Honestly, I’ve loved Cambodia. We are teaching in an international school for young kids, which I never thought I’d love, but I do. And as its coming to a close, I’m starting to see all the ways I’ve been so prepared for it before I even got here. I fully believe the Lord prepared me for this season of my life, before I even knew I would be here.
Our contacts and the people that run the school here are a Korean missionary family. And so, although working with Koreans in Cambodia could be confusing, it is comforting for me. I spend vital years of my spiritual life at a student church which was started by a Korean family. So these Koreans and their children remind me of home. Thank you, Jesus, for comfort.
We were given bikes to get from our hostel to the school. And the traffic is a little bit all over the place and I still don’t get the rules, but I’m comfortable. And five years ago, I would have hated it. For a long time after my childhood I didn’t touch a bicycle. And then I got a job in a new city where I had one friend. But turns out her house, where I stayed, was a long bus ride from my job. And biking was actually faster. So I got into biking. And then I had biking roommates for the next three years. Thank you, Jesus, that bikes here were more of a comfort than a hindrance.
After the school day we have rowdy missionary kids come over to the school for an ESL class/bible camp type program. We’re supposed to run everything, so often it’s us hanging out with the kids. And, this is after a long day school day, so often we are tired and worn out. They’re good kids, but they require some discipline and some running around. Well, my apartment for over two years before I came on the Race had rowdy kids that came over unexpectedly at almost any hour of the day. Though my roommates at I learned to sometimes say no, we love those kids and they taught us a lot about discipline, especially when we’re tired. So, I was a lot better at this after school program than I thought I’d be. Thank you, Jesus, for chances to mess up so I could get better.
About a week in, our contacts at this school asked me to make them a website. Well, when I was in school I worked on a website for a Christian club I was in. So, I knew where to start and I knew how to keep going. This website has been fairly smooth sailing. Thank you, Jesus, because I know what it’s like to feel like you’re drowning in what you don’t understand.
Recently, I was woken up in the middle of the night by chills, which actually ended up being a centipede running all over me. And then it bit me. I walked into the bathroom surprised by a large bug jumping off me. Although it caused some serious pain, I wasn’t all that traumatized by the bug in my bed or on my body. For a time, in my old apartment, we had a large amount of bed bugs and cockroaches. There was one week where the bugs were especially bad where I literally imagined bugs crawling on me any time I tried to sleep. I was blessed by friends and places to go when I needed to get out. Though that was not a fun time it prepared me for this. Thank you, Jesus.
Often I don’t understand my life, what I’m going through or why I’m struggling. And if I’m honest, there are a lot of things that just haven’t made sense and maybe won’t in this lifetime. But here, in Cambodia, I’ve seen things in my life make sense. And I fully thank the Lord for putting it together.
