Greetings!
Yet again it’s time to pack up and leave another incredible month back on the field!
Cambodia truly has been one beautiful and redeeming experience.
The first half of the month was spent in a floating village between Siem Reap and Battambang on the Tonle Sap lake. I had the absolute honor to be with team DOE. Our ministry was teaching English to the Khmer kids who lived in the village. My class was a group of energetic elementary aged boys and girls. Something I learned on my race in Vietnam is how important it is to speak life over the children and to start them out declaring truth over themselves. So, each class we started out by repeating after teacher Michelle: “Today is going to be a good day!” It was fun to hear the students repeat this and throw up their hands in the air as they shouted good day! I felt deeply connected to these kids more than any other kids I’ve met while on the race. God truly used these kids to shower me with his love.
I had the privilege of teaching the ABCs every day. It was so fun to daily work through the alphabet and watch these children hunger for more and more. Alexis and I decided that the best way to teach the kids their ABCs was through a Sesame Street alphabet song that featured none other than Usher. So daily we had our students get up and dance as they sang their ABCs with Usher. This was absolutely priceless and one of my favorite parts of each day! Through out the week we taught the kids the seven days of creation and the story of Jesus. Through learning about Jesus as a baby, his three years of ministry, and then dying on the cross for all, these children day after day were exposed to the redemption and hope that is offered in Jesus Christ. Kids who have never heard about Jesus were hungry to hear more about this mysterious man from heaven and simply put it was AWESOME.
One day the village seemed quieter than usual and something seemed off. In addition to this somber feeling over the entire village, all of the kids were actually sitting still and behaving in class for once. We asked our students if something was wrong in the village and the response of one of our students was so precious. Voo, a five year old energetic boy, responded “nothing is wrong because Jesus is my Lord and Savior.” Our hearts instantly melted and any doubt that English wasn’t making an impact for the kingdom was erased. Later I found out after leaving the floating village that most of the kids on Easter Sunday when they finished sharing about Jesus accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. It was so encouraging to hear that seeds were being planted, watered and harvested during our time in the floating village.
DOE was the first race team to visit this specific floating village and we found out upon arriving that this floating village was an unreached people group. No churches, no fellowship, and no thought of life after death. I will forever hold this experience dearly and be eternally grateful for the impact God is allowing Joyner (our ministry host) and her mother to have as they seek to bring kingdom to this floating village.
After spending 10 days with DOE in the floating village I transitioned to team 1261, who were located in Battambang. Ministry with this team looked like teaching English to younger kids in the mornings and afternoons, while also working on helping clean, paint, sort, and prepare a library cafe. We partnered with Ezra ministries and absolutely enjoyed fellowshipping with the family who runs the ministry and is opening the library cafe! We all had bikes and were able to ride all around town and experience the city of Battambang. I truly enjoyed Battambang and serving alongside 1261 as we partnered with such a sweet family. A highlight of this ministry was trying all of the pastries that the family was making to serve in the cafe! My time with 1261 was super sweet and I absolutely loved connecting with each one of these incredible gals over coffee. God continues to show me my deep passion for discipleship and diving into the trenches with fellow believers and my time with 1261 was exactly this.
This month was an incredible month of pouring my heart out and sharing many of the lessons God taught me on my race. I have thoroughly enjoyed alumni squad leading and having the opportunity to walk alongside teams and encourage and challenge them as they individually dive deeper with the Lord and each other as a team and a community. I can truly say that my heart is deeply invested in these men and women and I am so excited to see how God continues to write their stories as they seek Him wholeheartedly.
In this month, God has completely taken me out of my comfort zone, stripped me of a lot of Michelle made plans, and shown me that God is in fact my daily bread and sustainer of my soul. Christ is enough in this season and for what is to come. I can daily depend on Him for everything and that is such a sweet truth I’m beginning to understand more and more.
My final update on this month is that I faced a lot of physical ailments. I struggled with fatigue, exhaustion, severe headaches, and joint pains for the majority of the month and it was scary. It was a struggle daily to choose joy and find God’s perspective as I felt so weighed down physically. Since getting to Thailand I have gotten some testing done and I am waiting for results. In Cambodia I saw a doctor and he thought I possibly had dengue fever or was still carrying typhoid, so prayers for clear answers are appreciated along with total healing and restoration of my physical health. I am feeling a lot better than I was a week ago, so I already know God is bringing healing, but I am still not 100%.
Thanks for reading my update and following along as I seek to pursue God through this epic season of alumni squad leading! It’s crazy to acknowledge that I only have two more months on the field and this season of the race is coming to an end, but what an INCREDIBLE two year season this has been!!
Be blessed my friends!
Until Next Time,
Michelle
(Our 1.5 hour boat ride to the floating village! We were only able to bring our day packs to the village!)
(Voo the precious 5 year old.)
(Ran into an old soccer buddy in Siem Reap who is currently serving in the peace corps! It was so CRAZY to run into Haley! We played on the same soccer team for 7 years and haven’t seen each other in 4 or 5 years. This made me miss all of the Synergy girls!!)
(Explored Battambang with 1261!)
(One of my sweet classes from the floating village! They were a hand full, but so fun!)
