Okay, so this blog is more going to be an update than anything else. I realize that I haven’t written a blog since Malawi…so I thought I would just give you a quick overview of what I’ve been doing!
Last month in Zambia was a bit of a struggle for me. My team and I were in the capital, Lusaka. I really didn’t want to be in a city again, and we were asked to do evangelism again. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s just not exactly what God has called me to do. I know that God has called me to care for orphans in Africa, as far as getting them schooling, food, medical care, and just showing them love, but I didn’t get the chance to do that as a ministry. I know that it sounds very cliche, but I know without a doubt that it is something that He has called me to. With that being said, I now know that I have to go back to Africa someday, which I would love more than anything! I tried my best to find joy in the ministry that we did have though and continue to spread the word and love of God no matter what I’m doing. We spend the month doing door to door evangelism, as well as a visit to a clinic to pray for the sick, and my team and I put on a seminar the last couple of days where we each taught about going through struggles.
I do have to share this super awesome story with you all though! The day that we went to the clinic to pray for the patients ended up being one of my favorite days on the race so far. When we got there, we went around and prayed for each person that was sick. We also got to visit the labor and delivery ward and see some brand new babies! Once we were done with all of that, we walked outside and saw that there was a large group of women who were all gathered sitting in the shade of a tree. We took that opportunity to go over and start sharing the word of God with them. Our contact and translator, Barnabas, spoke with them for about an hour then we all went to pray for them at the end. Some of us gave us prayer requests for just certain things in their life, and others asked for prayers for ailments that they had. While we were praying though, I looked to my left and saw a man that was being carried over to us by two women. His legs were basically dragging along the ground and he was completely unable to walk. They brought him over and set him down on the ground by us. Barnabas immediately went over to him and started speaking to the women that he was with about what was wrong with him. Somehow through that we never got a clear answer, but I think part of it was because they themselves didn’t know what was wrong. We started to pray over him and I instantly felt the Holy Spirit among us. We were asking God for a miracle, and we truly believed that He would deliver.
After about five minutes, Barnabas looked at the man and told him to stand up. The man looked at us at first with a look of uncertainty but decided to try anyway. He got about halfway up before looking up at us one more time. Barnabas looked at him and said “Do you believe that God has healed you?” and the man replied “I do”. “Then stand up and walk” Barnabas said, and the man looked down at his legs, and stood up. I of course started crying immediately, but continued to pray. The man then started walking towards Barnabas, all by himself. No one was helping him anymore. He was healed! He continued to walk around some, almost as to double check that his legs really did work, and they didn’t give out once. We saw a miracle that day, and I am so incredibly blessed that I was able to witness God’s healing in that way!
After our weeks of ministry in Lusaka, the whole squad got together in Livingstone for debrief. It’s just a time that we can all relax and talk about how the last couple of months have been. Our leadership team from America flew out to meet us as well and really just poured into us! During this time, we also had team changes. I had spent the last four months with the same four girls, and I now have a team of 6 other girls that I’ll be living life with.
Next, we hopped on a plane for Cambodia!! It was an extremely long 3 days of travel but we all made it safe and sound! My team and I were picked up from the airport right away and taken to our ministry site where we’ll be staying, and let me tell you, I fell in love with it right away!
We’re staying in a super rural area about 25km outside of Sisophon. My team and I sleep in our tents inside the church, which is really just a giant tin shed. (I actually prefer to call it the “tin box of hotness”) The pastor and his wife live in their house right next to the church. We have squatty potties and bucket showers, and literally never stop sweating. I wouldn’t trade it for the world though. We are constantly surrounded by the sweetest children and have found a real sense of peace where we are. There are three kids that actually live there, and they are the grandchildren of the pastor. All of the other neighborhood kids view the house as their own playground though.
I can’t tell you how much I love being surrounded by the laughter of children all day long. Yes, peace and quiet is nice too, but there is something about a child’s laugh that just awakens your soul.
During the mornings, we walk around the houses in the neighborhood with Ma, (our cambodian mom) and pray for the families. Ma speaks only a tiny bit of english, but we’re normally able to get the gist of things with sign language. I’m getting pretty good at that though! In the afternoons, we teach english to all of the neighborhood kids. I have no idea how to teach english and it’s extremely hard without a translator, but we have an absolute blast, and we’re doing pretty dang good if I do say so myself!
This month has just been a month of peacefulness for me, which is much needed when you’re on a crazy journey like this! I have learned so much about love since being here, and I can’t wait to continue to learn more from these beautiful people.
I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you all following my journey and keeping me in your thoughts and prayers. I promise I’ll get better about writing blogs though so that you can all stay updated!
