My time in Cambodia has blown all my exceptions away. Thinking back to month one in Battambang feels like a distant memory. I had a great time there and it was a really great place to start the race but that month doesn’t mean as much to me as the past two have.
The past two months I have been living in a small village an hour outside of Kampot, Cambodia. The most beautiful and simple place. The land is covered in rice fields and palm trees. Our little compound that we called home and the village as a whole holds so many amazing memories for me. I got to build life long friendships with my team, laugh my head off, grow spiritually like never before and invest in the people of our village.
All those things made its so incredibly hard to leave. The last couple weeks I was overcome with thankfulness in the simplest moments, from coffee in a bag across the street to my students asking to go pray for a sick neighbor. Jesus is so good and I am blessed to have such an amazing home that was hard to leave.
Our last day was Wednesday and as I was on my last “flower walk” with the kids that I had spent more than 100 hours with I asked the Lord to slow down the day so I could take it in one last time. He did exactly that. Wednesday lasted years. It was beautiful but hard. We had a cute picnic lunch with coke, colored with the kids, prayed for elderly neighbors, had a little party, played futball and had a bbq with our ministry host.
Saying goodbye was the most impactful part. We first dropped off our ministry host’s wife, Srey Nech. Who cared for us so deeply, hung out with us and loved us well. It was a teary goodbye. We then went home and had a time of feedback for Vuthy. This was a really powerful time to really encourage Vuthy in how he is looking like Jesus. The way Vuthy poured into us and pours into the community impacts me so deeply. He walks through this village just like Jesus would. Being a ministry host is a freaking hard job. Constantly pouring out and then being left. Yet, Vuthy continues to pour into teams and literally change their lives because of it. Vuthy in tears told us that it is so encouraging to have teams here because in this community he feels alone and with teams here he feels like there are people like him. He said we were like sisters to him. This wrecked me. We said goodbye to Vuthy Wednesday night hugging as he weeped.
Thursday morning we started our travel day early and my four favorite students/best friends came to say goodbye. We sang ‘Joy to the World’ one last time hugged many times and said goodbye. As we drove away these little ten year olds stood there and wiped away their tears.
Getting in that van was so hard. Driving out of our gate knowing I will probably never be back to this place that has changed my life. Leaving people that I loved so deeply. It sucks leaving home.
I am continually thanking God for giving me a place to fall in love with and being blessed with such an amazing time. But now I am moving on to the next season of my race. December 9th I fly to Ethiopia, which I am so excited for. Right now I am really learning how to go from season to season, mourning an ending but welcoming a begging.
