After walking out of the airport to meet the team for the first time, the heat and humidity almost knocked me backwards. I felt an instance connection with everyone in our group, so I thought, This week is going to be cake! While on the drive to the guesthouse, I got a glimpse of the people and I also go a huge whiff of the garbage on the streets. Then I thought to myself, My goodness, what have I gotten myself into? It was a huge culture shock for me to see how normal it is just to leave trash lying around.
The first couple of days were full of the team visiting museums and NGO's, getting a taste of the history of Cambodia to help us understand the reason why this country is in the shape it's in. Those first few days really discouraged me. I was heartbroken for the people and wanted so badly to help them, but I felt as if I made a mistake coming here. I had an extremely deep conversation with God the second night before I fell asleep. While crying, I kept asking God to show me why He led me to Cambodia, and to help me see these people and this place the way He sees them. I poured my heart out to Him because I honestly felt like I came here for no reason.
The very next day, we went to the riverfront to do a prayer walk and to interact with some people. Just within a few minutes, kids flooded our corner, wanting us to buy bracelets from them. The first little girl I bought bracelets from was so cute and so sweet. She became my new friend. She told me her name and said ti was night to meet me. We talked for a few minutes and I asked her to pick out her three favorite bracelets for me to have… so she did. Then we parted and the team continued to walk the sidewalk and pray.
After a few minutes, I saw a little boy sitting on a bench keeping an eye on his aunt while she worked. He told me his name and age and that his parents had died. His aunt takes care of him. I gave him a bracelet and I told him that Jesus loves him… and so do I. His face lit up. He was so happy to hear that. We got to sing a few worship songs for him and his aunt… and they really enjoyed it!
When we left them and walked back to where we started, I thanked the Lord because this was exactly what I needed. I needed to show people… kids… that there are people that love them and care about them. More importantly, they needed to hear about the love of Jesus.
We found a shady bench to sit on and red while we continued praying. After a few minutes, the same kids selling bracelets surrounded us again. We spent over an hour just talking to hem, playing with them, and singing/dancing with them. It was so fun and definitely what I needed to remind me that I was here for a reason… that God DID want me in Cambodia and I needed to trust Him to take care of everything.
The rest of the week was so amazing! Getting to know different people–both Khmer and those on my team– was such an encouragement to me. I realized that God led me to Cambodia because that's where I needed to be at that moment in my life. Not for the awesome food, not for the beautiful scenery or the great shopping, but for all the men and women, little boys and girls, the poor and wealthy, hungry, disabled, and healthy, the traffickers and the trafficked – even the people buying sex. Those are the reasons I was led to Cambodia. They needed to see Jesus and they were going to see him through me and my team… and we were doing that together.
*Some faces blurred for protection
**Photos by Kristen.
