Hi friends and family! Wifi happened to come on Saturday instead of Sunday this week, so here is a blog update a day earlier than normal. This week has been a really good one in Cambodia. If I had to pick a word to describe life here this past week, I would probably tell you simple. Every day looked pretty similar in structure. I have gotten to teach the kids lots of worship songs and motions (to my WS people… “Sing and Shout” has been a big hit), each member of our team has gotten the opportunity to lead an English teaching session, and we’ve been working hard to memorize Deuteronomy 31:6 in English. In case you were unaware, Deuteronomy is a hard word to pronounce, especially if your first language is Khmer. Afternoons have turned into my favorite part of the day. In Cambodia, things seem to slow down after lunch, during the hottest hours of the day. Many of the kids who aren’t at school during those hours retreat to their rooms to take naps each afternoon, and things tend to get quiet for a few hours. I have really enjoyed this change of pace, and I have been so refreshed by it. I have been able to have more quiet time opportunities, I had the time to finish the book I’ve been reading over this summer, and I’ve been able to learn what it’s like to just sit without feeling the pressure to do something “productive”. After dinner, all the kids are back from school and we get to just hang out with them. I am learning to love the pace of life here, and it has been so fun to really build on these relationships with the kids.
“He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me.” 2 Samuel 22:20
I recently read 1 and 2 Samuel. David’s story is so interesting, and there is so much to learn from it. I love how quick he was to praise the Lord for all His goodness, even when his circumstances were chaotic. The verse that I put above has hit me hard over this past week. I related to this “broad place” that David spoke of. This past year of my life, I can look back and see how trapped I felt. I was overwhelmed by all of the responsibilities, “to-do’s”, and all the striving. I can see that I was trying to hold it all together myself, and it caused me to be constantly worn down. The things that I loved to do became obligations, and I was just tired. I knew I was in need of something, but I did not know what that was or how to get there. I remember thinking at one point in the semester that I needed to just get away from it all. God knew what I needed, and that was Him. This summer has given me so much space to breathe. I was trapped in my world and all the pressure that I was putting on myself. God rescued me from that, and He gave me a broad place to rediscover how much freedom He offers. There is no limit to how much of Him there is to discover. He has allowed me the opportunity to get out of the small tunnel I was stuck in and get lost in Him. And He did that because He delights in me. He knows that He is the best thing, and He has given me the space to dive into that. I am so thankful for His freedom and the life He offers for those who choose to partake in it. I don’t ever want to go back to where I was again.
“Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.” 1 Peter 2:11
As I have started thinking and praying about what going back home and jumping into a new year of school will be like, I think of that word that I mentioned earlier: simple. When we go along with the world and its passions, there is war against our souls. Getting away has allowed me to get in touch with what my soul is really longing for. I long for more simplicity. My aim is to live a life pleasing the Lord, and with all the noise, it’s much too easy to lose sight of that. It should all be about Him. Everything that I partake in should be an avenue to spread His love. We are sojourners on this earth. Our souls belong to One so much greater than anything in this world.
“For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” 1 Peter 2:25
Last week, I felt sorry for the pace of life of the kids in the orphanage. I saw that every day looked so similar for them. Some of them go to school for about 4 hours, but other than that they are posted up at the orphanage, with not many options on things to keep them busy. Throughout this week, I have changed my mind about this thought. I have experienced first-hand the joy that these kids have. Simplicity is not a bad thing. Although they have so much lessas far as possessions and opportunities compared to people in the US, they have a much more pure joy. Their laughs and smiles are genuine. The joy they have is real, and I think for a lot of people in America, this is just not the case. My prayer for these kids is not for them to have more stuff. I pray that their physical needs continue to be met, but I also pray that they continue to experience the simple joy of their salvation. As I have read on one of the swings most of the afternoons this week, a 13 year old girl named Srey Niet has come and sat next to me. She sits and writes out her ABCs on a piece of paper as I read, and she gets so excited as she makes progress in learning the letters. She asks to put one of my headphones in, and she is more than content spending her afternoons sitting on a swing listening to music she doesn’t understand with me. I have found so much beauty in this.
As I am headed into my last two weeks in Cambodia, I am praying that our team continues to be so filled up with His love so that we can be completely poured out each day. I am going to soak up this simplicity. I want to urge you to desire the simple. Be on the lookout for an aspect in your life that can be simplified. I am excited to see what this can look like for me as I come back home. Thank you guys for continually reading my blogs and leaving comments. I love to read the them!
Preahyesaouv sraleanh niet (Jesus loves you)!
