Today's adventures

Today, we did some things I can't blog about for the sake of safety and anonymity. But I can tell you that it was a terribly emotional day. Even though this is my second year, certain things hit me so hard still. 

The parts I can tell you about are pretty great though. We did some house church ministry today, and that was awesome. The kids were so happy and excited that we were there! It's always amazing to me how excited the kids get about having a marker to use! When we went to leave, the church leaders cut us each open a coconut so we got some fresh coconut milk before we left. I'm always amazed at how generous Khmer people are. They literally have nothing to spare, but they are always gifting us and blessing us in some way. 

This girl asked to take a picture with me when we were getting ready to leave. Maybe because I'm so white...? 

That's all I can muster for tonight. It was an emotional day, and I'm ready for some sleep! 

Please continue praying for the things I've been posting recently. Our team and this country can always use prayers! 

God bless. Xo

First day of ministry

Yesterday, we embarked on our first day of ministry. We woke up early and headed out to a house church with a couple HBI people along with us. (Including Sam who I wrote a lot about last year). W had about a 2 hour drive out to the house church, so 2 sisters helped Nicole and I with our Khmer I little bit on the way. They're two girls that we'll be doing some English work with during our extended stay. 

The house church was amazing!! The kids were so precious, and they had huge smiles on the heir faces. We did some art projects, played some games, and sang some while we were there. Pictures describe it better than I ever could.

After our time at the house church, we went over to the 1,000 step temple. This is where I was attacked by a monkey last year, so I had a pretty interesting hike. Constantly on the lookout! But no monkeys...until the top. 

After the 1,000 step temple, we came back to the hotel for just about an hour. We showered (some of us), ate some dinner, and then headed right back out. But this time, it was for the circus! Battambang has a circus of students who are still practicing their acrobatic skills. When they're ready, they'll be sent to Siem Reap for that circus. It was a pretty awesome experience!

The we got back from the circus and I passed out for the night. 

Please pray for:

- the house church. They asked for prayer about their funds so they can make their space a little nicer. Cement on the ground, a real fence around the property, better chairs, etc.  

- our team. As we get into the grind of the trip, people are starting to feel sick, tired, and sore. Please pray that we will keep our health,energy, and drive to serve!

- those who worship at temples like the one we were at yesterday. Please join us in praying that they'll hear about Jesus and change their lives. The only way Cambodia can make a comeback from the evil they've been sucked into is through the hope of Jesus Christ. 

Thank you again for being our prayer warriors! God bless. 

Great pictures so far

Jolene and I riding on a tuk tuk from the hotel to bus station. 

Nicole and I at the Taiwanese airport...we're ready for this adventure!!!

Cows being transported on the back of a tuk tuk. This was an accidental picture, but I love it!

The gorgeous sunset. I think it's God saying "Hey...I'm here! Listen to me, and I'll give you a plan"

Bus ride to Battambang

Today was our last travel day for a while. We got up, ate breakfast, and jumped on a bus to travel the 6 hours from Phnom Penh to Battambang.

During the bus ride, I read through John 4, 5, and 6. There were a lot of things I underlined and felt encouraged by, but chapter 4 was the best. In John 4, the story of the woman and the well comes alive. It's one thing to read this story while you're sitting in your comfy living room or sanctuary. But when you're in a country where people really do get their water from wells, the story takes on a whole new meaning. Then when that country also struggles with prostitution and polygamy, the story takes on even another meaning. The woman at the well was tired of having to go to the well to draw water. It's an exhausting journey. When women here go to the well to draw water, they wrap a scarf around their head and carry the jar over that. And the water is going into a clay pot. (In case you're wondering, those aren't light). So in verse 15, she says "sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water." She's tired of going back and forth for water. It would be so much easier if Jesus could just quench her thirst permanently. Little does she know what's going to happen next. Jesus tells her to bring her husband...well, she tries to play it off cool. "I have no husband" she says. Well, sorry lady. That's not going to help you with Jesus. He replies "you're right in saying that you have no husband. You have had five. And the man you are with now is not your husband." I can only imagine what her face looked like in that moment. Or what was going through her head. Probably something like : dang it! Not only does my community know and judge me for it, but even this man knows. 

Anyways. Jesus doesn't condemn her (because, remember, 3:17 told us he didn't come to condemn but to save) but instead encourages her. She ends up going home and telling her family about what happened. This is another thing I understand way more when I'm over here. EVERYTHING is a family decision and commitment. I'll talk more about that later. This one meeting between herself and Jesus led them to believe in Christ. Then when he came and performed miracles there, they were able to say "now we believe for ourselves and not because of your testament." So cool!!! 

Jesus works in amazing and mysterious ways, huh?

So that's it for my reflection on what I read. Now back to what I was saying about families. Everything over here is still a family decision. I remember a conversation last year, that left me so dumbfounded. Someone that's working with AIM (agape international missions) was telling me a story about a girl they went to talk to that was working in a brothel. She had the same story as most: her family needed money, and in order to provide the cash, she was selling her body. When AIM came in and told her about the opportunity to leave the brothel, learn a trade, and be successful in other ways, she seemed really interested. But she told them she would have to ask her mother first. They received word later that said she wasn't going to come. Guess why? That's right, because her mother didn't trust that money would come in if she stopped. So the girl stayed at the brothel!! She had a multitude of other things she could have done. She could have stopped herself from being molested every night. But instead of thinking all those things for herself, she stopped and respected the culture. She called her mom. 

In some ways, that's something we should admire and strive for as Americans. To respect and honor our parents that much. I know every child knows they have work to do on that front. But at the same time, you just want to shake them and yell "Forget about your mom!! She's not looking out for what's best for you!" 

Our prayer requests today: 

- as we begin our first day of ministry tomorrow, I would ask you to pray for our hearts to be opened and full. That we would be prepared to give 115% every day for the next couple weeks. 

- that God would open the hearts and minds of the people we're going to meet. Not everyone is on board for Jesus' word being spread. 

- the staff at HBI (Hope Bible Institute) and the work they're doing. Church planting, teaching students, and spreading the word of God!

- and of course, keep praying that God will be with Nicole and I. That we won't run out of steam, and will be ready to go when the rest of the team leaves and we're on our own serving. 

Thank you for being our prayer warriors! We are so blessed by you!

Xo

Flight time

3 planes, 18 hours of flying, and 10 hours of layovers later....we're in Cambodia!! 

The flights went well, other than a pretty bumpy ride on the 12 hour flight. My mind and body went against my wishes and kept me up the whole time, but it gave me time to read, pray, and prepare. I know that being back in Cambodia is going to be a huge blessing but also a struggle. The things that broke my heart last year, are bound to break it again; but I'm also sure I'll find new things this time around that will create a whole new crack in my heart. I have done a lot of praying that God will prepare my heart before I get into these situations. Last year I struggled with anger and confusion when I saw the heartbreak the Khmer people had to endure. I know that the poverty levels and trafficking rates haven't changed, and I know I will see a lot of it again. I am just praying that I will deal with it with a loving spirit. Lars challenged me to read through the book of John while I'm here, and even recorded himself reading some of it, so I can hear his voice but also be encouraged by the word of God (what a guy, right?). Since I've been awake during all of the flights, I've had a chance to read a lot already. And something really stuck out to me. 

John 3:17 comes after the most popular verse of the Bible. But it's often overlooked. It says "for God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." Why don't we have this verse memorized as well as John 3:16?? It is SO IMPORTANT. Jesus didn't come to this earth to condemn people and tell them they were going to hell. He didn't come to say "if you don't do church this way, you're wrong" or "if you let a wife pray before the meal, it won't be heard." Those are things that religious people have made up over the years by reading way too far between the lines of different texts (a rant I could continue on, but will leave out because it has no relevance). Jesus came to this earth so that we might be saved through him!! That's a big deal. The sole purpose of him coming was to save us. He gave us some great pointers along the way. He performed amazing miracles. He proved to those who chose to listen and follow that God is the one true king. My goal while I'm here in Cambodia is to love on people. To not only tell them about Gods enduring love for them, but also the good news and joy we have through Jesus. We have so many things to rejoice about. Our savior hung on a cross as intercession for our sins. We can go to heaven because God sent his son to take on flesh and live a life surrounded by jealous, angry, argumentative, selfish people. And those traits didn't stop then. Those traits are found within ourselves even today. This year, I'm going to do a lot more thinking about my own life and how I can fill those shortcomings with Jesus instead. And I'm going to do less thinking about how awful the parents of Khmer children can be. I'm going to take the disapproving look off my face when I look at the pimps on the streets. Because if there's anything those people need, it's to see someone looking back at them with hope in their eyes. Hope that they will change. And when I step back to let Jesus shine through,  instead of letting my human emotions take over, I think that will be way more possible. 

John 3:16-17 

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him."  

I hope that encourages you and pushes you the same way it did me. 

I'm here safe in Cambodia, and am ready to take on the next 44 days of adventure! I can't wait to see what God does next. 

Please pray for: 

- the people we are able to reach while we're here. We won't be able to preach the word to every Khmer person, but please join us in praying that the people we DO reach will chose to go out and reach others. 

- health throughout the trip. We haven't had any sickness yet, but it comes easily when you're eating new foods and adjusting to a new sleep schedule. 

- Nicole and I. We will be staying a little longer than the rest of the team in order to teach English at a university in Battambang. (If you read my blogs last year, or chose to go back and review them this year, you'll see that I talked a lot about a guy named Sam. We will be working with him). Please pray for strength, safety, and wisdom while we stay. 

Thanks for checking in and reading about the exciting start to the trip! 

God bless 

Xo

^^^^^

That's what they feed us on the airplanes. Full course meals. And it includes dessert!! Yum :)

Forced prep time

Sitting in the airport gives you so much time to just sit and think about the trip ahead of you. Conversations with friends, prayer time, and texts to my loved ones have been prepping me today. I know that this years trip is going to be so different than last years. I'll see a lot of the same things, sure, but I'm also sure that I'll see things differently. I'll have a new perspective this time around. I'm so excited to watch God work and have my heart and mind opened to even more this time around. 

The last year seemed to fly by. Here I am again: playing the hurry up and wait game. I'm going to spend a lot of time in prayer and the word on the next leg of the flight (the longest part of the trip). Hopefully I'll have some pretty awesome stuff laid on my heart, and I'll be able to share those with you next time I get on and blog! 

Thanks for getting on, and being willing to follow my trip here. I am so blessed by you all. 

Please be praying for: 

- the hearts and minds of everyone going on the trip. Even the returners will have their eyes opened to new things, and their hearts broken. The newcomers will face the issues for the first time. God give us strength!!

- the pilots. We obviously want to make sure we're safe the whole time, and I always like to pray that God will give our pilots the wisdom to make the flights easy, safe, and quick!! 

I love you all. Thanks for being prayer warriors for us! Xo

Dinner Conversations

Last night, I had dinner with a man named Rich Little (he spoke at NCU's chapel on Friday, and is preaching at my church tomorrow, and he's staying with the Coburns). Something he said struck me, and I thought it was worth sharing. This may not be exactly what he said, but it's what I took away from it, and is rephrased a bit (because I can't remember exactly what he said word for word)

He said that one of the problems with churches, is that people go there with empty buckets and expect them to be filled. This leads to the congregation leaving feeling empty more often than not. Instead of showing up with empty buckets, the congregation should be in fellowship throughout the week. This way, we have our buckets filled a little bit at a time day after day. When our buckets are filled by Sunday morning, we are able to fill other's buckets while fellowshipping before and after the service. As my roommate pointed out when I told her about this, not everyone will show up on Sunday morning with already filled buckets. People have bad weeks,  dry spells in their lives where they don't feel God's presence like they used to, and go through hard times. This is even more of a reason to come with a full bucket when you're not in these situations. It gives you more of a chance to pour out into other people's lives.

I was moved by this, because I realized how often I DON'T show up to church with a full bucket. It's something I am going to work on. I challenge you to think about this as well. Maybe if we all thought like this, churches would be healthier and congregations would be more loving with one another.

God Bless you guys!
I hope you all enjoy your Sunday morning worship services tomorrow morning!