It’s month 5….. I cannot believe it’s month 5. These past couple months have been mixed with a lack of internet (Madagascar), to a lack of freedom to speak about Jesus and what I am doing (Vietnam). But now here I am in Cambodia, (sweating my tush off) with some time to give you all some updates of what’s been going on these last couple months. So here’s a little run down from where I left off and what this month has been like so far.
_______
Madagascar
Madagascar was quite the month, to say the least. It was the month that felt like the longest so far. We had all squad month, so all 40 of us were on a compound in Tana living and doing ministry together. Within the second day of ministry half of our squad was being taken to the doctor and were unable to go to our scheduled ministry. My first week of ministry was spent going into different schools to encourage the students, play games with them and share about my personal relationship with Jesus. Many in Madagascar claim to be Christian and know about the Lord, but few have personal relationships with Him. Through the first week the Lord was teaching me, quite literally, what it means to rely on Him for the strength. Since so many people were sick, the ones who were able to go to ministry would be in different classrooms by ourselves speaking for 5 hours a day (not to mention our long and hectic bus rides on crammed and small taxi’s to and from ministry). Each day I would come back to the compound being so mentally exhausted and emptied. That week a couple of us also went to a village and spoke and celebrated women’s day. It was a long and tiring week, and it was tough getting adjusted to the very heavy spiritual climate.
The second week, more of the team was starting to feel better (Hallelujah!) and we went into the downtown city of Tana and into the poorest area there was. We walked around the area with our translators and the memebers of the church. We prayed for the area, we visited people in their homes where we encouraged and prayed with them. What blew me away was how welcoming and how excited these people were for us to come and speak to them and pray for them. I was also able to do street ministry in this area at a team leader outing as well, where we bought lunch and found others to eat and spend time with.
We ate lots and lots of bread and carbs. It was normal to not have water during the day, but expect water at night. It was normal for the power to randomly go out without knowing when it would come back on. I really enjoyed being able to work along side the translators, get to know them and spend time laughing with them and talking with them. Those in the church we also worked with were the kindest and most welcoming people that had the biggest hearts. I am grateful for the naps we were able to take at their homes, all the yummy food they supplied and prepared for us, and for their prayer and support.
Our last week as a squad was spent out in Lake Mantasoa, in a village called Kanana. It was so different going from in the city of Tana where we took buses to our ministry locations, to the village where we had to walk 8 miles somedays for ministry. We also could pick our own ministry schedule which included either painting, woodwork, children’s ministry, boat evangelism, door to door ministry, construction, landscaping, helping out in crafts with their business and many other options. We had a family fun day, where I taught a little boy how to beatbox, and we were able to play games, worship and pray for people in the community. We were also right by a lake, we stayed in our tents, we helped prepare the meals and do chores, we had to hike up a pretty decent sized slope to get to our eating area, and we had fresh air that I was so grateful for. The week wasn’t easy by any means, but I am grateful for the prayer tent that we had, our Holy Spirit night, the conversations I had with my squad-mates, the baptisms and getting to learn more Malagasy from the villagers.
It was the first month that closely lined up with what I imagined the race would look like. It was a hard month personally, and I am still trying to process and unpack more of what the Lord was teaching me through thing that were brought up in this month.
________
Vietnam
What was so different and shocking for myself was going from the conditions and living of Madagascar to such familiar home-like conditions of Vietnam. The biggest challenge too was that we were able to be Christians but not openly evangelize and truthfully come out and exactly share everything we have done and were doing.
In Vietnam I was in the city of Ho Chi Minh, that was very much a regular modernized city. I was working in a private school with my teammate Victoria teaching English to high schoolers. All of us girls were working with the private school, but had different ages and groups of students. We also lived in the dorms with some of our older students whose home town’s were too far away to travel from each day. My weekly schedule included teaching the same students a couple times a week and getting to teach them proper English and know them more personally. I really loved and enjoyed the academic level of students I had, because they were able to speak and know English and were mainly practicing how to pronounce and formulate sentences correctly. Since they were at this level, during class time we would go over certain topics and questions that would not only help them with their English but we were able to get to know each other at a more personal level. Every Wednesday we also helped with a ministry that prepares 1,000 meals every week for children and their families that are in the hospitals. We looked like we were surgeons (or Mennonites) since we had a uniform we had to wear when doing it. It too was also a great experience and sweet to work along side others in the ministry. Many spoke English but were afraid to speak because they thought their English wasn’t very good.
What was so different in Vietnam was that we had hot showers, constant availability to water and electricity, air conditioning, coffee shops (even a Starbucks), so many different stores right outside our dorm, and an easy accessible amount of internet that was just like home. Personally having so much access to internet was a struggle because I saw myself slipping back into old habits of scrolling to counteract emotions I didn’t want to feel, and issues within myself I didn’t want to confront. I’m glad the Lord brought it to my attention and even though I can’t take back the time I spent in that old cycle, I’m working on using my time in the future –when I do have access to internet–to be more intentional in how I use it and to break this cycle for the future when I do go back home to the same availability I have.
_______
Cambodia
First things first, I have a new team! At our last debrief we had team changes and I am now on a team with five different girls from my squad. I already miss the girls on my own team, but the Lord has put so much hope into my heart of what He will do through these new teams–which makes me super pumped!
So now to Cambodia itself. I expected Cambodia to be a lot more rural and more limited like it was in Madagascar. Some things have been similar to other months in our living, like our optional squatty and bucket showers, and some power outages; but it also has been different than what I expected. It is hot here. I was told it was going to be, and they were correct. Never in my life have I sweated so much in my life. I have taken ice cubes and my winters for granted my whole life….
We are in the city Siem Reap, and if you go downtown it can be very touristy due to the Angkor Wat Temples that people from all over the world come to see. We have more internet access than other countries we have been to, and you can find very American products and comforts if you want to spend the money. Our hosts and the people we work with are also so welcoming and sweet like the other countries we have been to as well.
This month so far has consisted of teaching English and helping in the church’s school. My teammate Bekah and I have been in a kindergarten class (2-4 year olds) and have been helping the teacher in the morning with the little nuggets. Thursday and Friday are their English days, and we were able to help last Thursday teach the little ones the number 8 and the letter H. They are hilarious. They have so much energy. Some cry, some are loud, some love to snuggle up and sit right beside you during lessons, and some love to be carried around and to take pictures. It’s only been one week and I know I’ll miss the little ones when we have to leave. There are also many different classes throughout the day and so many different opportunities to teach the teachers and help out. In the next couple weeks we will be working at the church’s school again, as well as at a Korean school, and then working at a village our last week here. I’m excited for all that is yet to come and the time to grow and learn not only about this culture and the people in Cambodia, but also my new teammates.
Yeah….so there is my (not so little) update on these last couple months. I hope to be better at my blogging in the future times to come to keep you all updated. Thank you always for the tremendous prayer and support! God Bless.
In Christ,
M.
P.s. If you didn’t see my teammate Kelly’s post of our first 24 hours you should check it out. It was our funny but very real experience when we first got here…. http://kellywisner.theworldrace.org/post/24-hours-in-cambodia
