Oh Cambodia, the past 3 months here has been quite a roller coaster of emotions. From spending Christmas and my birthday here, to reaching the midpoint of the Race and spending 3 months as a preschool teacher, so many things have happened. Like any roller coaster enthusiast knows, a good roller coaster has ups, downs, loop-da-loops and one heck of a free fall. And you could say I’ve been experiencing all of those things.
When you get on a roller coaster and start going up that big hill, you’re filled with anticipation and probably some fear waiting for the big drop, well that feeling was pretty similar to how I was before getting on the plane to Asia. Costa Rica had become so familiar, that taking off on a 14 hour flight, to Asia, somewhere that I have never ever been or knew much about was super exciting but also slightly terrifying. In that anticipation and fear, I found my self leaning into God. I think I prayed to Him at least 15 times on that plane ride. And in situations like that I’ve been learning that all you can really do is trust in Him.
Then when you finally get to the top of the hill and start to fall, all the fear is blown away, literally, and you just enjoy the fall. Hurtling toward the ground at 100 MPH is an adrenaline rush like no other and that’s how landing in Asia was. Having jet lag so bad that I was able to watch the sunrise for a week, riding in a tuk tuk for the first time, and having little kids that we hadn’t even met yet run at us at full speed for a hug was pure joy and excitement. I was free falling into Asia and their culture and the Lord was right there with me.
But after that first drop, there are other ones that aren’t as much fun. Sometimes you feel like your stomach is in your throat, your lightheaded and dizzy and all you want to do is get off. Well, that’s also the reality of the Race. Probably one of the biggest “drops” I felt was the holiday season. For the first time in 18 years I was spending Christmas away from my family. There was no decorating the house and tree, no wrapping gifts or baking cookies with my sister and mom, and I’ll be the first to admit I did not handle it very well. Per World Race lingo, I coped in unhealthy ways. I spent a lot of time alone and trying to shut out the holiday all together. If it wasn’t happening then I couldn’t be sad, right? Yeah, no. Sometimes in those drops, I forgot to go to God and the only thing that did was make it harder.
But hey, you can’t go up without going down. The little uphills on a roller coaster make up for how bad the downhills are. Ministry has been a big “up” for me. We have had the opportunity to be English teachers at a school right in our neighborhood, and I’ve been able to be a preschool teacher for the past 3 months. I realized that I have a passion for making coloring sheets and worksheets for the kids that I didn’t know that I had. Along with being able to create material for the kids in my class, the relationships I’ve made with the students and Khmer teachers in the school have been some I will never forget. Being on the Race has taught me to thank God for all of the ups as well as the downs because they are essential in launching you back up to the top of the roller coaster. Then we get back to experiencing the great things such as Sophia’s chicken rice, seeing a dog on every street corner and finding out that I actually like to read. Ah, thanks God.
Then you reach the end of the ride and you’re filled with so many different emotions. You’re sad it’s over, but excited for the next roller coaster as you wait before pulling into the loading area. As our time in Cambodia is coming to end, I’m extremely sad to be saying goodbye to the relationships I’ve made here and the amazing culture, but I am also excited for the big hill, free fall, and the ups and downs waiting for us in Swaziland.
