It’s been said time and time again, “On the World Race, the days are long and the weeks are short.” Honestly, there’s no better way to put it. Our three weeks at the Joy Community Center in Takeo, Cambodia flew by. They were filled with simple, tangible ministry that filled my team with joy. During the day we would do many jobs, like painting, moving dirt, picking up trash, filling cracks with cement, and cleaning up.
On October 23rd, our team piled into a huge tuk tuk and drove to a drug rehabilitation center after church. I was honestly terrified about what our ministry host wanted us to do there. As we sat in the small, cement room with a single fan, what looked like jail-cell bars on the windows, and about 50 pairs of eyes staring back at us, I began to question why God had brought us there. We introduced ourselves and then two teammates shared testimonies on times in their life they had obstacles that they had to overcome and how God was their steady hand through it all. It was an incredible time of encouragement and a completely eye-opening experience. God used that afternoon to show me how God’s power can be shown even in the most difficult of situations. He is still good even though the situation may not be.
On October 25th, we went to a nearby village to do a few Bible story skits, play a few games, and sing some songs. The kids here absolutely love the baby shark song. While they played duck, duck, goose, I talked with one of the girls who lived at the Joy Center. Her heart for the Lord and her confidence in who He has called her to be completely blew me away. I stood there in awe of how God was working through her and giving her opportunities to shine His light even when she doesn’t like the situation.
Every evening, my teammate Brandi and I taught English to an intermediate class. It’s hard and can be extremely awkward in pretty much every way. We had no idea what we were doing most of the time, but it was really was fun. We had a great time and genuinely were able to find the joy in the awkwardness. I am so thankful that those kids had a desire to learn and were able to find more of Jesus in the process.
God has worked through this month. He has shown up in the relationships that have been built, in the each of the kid’s faces every afternoon, and in pretty much every second. Learning to live completely dependent on Him is hard, but it’s so sweet and so worth it.
