No rice, no life.
សួស្តី
Sues-Day! That's how friends say "hi" in Khmer! :)
The last 3 weeks have been a beautiful blend of being broken & held together at the same time. The enemy has used more than one dirty trick to try to trip up the Carsons' and hinder the ministry taking place here. But God has used and is continuing to use all of it to bring us closer to Him, keep us more dependent on His grace and more vulnerable with each other. These weeks have held some personal challenges for all of us in different ways, but at the same time, we are have seen and continue to see fruit coming forth as a result of the pruning process.
Pruning is unavoidable, essential for growth, and never painless. But we {slowly} learn to embrace it because we want our lives to bear much fruit, fruit that will last. In spite of these various tests and trials, we have had some really special moments together. Sweet times of sharing our hearts, praying for each other and bearing each others burdens. We have laughed and we have cried, we've fasted and we've hugged and we've stood in the gap for one another.
God has been speaking, refreshing and leading us daily. He has made it clear than He is undeniably sovereign, completely in control and so worthy of our trust and adoration.
Here is my attempt at summarizing the last few weeks!
- On June 8th, an elementary school teacher and friend of the Carsons', Zach, arrived from Hawaii. He came to AGHO last summer for the first time and spent 6 weeks here teaching English and Sports. He's here again for the same length of time, but this go-around he has been spending more time investing into the teachers and helping them fine-tune their English abilities and knowledge of grammar, writing, etc. I have gotten to sit in on several of his classes and he's a great teacher! He's been a blessing to all of the students and teachers here, as well as the kids at the orphanage, the Carsons and myself!
- Two weeks ago, the Carsons, Zach, the six 12th graders at the orphanage and I loaded up in a van and made the 7 hour drive to the province of Battambang. There we attended the YWAM {{Youth With a Mission, to learn more click here}} graduation ceremony for the four oldest kids who have been there for the past 6 months. It was the first time I had met three of the four graduates, and it was so special getting to celebrate with them! We drove back to Takeo the following day, bringing them back with us. Two amazing young men Yong, who is 21 and Tong, 19 and two extraordinary young women, Keo, 19 and Pov 20 (pronounced Gyo and Bo). They are all serving at the school in various ways, helping with administrative needs in the office, filling in for teachers, helping lead worship and teach for chapel, selling food and drinks at the school's snack shop and lots of other things. Kit and Ream are so thankful to have them home for the next few months as they continue to seek God for what's next for their lives (some are considering returning to YWAM for more classes, others are thinking about attending university in the Fall).
- Alex and Nettie are continuing to teach their bible study with the teachers at AHFW school. And now Alex and Zach are both tutoring two of the more advanced English teachers one-on-one. Nettie is also providing more of a beginners English class for 12-15 other teachers at AHFW school. The last few weeks I have gotten to assist her and help with pronunciation, basic greetings and expanding their English vocabulary. It's been so much fun! We have a great time together :)
- Alex, Zach and I are on our 3rd week of learning Khmer! Tong has been teaching us on Wednesday afternoons and we all have a lot more sympathy for our English students now. I'm no linguist, but I can confidently say that these two languages are very different from each other. We struggle through and sound ridiculous 90% of the time, but it's been a good time learning together! We have learned 10 consonants and a few phrases so far, mostly about eating rice ;) {{side note: I gotta admit, I don't hate the rice. It's strangely comforting. It's the staple that holds every Khmer meal and home together. Even during the rare times where we have bread or noodles, we eat those precious little white grains as well. After a few westerner meals in the city, Pov said if she doesn't have rice, she feels sad and like she's missing a part of her. Which made me laugh, but she was pretty serious haha. As the Cambodian saying goes: no rice, no life}}
- Last weekend, Zach and I took Yong, Tong, Keo and Pov to Phnom Penh to just have some fun together and spend time with them! We met up with some of Zach's friends {{a young married couple named Phearom and Julie with 2 children who recently moved to Cambodia to be missionaries}} on Saturday morning and got to serve some very poor families with young children, many of who are begging and living on the streets. We handed out boxed lunches and bottles of water, and shared the good news of Jesus with them. Phearom is Cambodian and Julie is from the States {{reversal of Kit and Ream}}. They have been doing this type of street ministry for a few months now and are building relationships with these young and struggling families, and seeking to meet specific needs the families have. When I saw the small group of children approach us, I could tell by the dull red/brown streaks in their hair, a sign of malnutrition, that these kids have been hungry for most of their young lives. My heart broke for these little ones who are so vulnerable to abuse and the harshness of the world they're growing up in. I wanted to follow them around the rest of the day and make sure they got a good dinner too. But we got to tell them about Jesus and more importantly, show them that He loves them, notices them and cares for them. Praying for the inner-city ministry opportunities Phearom and Julie will continue to have as they share the Source of light and love in the capital! For a link to watch a video from that morning, click here.
- While we were in Phnom Penh, we had a great time touring the National Museum, eating BBQ on a boat going down the Mekong River, walking and talking and exploring and laughing together all over the city. We stayed at one of the coolest hotels I have ever been to, it felt like we were in a tree house in the rainforest. Low-hanging vines in the lobby, luscious tropical plants lining all the walkways, brilliant colored flowers every where we looked. It was amazing! True to Cambodian hospitality, we were served hot jasmine tea and beautiful plates of fresh fruit upon our arrival. The elegant breakfast we had on Sunday morning put our American "continental breakfasts" to shame. We really enjoyed our time there. Should you ever find yourself in Phnom Penh needing a place to stay, we give the Khmer Surin Boutique Guesthouse 2 thumbs up and 5 gold stars!
- On Sunday afternoon we met the Carsons at LOGOS church in the city and enjoyed a really powerful and encouraging message. It was a sweet time of fellowship with other believers. I got to connect with a pediatric doctor who I may have the chance to work with sometime in the next few weeks. I also met a gal who works with an organization aiding women who have been rescued out of the sex-trafficking industry. I am hoping to be able to visit their ministries/organizations and possibly serve with both of them before I leave at the end of July! We'll see what comes of all that :) If nothing else, it's always cool to meet other people with similar passions working towards the same ultimate goal - showing the world God's love for them.
- Two of the older girls, Pov and Jon have been staying in the team house with me for the last few weeks and are going to keep being my roomies for the rest of my time here. We have had so many good conversations, and we do mud masks almost every night. It's been so fun having them! I love all of my Cambodian sisters and brothers! Being apart of this big family here just gets better every day. So much love.
- Hand-washing education has continued this week, I still have the 6th grade class to teach and then I will have visited all of the elementary grades at the school! We are in the process of placing soap and soap holders at the sinks of the school as well. Thanks to those of you who have helped to fund this little project :) We could use about $120 more if anyone else wants to contribute!
- My health has been pretty much all the way back to normal. Thanks for your concern, love and prayers!!! Really, really appreciate all of you!
There's always more to share but hopefully I've caught you up on the highlights. Hard to believe I will be back in New York in less than 4 weeks! It's just crazy how fast the time has gone here. With less than one month remaining, my prayer is:
- to remain steadfast in my time with the Lord & keep Him the center
- to whole-heartedly continue investing into the people God has placed around me
- to not miss the opportunities God provides to serve, give to, listen and encourage others
- continue to abide and enjoy this season of being removed from the hustle and bustle of normal life
Also, I am going to Thailand for a few days next week! Alex and Nettie kindly invited me to come and visit while they are staying with Nettie's sister in her time share. It seemed too good of an opportunity to pass up. I'm looking forward to exploring another Asian country and hoping to have a tiger cub and a bowl of pad thai in my hands at some point. I'm sure I'll find some rice there too 😉
[above] YWAM Base in Battambang, Cambodia, graduating DTS students {{Discipleship Training School}}
[below] New grads + 12th graders + Kit & Ream + me!
[above] Tong, Yong, Keo, me, Pov & Zach on our BBQ boat cruise :)
[above] Keo & I wishing we knew how to play these instruments for real haha. Had fun trying though!
[below] Sharing the love of Jesus with some of the cities least of these.
[below] Nettie's English class of teachers from the school, they are so eager to learn! And she is a great teacher :)
[above] Zach teaching in one of the high school English classes
[below] Early morning runs through the rice fields have been so refreshing the last few weeks! And it's even prettier than this.
[below] My protege in the making ;-) Whether we are practicing letters, painting pictures or pretending, we're always having fun together.
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