After 5 days, 82 hours, a 14 hour time difference, 4 flights, 3 bus rides, 5 Countries and 2 Continents…I can officially say I am in ASIA. This is where I will be the next three months…and for March it is Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The temperature here is a choice of hot or hotter – no matter WHAT time of the day. When we arrived at 2am it was at least 28C…and that’s the middle of the night. The hottest day of the year will be April 12, so right now, we are just gearing up for what is to come!
The journey was long, but we are excited to be here. Where has the first week of March gone? We are all tired and trying to catch up on sleep before starting ministry this week. I still can’t tell you much about the ministry but I do know we are working in the slums, but unfortunately not Rubbish Mountain. It is a ministry called Tree of Life. Rubbish Mountain can be seen from the area we will be working in – everything from children’s ministry to building relationships with the people of the area, health and wellness sessions, assisting at a clinic, teaching bible lessons and anything else that we can find the time to do over the next 3 weeks! Thank you for your prayers, as we had no idea what our ministry was until we actually arrived here in Cambodia on Saturday. It was a different way to enter a Country – facing the unknown – but so like God, as we were able to enter with open hearts and minds and not have additional expectations other than expecting God!
Our travel days were filled with a lot of emotional and physical exhaustion. God kept us all safe, through all the crazy stories of getting through customs, walking around LA, health concerns and anything else that might have been thrown at us. We are where we are – and where we need to be. I am in love with Asia…
God is good and faithful and I can’t wait to be able to start another ministry after a few weeks of Debrief and Travels. We’ve already experienced a lot of emotional and spiritual effects of Cambodia, as we toured through the Killing Fields and Genocide Museum, a huge local market and a Buddhist Temple. It was exhausting but eye opening to what this Country has been through and is still dealing with.
Cambodia is a hurting nation and filled with Buddhism and Hinduism. Only a small percent of the population are Christians. Phnom Penh, the Capitol City, is a city with about 1.2 million people. There are lights and motorcycles everywhere. Walking in between vehicles and trying to track down a tuk-tuk to get from one place to another is an interesting concept!
On a personal note, I could really use your prayers. Currently, I am feeling worn out, weak, exhausted and sick in every way health wise. I experienced my travel days filled with sitting on the toilet majority of all my flights. Praise the Lord that I was over and done with it for the LONG 18 hour travel day by bus with no bathrooms…but it’s all back again and it’s wearing on me. Pray that I will have wisdom and strength and that I will know as to whether I should check out one of the “sketchy” Cambodian clinics or not! Pray that I will adjust to this heat and that I will be able to sleep, which will hopefully help me feel better, so that I can get rid of this nausea! Pray that God will give me rest and strength and heal my body – and the bodies of other team mates and Squad members who are also sick. God is in control and I am learning a lot through this time…but I don’t feel like me, and it’s frustrating!
