This month in Cambodia, we got to teach at a school and I loved it. But, we also got to live in a college dorm called Horaios. We got to spend time with the students, teach English, and lead nightly devotionals. If you didn’t know, dorms (or as my university called them, residence halls) are some of my favorite places. I spent all four years of college living in first year residence halls as a resident my first year and then an RA (Resident Assistant) for my last three. The thing I love most about dorms is the sense of community. The people you live with become your family away from home.
Family. This word has an interesting meaning on the race. We talk about our families at home sometimes but most of the time, we talk about our family in our Christ. We meet people all over the world who are our brothers and sisters in Christ and are therefore part of our family. Here in Cambodia, we have added many people to our family, including the students at Horaios. This dorm is truly a special place and the students here are going to do incredible things in Cambodia.
I lived in two wonderful communities at TCU: Brachman and Milton. Brachman was small and we quickly got to know everyone in the building. It was by far the worst dorm location and facilities wise but it was still an incredible place because of the people. Milton was my home for three years and it was where I met my best friends freshmen year. Both residence halls will always hold a special place in my heart and now I can add Horaios to that list.
The students study all different things and even attend different universities in the city of Phnom Penh. They have nightly devotionals usually led by Pastor J and a church on Sunday. We were welcomed into their home during their busy exam time at school but they were still so hospitable and gracious to us. Worshipping with them was always a great experience despite my horrible attempts at singing in Khmer.
For our last night, we went on a river boat cruise with the students and Pastor J and his family. We ate together, laughed together, danced together, and sang worship songs together. Afterwards, we had a time to say a few words to all the students and vice versa before we prayed and sang all together one last time. It was a wonderful way to end our time in Cambodia.
The funny thing about the World Race is that you say goodbye a lot. You would think it would get easier but it doesn’t. The friendships you can make in a few short weeks are amazing and it always makes leaving hard. But, every month, we choose to go in with our hearts open.
We choose to let more people in and to love more people becasue we are trying to love like Jesus loves.
We don’t guard our hearts or keep people at arm’s length to avoid the pain of saying goodbye. We embrace it as part of this experience and there is something truly unique about having friends all over the world. Somehow I think God intended it to be this way.
The best part about saying goodbye to our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ is telling them that we hope to meet them again on this Earth but if not, we’ll see them in Heaven. And what a sweet, sweet reunion that will be with no language barriers or sweat.
Cambodia, you will be missed.
