Cambodia, you have definitely stolen a piece of my heart. Your people, your beauty, and your resilient spirit have captured me. The longer I am here, the more my heart breaks for you. The more I learn about your history and see the wounds that remain, the more desperate I become for you to know your Savior. The more clearly I see the chains of religion that bind you, the more earnestly I desire for you to know true freedom.
Angkor Wat 9/2/2017
My time here has been short, but I have seen God move. My team and I have been partnering with a ministry called Horaios. We are living in a dormitory with university students. The vision of this ministry is to provide affordable housing to students and create disciples that will be raised up as leaders to build up the local church. We have nightly devotions and worship as well as Sunday morning church service. It has been such a joy to get to know these young people and do life with them. Keep them in prayer as they pursue their education and their Heavenly Father. There is a hunger here, but fear keeps them from consuming the one thing that will truly satisfy. Pressure from family and community are real, but God is doing a work. He is healing hearts and bringing hope to the hopeless.
Worship and Devotions with our students at Horaios.
“Fun Night” at Horaios!
Lunch after church with our brothers and sisters.
This is Pastor J. Keep him and his family in prayer as they pour into the students and the people of Cambodia.
We also taught English at The Good News International School. The pastor who started this school envisioned a place for underprivileged children to receive a quality education, but also be cared for and exposed to the love of Jesus. Many of these children come from families that are forced to work long hours and are unable to spend much time with their kids. If it wasn’t for the school, most of these kids would be home alone for hours on end. Here, they are fed four meals a day and are loved on by teachers and staff.
My Kindergarten Bananas!
As many of you know, tiny humans terrify me. I never quite know what to do with them or how to interact with them. But this has been one of my favorite ministries on the race. I was able to encourage kids who were struggling and celebrate with them when they finally began to understand. High fives, hugs, and smiles are universal and the love of Jesus transcends language barriers.
To hear these little voices singing about how much Jesus loves them nearly brought me to tears. To hear them shout about how big God is and all that He can do inspired me to believe those things myself. They are proclaiming truth over the lies the enemy is telling them. They are bringing light into a place that has been shrouded in darkness for too long. It is my prayer that these simple truths will take root in their little hearts and that it will grow into lives seeking after the Father. I pray that these little ones will boldly proclaim Jesus and that His name will be known in Cambodia.
“My God is so big! So strong and so mighty! There’s nothing my God cannot do!”
I wish I could adequately articulate the spiritual climate in this place. There is a darkness. There is a heaviness. There were days where I felt the very breath was being sucked out of me. But in the midst of that, I encountered God in a way I never have before. When I couldn’t breathe, He was the air in my lungs. When I couldn’t speak, He gave me words. When I couldn’t take another step, He carried me. And when I couldn’t believe the horrendous pain human beings are capable of inflicting upon one another, He reminded me of His love. He reminded me of why He stepped out of heaven and met us in our mess. He reminded me that when I am overwhelmed by the darkness in this world, and I can’t seem to find anything to be thankful for, to simply come to His table. When I couldn’t do it anymore, when I came to the end of my rope, when I wanted to give up, He whispered to me to just let go. When I did, I didn’t fall. I was sitting at the feet of Jesus. I came to rest in His presence.
Two thousand years ago, in the midst of darkness, our Savior bore the sin and pain of the entire world on a cross. He was placed in the ground, then came bursting forth in glorious victory. He did that for me. He did that for you. He did that for the people of Cambodia. He is alive. His Spirit is living in me. His Spirit is transforming me. His Spirit is inspiring me. His Spirit is empowering me. His Spirit is reminding me that even in my darkest hour, I am a miracle, because I once was dead in my sin, but now I am alive in Christ.
This is why I am here today. This is why I left my home, my family, my friends, and Chipotle. I am in the middle of the greatest love story ever told and I have to share it. I cannot keep this amazing life that Jesus offers to myself.
Thank you for praying for this year. Thank you for walking this amazing journey with me. And my prayer for you is that you would begin to understand just how big our God is and what He is capable of. I pray that you would surrender fully to Him and allow the Holy Spirit to transform and empower you.
This World Race may be coming to its end, but I am still running the race set before me with renewed focus and my eyes fixed on Jesus and the promises He has made.
**Oh yeah. And team changes happened again. Meet my new team, The Great White Sharks!
Me, Ashley, Sara Lou, Kristen, Jordan, Megan (our Squad Leader for the month), and Kayleigh (our wonderful Team Leader).
