This month my team and I are in Battambang, Cambodia (pronounced “Bottom-Bong”). Fun fact: we did not know this was where we were going to be until the day before we were supposed to leave Siem Reap, Cambodia where we were having a debrief with the entire squad! Talk about living in the moment! This month, we are doing ATL (ask the Lord): basically we have no structure, no ministry contacts, or any limitations and we literally just live life by the Holy Spirit’s guidance. We pray and listen to the Lord to see where He wants us to live, how He wants us to spend our resources (money, time, etc.), and how He wants to use our team for the month. It is an opportunity to hear from the Lord and walk in obedience like never before! It is also good preparation for when we go home in 3 months where there will be no one telling us how to serve the Kingdom except the voice of the Lord. And now that you have a little background on how we entered this month, I want to tell you what the Lord has done so far!
First off: How we ended up in Battambang!
The day before we are supposed to leave debrief and start ministry somewhere in Cambodia, we are told “this month is ATL, go with your new teams and pray through these cities (Siem Reap, Battambang, and Phnom Penh) to see where the Lord wants you to be”. So all 3 teams split up and prayed: 2 teams (ours and another) put down that they felt like the Lord was leading them to Phnom Penh. So leadership decided to send the other team there and our team to Battambang because of the ministry we said we were interested in doing: investing in street kids, praying for healing, bringing lift to other missionaries, and loving locals well. At this point none of us knew anything about Battambang but we were excited to see what the Lord had for us!!! After we found out which city we were in, we quickly booked a hostel within budget and bought our bus tickets!
Second off: Ministry!!!
We arrived early afternoon the next day. We began praying and brain storming about where we could do ministry this month and reached out to many local ministries in hopes of hearing a response from at least one of them. And one of my teammates had a business card in her pocket of a lady she met in the States that lived in Cambodia and do you know where in Cambodia she lived, according to her business card? You guessed it! She lived and did ministry with YWAM in Battambang. There was also a cross fit with the YWAM and one of my teammates wants to pursue health as fitness and they were one of the first ministries that came up when googling places to volunteer. It really really seemed like all signs were pointing to YWAM, Battambang. And if you remember, I have worked with YWAM in 2 other countries so you best believe I was excited to see what the Lord had for us there. We also found out that the next night they had a worship session open to the community! We saw this as the door the Lord was opening for us to have conversations and ministry with YWAM.
So the next evening, we turn on our maps and start walking to YWAM. We were in the city and YWAM was about a 30 minute walk outside of the city On our way there we came across a group that asked if we were from YWAM because they were a DTS team from YWAM in Thailand (another sign, right?!). They were not quit ready to leave as we were walking by so we told them we would see them there! So we keep on walking and google maps (God) takes us down this street: Street 536. This street is one we would consider to be in the slums: small houses (but not like in America), no A.C. (And Cambodia is hot), tiny outdoor shops with snacks and things, dirt road, pot holes, and the friendliest people ever. As we were walking down this street, all the kids and adults said hello with a big smile (don’t be fooled, they don’t know much more English) and we all just felt very welcomed there! As you can imagine, it probably looked a little odd that 7 white women were walking down a street that is definitely not on trip advisors “recommended places to visit while in Battambang.” Anyway, we kept walking, walking, and walking because maps told us that we were going to turn right onto an upcoming street. As we were walking we came across a dirt field and an idea was expressed “Wouldn’t it be cool to go buy a soccer ball and come here in the afternoons to just play with the kids on this street?” The idea stuck. Sometimes the Lord leads you one place to get you to where He really wants you to be and for us that was the dirt field on Street 536.
We ended up finding the street YWAM was on that google maps was talking about – which was literally a path through someone’s yard that came out on the main road that google maps “should of” had us walking and YWAM was right there. The worship night was great and we did end up getting to talk to some people there! And almost every morning at 6am we go do cross fit with YWAM and have met some really cool people through doing that! And it is a way we can bring lift to the people and ministry there – by praying for them, being an encouragement, and supporting them by going to their classes!
Over the next couple of days, we spent time prayer walking, moved to a hostel that was surrounded by the slums, and established what we want this team’s culture to look like (we have only been a team for a few days after all). We went through Acts 2:42-47 and discussed ways we could literally live that out. We want to live in the Upside Kingdom that is counter culture to this world and create a space that is safe, inviting, and ultimately centered on Christ. The way the Lord has lead this team, not even in ministry but as a team, as we try to walk in obedience to what He is calling us to do has been incredible. He is asking us to live in ways that most other people would think is risky and it is. But the Lord is worth every risk. Plus it gives Him space to show off!
One morning, as we were prayer walking, one of my teammates and I bought a soccer ball so we could go play at the field on Street 536 in the afternoon. We had teammates that went there in the morning to pray over the field and they ended up getting to hang out with a few kids while they were there! And that afternoon, 2 of my teammates and I went to the field. At first not a lot of kids showed up but many passed by on bikes and we finally convinced some to come play with us. By the end, quite a few had joined the party and we have gone back as a team every afternoon (weather permitting) since! And the Lord has truly blessed us by putting these kids in our lives.After a few afternoons, we went from waiting on the kids to join us to them waiting on us to join them! It is such a sweet ministry to be able to bring some play and love into these children’s lives. To be able to bring the community together as the number of kids coming grows and the number of parents coming to watch also grows. Some of the kids even speak some decent English! And not only do we get to invest in street kids but we get to pray for healing when they fall/crash their bikes because they are just being kids, and tell them, as one of my teammates puts it “my friend Jesus heals people”.
The parents of these children are ones that grew up during the all too recent Cambodian Genocide and never had the opportunity to be children. And after educating ourselves on this genocide, we realize many of the parents undoubtedly had their parents taken from them or were taken from their parents. So they never really learned what love looks like. Our prayer is that we are bringing hope and love to the parents as well as the kids. Showing them that good still outweighs evil, even when life circumstances don’t necessarily show that. So with this, the Lord has granted us the opportunity to engage and love on the local people.
Third off: Glimpse of personal journey!
All of the things we wanted to do for ministry: investing in street kids, praying for healing, bringing lift to other missionaries, and loving locals well, the Lord gave us. Not quite in the way we thought He was going to but in a much sweeter, unforgettable way. There’s already been a bond formed with the people in this neighborhood that makes me sad to leave in a week. But the Lord is teaching me to cherish where I am at. Street 536, a street unknown to the world, is the main ministry the Lord has called us to here in Battambang, Cambodia. And while we provide the children with a ball, bubbles, jump ropes, prayer, play, and love they are teaching me what it means to be childlike again and how to have joy in the simple things.
Currently, I am walking though one of the hardest spiritual seasons of my life, if not the hardest, and it has been ongoing for the past two months. The Lord is asking me to do some very hard things but He is using the children on this street to remind me what joy and child-like faith looks like. To bring laughter and fun into my life in a way that only children can. And while we are praying for spiritual and physical healing for them, the Lord is using them to bring spiritually healing to me. He is also using this ministry to pull me out of myself and focus on those around me, which oftentimes is a nice break from my own fight and fun opportunity to see the Lord in a new way! And despite being in a hard place personally, the Lord’s goodness and faithfulness through this season is undeniable. The Lord knew I needed the daily laughs and smiles and something so easy to be thankful for in this season of personal growth and maturity, which hopefully I will be able to be in a place to write about at some point.
As you remember my team and I please pray for energy to play with the kids, unity and community to continue to form in our team, strength to do what the Lord is asking me to as He digs up roots that have been growing for a long time, and for Jesus and the heart of the Father to be what our friends on Street 536 see!
Thank you for taking the time to read this blog and as always, I appreciate your prayers and support! I wouldn’t be on this journey without you!
