Ok, so it’s been a while since I’ve posted. Like, almost two months. I’m sorry. Here’s some Cambodia catch up, and a little of what The Lord was teaching me in December.
Cambodia, my maybe favorite month on the Race. My team along with one other was located at a ministry in the province of Kampot, where we worked with this guy Vuthy and his ministry- Light of Hope.
Vuthy was a tuk-tuk (Cambodian style cab) driver in Phnom Penh prior to knowing Jesus. He was hired by a ministry there to drive around some teams who were visiting and working in Phnom Penh, and was intrigued at the compassion of these foreign visitors. He was awed by their desire to devote their lives to helping Cambodians, his people, when many Cambodians don’t have compassion for their own. That’s when he began asking questions and, in a nutshell, how he came to know Jesus as his savior. Fast forward through his discipleship school, the sacrifice of his tuk-tuk and livelihood to pay for it, and Vuthy found himself obeying God’s direction to move back to his home in Kampot and begin a ministry.
Light of Hope is the ministry that is flourishing in this little village south of the capital of Cambodia, where Vuthy takes in boys of all ages, from all kinds of situations. He raises them, educates them, disciples them, cares for them, and is their father figure. My team and I spent December doing all these things alongside him, and it was incredible. We taught English everyday, played with and loved kids, shared our stories, and built relationships with all the boys living with Vuthy.
Also, I harvested rice- itchy, itchy business, built a church, had a mud war in the rice fields, swam in a murky pond, cooked with ma, shopped for breakfast in the market, slept in a hammock, stargazed, worshipped, played cards, had countless movie nights, forgot about Facebook and internet, listened to awesome sermons on podcast, enjoyed beautiful scenery and sunrises while working out at 5:30 each morning, engaged in relationships with my teammates, boogied in traditional garb at a Cambodian wedding, felt sorta awkward at a Cambodian funeral, soaked up allll the sunshine at the beach on the Gulf of Thailand, explored Siem Reap, told a tuk-tuk driver about Jesus, and most importantly, grew closer to Jesus.
Christmas was awesome! We put on 3 different Christmas celebrations, 2 for the youth in the community and one family celebration. I got to help make curry for 200, gutted a chicken, decorated the church, purchased and assembled school supply bags for 200 students, participated in a gift exchange with the family, and shared the story of Jesus’s birth in my classes.
Our month was so, so good & full. The work we did filled my heart with love and happiness, despite the new levels of rotten my students could reach some days. I miss Cambodia and the people there, and am so excited to see how the ministry grows, as Vuthy’s vision for it continues to grow and be fulfilled, which includes a clinic and a discipleship school in the future. God showed me how one mans radical obedience to Him can grow a small thought or dream into a big, world and life changing ministry.
Check out my Cambodia album on Facebook for some pictures of my month! Thank you for reading, and for having grace for my furlough from blogging 🙂 please be in prayer for my fundraising, I am still short $2,100 which was due Jan 1. I trust completely that The Lord will provide when and how ever He wants, He’s gotten over $13,000 in my account and 2 more is nothing for Him! Vietnam blog soon to follow! Xoxo
