In my support letter this year, I posted that you could see info from my last trip to Cambodia as well as my trip this year. I just wanted to post to say "thank you!" to those of you who actually came to check it out.
You can find my posts from last years trip in the blogs that preceded this one, so I won't rehash it all. But I wanted to give you a brief overview here, so you don't necessarily need to read through all the other ones if you lead a busy life. (But of course I would encourage you to read them all. They really do give you a good idea of what we did while we were there)
Here's the overview:
Last year, I spent 3 weeks overseas in Cambodia. There was a group of 17, and we spent time in Siem Reap, Battambang, and Phnom Phen. We went to house churches out in the villages, played with kids (lots of dia-dia-bagong *aka duck-duck-goose* and limbo), talked with pastors, spent time learning about the Khmer Rouge (the war that wiped out 1/3 of the population in the 70s), and helped out in a refuge for girls that had been trafficked (this place still had kids club every day for kids around the community...girls and boys. It teaches them about Jesus and gives them a place to feel safe. Many of these young children are trafficked at night, or working in the brick factories when they're not at kids club).
When I came back, people asked me "what was the best part of the trip?" Or "what was your favorite part?" And I constantly felt guilty. I don't have a best part or favorite part. I wasn't there to have fun, I was there to help Gods people. But what I learned while I was there broke my heart. Everyone I met was so joyful. They have nothing, they live off of almost no money at all, they love one another, and most of all they love Jesus. In a country that is primarily Buddhist, it's hard to be a Christian and stand up for what you believe! But these people love Jesus more than life itself. I learned things about myself that I never knew before. On my best day of worshipping The Lord, I don't even compare to them and their faith. With the obstacles they face daily, they have to be totally committed to The Lord with every decision they make. I can't seem to put into words the impact the people I met had on me...but I think you get the picture.
My life was completely turned upside down in Cambodia. Now I find myself dreaming about being there, smelling the air that made me turn up my nose the first time I stepped off the plane, listening to the chitter chatter of Khmer all around me. I miss that place. And I'm blessed to have the opportunity to go back.
Like it said in my letter, my roommate and I are going to stay an extra month after the team leaves to teach English at Hope Bible Institute in Battambang. All together, we will be there for 2 months.
So if you're interested in reading my thoughts this time around, you can see them here! We will take off mid May, so that's when you'll see this blog start up again. Remember, if you want these blogs sent to you while I'm over there, send me your email address! I'd love to share it with you :)
God bless you all. Have a great New Years!
