Man. I can’t believe I am in month six of the race. Just like everyone told me its been the longest, fastest 6 months of my life. We are now in Siem Reap province in Cambodia. Our ministry this month is teaching English. Everyone here has been so welcoming and the kids are all really excited to learn. In our morning class we have opportunities to share Bible stories and do crafts and activities with the kids. In the evening class we either aid the teacher with their class or create our own lesson plan. Either way it’s challenging work but really fulfilling. We take a Tuk Tuk everyday to where we teach and we shop at the local market on the way home. -I may or may not have seen the biggest cockroach I’ve ever seen in my life at this market.- I’m with my new team for the second month and I can honestly say I love these women. They’ve quickly become good friends and a safe community to live in. Things are really good.
But as I get to this leg of the race (and now I truly understand why they call it a race) I find myself tired. It’s right about that breaking point before you get your second wind and you’re breathing hard. You start having all the thoughts that you might not make it or maybe you don’t want to. You start to get tunnel vision and all you see is the ground beneath you and your feet taking one step after the other. If I let myself I could just let this month slip by with that mindset. I could coast through and not really invest. Because if I’m being honest thats what I feel like doing. Maybe that makes me a bad missionary or maybe that just makes me real. I think the race is like a disney movie sometimes. We have all these days where we sing and dance through life and see God work and get to explore the incredible places we are in. But then the bad guy gets ahead and we start running scared for a little while. That’s kind of what I feel like.
My team was encouraged by a teacher we met here in Siem Reap to celebrate any and all moments in our lives. Big and small. (It seems I need to learn this lesson more than once ) So we have been trying to implement that into our daily life. Just like that runner who is looking down and needs to look up and see how far he’s come, we are reflecting on our growth and celebrating each step no matter how small they are. And just like all those disney characters who believe that in the end good always wins, we are doing the same. It’s funny though, all those silly kids movies make a really good point. God literally IS good. He doesn’t just do good, its who he is. That’s why good always wins. Because it’s God and that is reason enough to celebrate.
So Here’s to all the little celebrations: the constant laughter we share as a team, the tears we share with each other and love each other through, the little faces that look up at us and eagerly want to learn each time we get up to teach, all of the yummy meals we have cooked this month, the dancing, the singing, the worship, the light in kids eyes when the understand an english word, the semi-sketchy market runs, traveling everywhere by tuk yuk, the praying together, studying the word together, the puppies born on our site, the deliciously undercooked, burned brownies, the movie nights, and the place of safety we have cultivated within our team.
So Here’s to us, Here’s to our race, and here’s to God, who always wins.
