As I hopped in the back of a white truck last Thursday morning, nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to see…
Every morning at Crossing Cambodia two of us (including the driver) will go pick up the kids in a white truck and then take them to the center. My teammate Maria and I were the first ones to volunteer last Thursday. After a few minutes we drove up to a public park and the driver stepped out the truck. Two little boys with tattered clothing (one in yellow pants, the other in just underwear) were sleeping under a lamp post and the driver went to wake them up. As they straggled their way to the truck, their sleepy faces flopped onto mine and Maria’s lap and proceeded to sleep. I looked down at the little boy laying peacefully on my lap and my eyes began to tear up. I remember telling Maria, “he doesn’t even know me and he just came to me.” Maria then said, “it’s because this is their safe place, we are their safe place.” This made me tear up even more and I began to stroke my fingers through the little boys hair. All I wanted to do was hold him and tell him that everything was going to be okay, that nothing or no one could hurt him.
This was just the beginning….
We made two more stops at two slums. I had been to a few slums throughout my race, but nothing like these. These people lived out of an abandoned building where they had made their own tents and hammocks out of whatever garbage they could find. Again more children with tattered clothing and sleepy faces climbed into the back of the truck until the truck was completely full. All the while the little boy with yellow pants continued to sleep on my lap.
After arriving at the center, yellow pants continued to sleep for most of the day, sometimes in my lap, and sometimes anywhere he could find. I found out that that’s usually a daily routine for him because his brother and him spend most of the night up begging. This continued to break my heart for them.
That day I realized that everyone’s safe place looks different. For some people it’s their home, for other’s it’s their church, but for these kids it’s the back of the white truck and the arms of a stranger. This made me think of the verse where Jesus said, “let all the children come to me and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to them” (Matthew 19:14). Jesus was literally a stranger to these kids and they came running to him anyway.
I know I can’t change their living situations, but what I can do is love on them like Jesus did. I can continue to invite them into my arms when they just want a hug or just someone to play with. I pray that they can see Jesus through me.
Yellow pants & I
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Update: In just 17 days I will be turning 26 ahhhh! 25 has been such a blessing, I can’t wait to see what 26 will bring!! Will you celebrate with me?
Here’s how! My final deadline for the World Race is coming up at the end of July. If I’m not fully funded ($16,562) by that point I would have to go home, but I have another deadline at the end of this month of $14,000, which I am only $1,000 from! I know God has called me to 11 months of this race and not just half of it. A great birthday gift would be if you could help me get fully funded by the end of this month so that I don’t have to worry about going home come July. If 70 people gave a one time donation of just $50, I would be fully funded!! Would you consider giving a one time donation of this amount or whatever you can? Honestly, anything helps! Also, if you cannot give but would still like to help, prayer and sharing this post would help so much!
THANK YOU! LOVE YOU ALL! 
