From my journal this morning . . .
Dear God,
I am currently sitting in a church in which they worship and preach in Khmer – a language I am unable to read or understand. However, Your Spirit is beyond present. I am enjoying myself so much. The people of Cambodia are stunning inside and out. I see You
radiating out of each of them – old and young. When we came in an old woman came and hugged each of us. The children sitting by us smiled every time we looked over at them and waved. I want to pour out here. I want to be immersed in this culture and get to
know it’s beautiful people. I am so overcome with gratitude. Seeing young children raise their hands to praise Jesus is something I haven’t seen before – You’re here. Thank You.
Love,
Nicole
We have been in Cambodia for a little over 48 hours. Yet, there is something about this country that draws me in. I feel so full of joy here. The people are so kind and welcoming, and it is refreshing coming from a country with limited freedoms to one where
you can openly express your faith. The people of Cambodia have been through so much – our host gave us a little orientation about the country on our first full day here. It is clear that God is moving in this country. The freedoms Cambodia has gained within
recent years are miraculous. They show the strength and resilience of these people. They show how Jesus never gives up. Still, not many people in Cambodia know Jesus. But you are able to openly express your faith without being persecuted, which is huge in
Asia. I truly believe that the Lord will work in Vietnam in the same way He has worked in Cambodia.
My team and I thought we would be living in a village, but it is more of a small city. We are located in the city of Stoeng Sen, in the Kampong Thom province – the heart of Cambodia. Our entire time here will revolve around teaching English at our host’s school,
which is only a few doors down from where we are living. Yesterday, I got assigned to help out with the 3-4 year olds. I will work with three classes per day and help the teacher with whatever she needs. In addition to this, I will be responsible for storytelling
and game time with my class. My team and I will also be involved with cleaning up the community when we have free time. Overall, this is going to be a much more scheduled and structured month than Vietnam was, which I am honestly kind of craving. I love kids,
so I am super excited to work with them every day. I am also interested in teaching when I get back to the United States, so this will give me a little taste of what that could be like. Something about this month feels really special, and I am super excited
to dive in with my first day of ministry tomorrow! We will get to meet the teachers we will be working with and get more information from there.
The neighborhood we are in is wonderful. In addition to staying right next to our school, we are right across the street from the local market which has everything you could ever dream of. There are also lots of traditional Cambodian restaurants nearby that
have amazing fried rice, noodles, and other foods. My favorite part so far is the coffee stand down the street which sells 32 oz. iced coffees for 75 cents. A river runs through the city, and it is very safe. There are more tuk tuks and motorbikes on the streets
than cars. Not many people speak English, but communicate with us through smiles and still want to meet us and welcome us despite the language barrier. However, learning English is very important for the next generation in Cambodia. So almost every child we
have met has been able to speak with us in fluent English, while most adults only speak a few words.
We have been greeted with hugs, high fives, warm smiles, and kids waving at us as they ride bikes by. I have never experienced a culture or community like this. I feel so blessed to be here and can’t wait to give back to these people. I have never met people
who reflect the radiance of Christ more…and like I have said, this is only my second full day here.
Enjoy some photos of our neighborhood and my new friend I made at church today 🙂
