. How amazing is that?! Sometimes just living normal life, but filled with love, can open up all kinds of doors.
So now you know a little bit about what I’ve been up to here in Cambodia! Reaping the harvest of the Lord. I have one more week before we head off to Malaysia, our last country of the trip. (Crazy!)
Thanks for all the prayers and support! Love and miss all you guys back home!
