This is going to be another heartbreaking month of ministry,but I love every moment of it! My team
has joined up with another team this month(the G-racers), and the nine of us girls are involved working with a variety of ministries. We have
been living and working with a church in Phnom
Penh, Cambodia. The church has an elementary school where
some of the girls have been spending their mornings teaching English and
helping
out with classes. The church also has English classes at night for young adults and adults. Some of the other girls have been teaching English and mentoring those who attend the classes. My main focus has been at an AIDS orphanage that is run out of a local hospital. I said I wanted a break from orphanages this month, but I couldn’t stay away when I saw their adorable faces. The kids are absolutely beautiful! talking with one of the teachers who was telling me about how the children
view their illness. He said that the
younger ones do not understand that they are dying, but the older ones know that they are sick and
have lost hope because of it. He said that
the orphanage teaches the children about God, but the older kids do not believe because oftheir condition.Everything seems hopeless to them, and so does the idea of their being a God. The teacher explained
that he works there because he wants to bring the kids joy and happiness; to give them
a chance to feel loved.
My team and I decided that we really wanted to do something
special for these kids while we were here too. We also wanted to make them feel loved and to bring them laughter. So we decided to put together a VBS like
program for them. We go to the orphanage
every afternoon and teach them songs, play games, set up crafts, bring
them a healthy snack, and even have a time of interactive Bible
stories. Kara and I have dedicated our mornings to
doing all the set up and prep work for it and we have some other girls come and
join us after their morning ministries. Although the kids are low on energy, they seem to enjoy every moment! We do too!
Our hope is that we will be able to help these kids find
hope and joy in the God who loves them! These kids are teaching me more than
they will ever know. I look at them and
feel bad because their lives will be cut short, but then I remember
that no one is guaranteed tomorrow. I’m
not guaranteed tomorrow…but I know where my hope is. My hope is in eternity with God, and my joy
is in the love of God. I want these kids
to know this kind of hope and joy! Everyday that I spend with these kids makes me realize more and more how important it is to start living for the day, because today may be all we have.
