It’s 2011! WHOA! Writing 1/1/11 in my journal the other day sure was trippy… I can’t believe how fast the time is flying. I hope you all enjoyed the day!
We brought in the New Year with a few other missionary teams at a YWAM (Youth With A Mission) base in Siem Reap, Cambodia. We did some skits, sang some sangs, mingled with one another, ate some good food (there was a WHOLE roasted pig there!), prayed together, and thanked God for everything He’s done this past year. We have so much to be grateful for! (We also got to play with sparklers… so much fun!)
The new year makes me think of NEW THINGS… and therefore reminds me of a verse I want to share. ๐
18 รขโฌลForget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland. – ISAIAH 43:18-19
God has new and wonderful things in store for each of our lives… and He can do abundantly more than we could ask or imagine. We just need to trust and surrender it all to Him. HE IS GOOD!! I can’t wait to see what 2011 has to offer and experience all the phenomenal things God is going to do in and through us. ๐
So, let me tell you a little bit about our ministry here. We’re actually living and serving in a village about 25 minutes outside of the city (Siem Reap) this month; the village is called Pouk and it’s absolutely gorgeous! B.Cox and I went for a run at sunset the other day and watched the brilliant red sun disappear under the vast expanse of rice fields… wow. I was speechless at the sheer beauty of God’s creation.
The village is a place of extreme peace and that’s something I think we all need at this point: God’s rest and rejuvenation. ๐ But at the same time we have a busy schedule and will be doing a lot of good stuff this month… I’m excited! Our main ministry will be teaching English to all different ages/ levels at a center that YWAM has set up in the village; there are six classes offered each day completely free of charge. Sweet! (Normally it’s $20 per class to take English courses in the city so this is a huge blessing to the people who attend.) Ministry starts today so I’m excited to meet all the students! It’s also wonderful to have the opportunity to build relationships with the youth since we’ll be in the same place the whole time. Yay for some consistency! ๐
We’ll also be visiting/ ministering in some other villages, playing with the kids, teaching Bible stories and songs, leading Sunday fellowship with the students, giving testimonies/ messages on God’s Word, teaching specialty courses (that we’re still deciding on!), helping cook and clean the center, doing some yard work, building relationships, and doing anything else the Lord leads us to!
Everyone we’ve met here has been unbelievably friendly, warm, and welcoming. You can’t walk very far without someone excitedly waving, smiling, or saying hello to us. They are so sweet! ๐ The women who run the center are YWAM staff and are extremely hard-working and loving as well… we feel so blessed!
Some other exciting news: WE RENTED BIKES FOR THE MONTH and we get to ride them all around!!! Oh man, this makes me so happy! We brought them home yesterday and I was riding mine all around the compound like a giddy little girl on Christmas. Yay! This is the local form of transportation so we’ll be riding them around to the different villages we’ll be ministering at throughout the month. We’ll also (hopefully) be taking some sweet bike rides at sunset through the rice fields… thank you, Jesus!
There’s a nice path to run on through the village and a volleyball court the students play on after church too!! I played on Sunday and it felt SO good to just touch a volleyball again. Yay for opportunities to be active here! I am so grateful! ๐
Ok, I’m at an internet cafe and don’t have much more time. But I just wanted to give you a little picture of what we’ll be up to! I love you all lots and I hope you’re doing well! xoxo
