So i never fully gave you a full description on the work we were doing here in Cambodia. This past month we were partnered with 5P Church in Phnom Penh Cambodia. This is a small Christian church amongst a city of Buddhists.
Walking into this church the first day gave me so much hope for an amazing month ahead, and it for sure did not disappoint. Throughout the month we lived on the 5th floor above the church in a unique and beautiful living area surrounded by 4 families and roughly 20 college students. My team was in one room, sleeping on our mattress pads, lined up in a row on one side of the room and our bags lined up on the other side… but let’s be honest our stuff ended up everywhere! We shared a kitchen and bathroom with the students and truly got to live life with our community.
Our ministry this month was much different than the previous months in Africa, we were no longer door to door evangelizing. Instead, our main focus was the community inside the church, attending church visits to individuals homes and our little dormitory. One thing I absolutly loved about this church and host was that the main focus was completely on the youth! Incredibly inspiring to see the pastors here going above and beyond to reach out to the children in the local schools, the teens walking down the street and the college kids looking for stability and direction. College students who can’t afford to live in the city apartments or dormitories at the school are offered space here at 5P Church. There is no obligation to be a Christian, but they are asked to help with chores and attend events at the church. There is no pressure on them to become Christian but it has been common for most students to leave after their years of study as believers. After being here, I can see why! They are all amazing.
This month consisted of handing out flyers outside of the schools within walking distance of the church for the FREE English classes offered at the church! There were multiple classes a night 4 days out of the week for all different ages and learning level. We had so much fun running after kids on motos, trying to explain what we were doing and handing out the flyers through gates due to not being able to go into the school. The pastor told us the school won’t allow them inside due to being Christian and the schools teach Buddhism. So instead of going home upset, they spend their days standing OUTSIDE the schools to gather children and tell them about their opportunities at the church! It was amazing.
These kids were awesome.. So smart and their handwriting was incredible! Much better than mine and one of the girls was 5!! I had so much fun teaching, and learned so much about myself through it <mostly how much I need to work on my own English haha> the first class I taught was kids aged from 5 to about 11 and then i taught a second class of kids around 14 and 15! Their drive to learn and ability to absorb so much information was inspiring. It makes me feel ashamed of my lack of effort in Spanish classes growing up! If only I could have told my younger me how important and valuable it would have been!!
The second half of our ministry was to live life with he college students. We ended up putting together an English class for them, going on many moto rides for adventures, talked about Jesus and life, shared many jokes and tears, shared meals, had movie nights and late nights of playing cards and singing songs! We worshiped together, prayed together and grew together in such a short period of time. It’s amazing the bonds you can build in just 3 weeks.
Cambodia was sooo sooo good to our team of Beloved Daughters! Despite teammates getting sick, me getting shingles, tension sinking in at times, feeling overwhelmed or spiritually drained, even despite my personal struggle to find time for quiet and personal time for the Lord, I still see so much growth in myself and our team as a whole. We worked so hard for one another, we fought for each other and built each other up in such encouraging and passionate ways. I am so grateful for the beautiful ladies that I can stay up late discussing our different views with, working with one another to learn and grow in different aspects of life and faith. I am always looking for more, always reaching and will never want to stop asking questions…Cambodia became a safe place for me to feel comfortable being vulnerable and asking for guidance !
