Phnom Penh, Cambodia. View from my hotel window.
I have been home almost a month. I am still counting the blessings and the things I learned from this trip. Should I just start listing things off or try and be creative or poetic in my blogs? I'll just be me...
1. When God says go there or do this. Obey.
2. When you do God will show up in big ways.
3. He is the ultimate provider. No excuses for not doing kingdom work! God showed me His idea of provision and rocked my world.
4. He is the ultimate comforter. I didn't feel homesick at all. I missed my husband and kids but I had tremendous peace throughout the trip. The twins were diagnosed with bronchitis just days before I left and still I had PEACE!
5. There is no such thing as small kingdom work. Anything you do to grow God's kingdom is a big deal to Him. Whether it's cleaning toilets, changing diapers in the nursery, singing on the worship team, preaching, or traveling around the world to love on people, it matters!! It changes lives.
6. Just do something. Anything. Get involved. {Refer to #5}
7. Don't under estimate the power of a happy face. Not just a smile but actually having joy and showing it. It's a universal language.
8. Be flexible. {Like when you are in the Moscow airport and they don't sell real water. And all you want is real water, not something that fizzes when you open it.}
9. Mostly, I learned to really open my heart to people, to let people in.
10. LOVE LOVE LOVE people. Hold the baby without the diaper, hug the kids that live in the dump and have lice infested hair, dance and be silly, and just let anything go that hinders love.
Now for some pictures...
Airplane food is gross. I felt adventurous on the way there and ate some. I actually tasted every meal. On the way back...not so much.
Cambodians eat strange pizza. Those are hot dogs in the crust.
Participating in the feeding program at Kampong Thom was my FAVORITE part of the trip. I could do this all the time. {Then of course this puts the 1st two pictures into perspective. Humbled. Grateful.}
Baby holding. <3
Game playing.
Party time!
Every year Global Reach throws a party in Kampong Cham. They provide school uniforms, supplies, shoes, and other goodies for all of the kids in the Hope Center. This year there were 32 kids. The party was so fun!
Manicures at the party.
A few other things we did not pictured here:
1. Participated in an ESL (English as a second language) class. I got to participate in the kids' class and one of the little girls gave me a flower afterward. I loved this experience!
2. We went with New Life Church (a local church in Phnom Penh with campuses all over Cambodia) to the what they call the Dumps to teach bible stories and play with kids. These kids actually live in the dump, think landfill. Humbling isn't it?
3. We went to New Life Church's YO (youth outreach, youth group) and played games. Two of our team members gave their testimony and it was amazing.
4. We also went to New Life Church on Sunday. We helped with children's church and also attended the service. Both experiences were awesome. The Cambodian people are so excited about Jesus. Their hope and joy are very contagious!
5. Other big highlights from the trip were when we ate at Sugar & Spice Garden Cafe and Bloom Bakery. Sugar & Spice is operated by a Christian organization, Daughter's of Cambodia, that works diligently to bring both women and men out of the sex industry. Bloom Bakery is operated by, SHE Rescue Home. At Bloom they make amazing cakes and cupcakes (think about those crazy cake shows, they make things like that at Bloom). At both of these places I had to fight back tears, literally {I didn't want to come across as crazy}. I am simply awe struck of the things these daughters of God, these sisters in Christ, have had to overcome. It is nothing short of amazing what the restoring power of God can do. I wanted to hug them all!
The trip was such a great experience. I can't wait to do something like this again. I am ready!
