hello and goodbye Cambodia

Welcome back, it has definitely been a minute. You might already know this but WE MADE IT TO CAMBODIA!

my face when we landed on Cambodian soil after the longest flights ever…

I thought keeping up with this blog would be light work, however, I quickly learned that life on the field is hectic. As you saw from the title, this is going to be a blog all about my time in Cambodia and mainly the ministry I was involved in. Before I can fully dive in on all things Cambodia, I must introduce you to the fabulous team I will be serving with while on the Race.

INTERMISSION.

My amazing, glorious, beautiful team is of course called the Agape Guppies. Yes, you can feel free to call us the Gups, the Agapes, Sadie’s Gups, or all of the above if you truly feel led. We are a team of 6 led by our fearless Tennessen leader, Sadie Showwalter. If you are wondering the significance behind our name, we chose it because God’s love is just so beautiful. If you don’t know what agape love is exactly, it is the highest form of love and the love of God for man and of man for God. It’s just so beautiful to even think about, I love God’s love. Anyways, our team wanted this time to be centered around God’s greatest command, to love. The guppies part is inspired off of the children’s tv show “Bubble Guppies” and the concept of being like a group of fish all learning about God together. Ok, part of the reason is also due to the fact that our team seems to love fish (don’t ask) and we just could not have a completely serious name.

Back to the ministry part 🙂

Our first week of arriving in Cambodia we helped out on a Fish Farm. We were there for a week to fill the time until we could go to our intended ministry. Wow, that week was beautiful in ways I didn’t even expect. Our time there was spent doing various things such as feeding the fish, digging a reservoir, making concrete and laying down bricks with said concrete, spray painting, and so many other random tasks. I will never forget when we pulled up to the farm on the first day and Lee (the guy who ran the farm) looked at us and said, “All girls?” This set the tone for the rest of the week because they had been expecting a group of guys and did not know what to do with us girls. It was pretty comical and my first word I learned in Khmer was សម្រាក (samreak) which means to rest. 

However, the main point of us being there was to lead devotions after lunch to the Khmer men who worked there. This time ended up being infinitely precious in a way I could have never anticipated. The workers only spoke Khmer so communicating and building relationships with them seemed impossible. However, we were blessed with translators who quickly became the bridge we needed. It was during the devo time I was able to hear the powerful testimonies of these men. To see the way we were able to impact them, in turn, left an impact on me. I was reminded how good God is. Hearing the way God showed up time and time again in these men’s lives was beyond powerful. Blessed beyond measure, my team finished that week surprised at the connections we were able to build despite the language barrier. 

this was our beautiful view during lunch…

#blessed

After the first week was finished, my team and I packed our bags up yet again to move to our permanent residence. For the rest of the time in the Bode (Cambodia) we stayed and partnered with Victory Church. Our ministry hosts were Pastor Ralph and his beautiful wife Jane. They are incredible, loving people who are doing great things for the Lord in Cambodia. One thing I admire about them is their intentionality in building relationships. When they are in a conversation with a person it is evident that they are invested in them which is so special. It builds a comforting and loving environment that is crucial for building a Christ centered community.

While there, my team was involved in a variety of different ministries. Enjoy this breakdown because I had no better idea of how to do this.

Disclaimer: I sort of forget the exact times so these are my approximations.

Monday– the blessed rest day/Sabbath 

A typical Sabbath for me looks like sleeping in absurdly late and getting coffee at some point (if I have not said it before, Cambodia’s coffee is life).

Tuesday

8:30 to 9:30am- teach English at New Dream to the younger kids and play tag of course

lunchtime and prepare for college seminar (nap time)

2 to 4:30pm- teach our seminar on Communication in a Digital Era

This was an incredible opportunity to form relationships with the students there. We were all blessed with many new friendships!

5 to 7:30pm- teach English at New Dream to the older kids and play a variation of red light, green light- this version is a lot more interesting and involves me attempting to make the kids laugh at all cost even if it means me squawking like a chicken (true story)

my class…

I truly love and miss their energy.

Wednesday

the same schedule as Tuesday

Thursday

To be honest, what we did on Thursday varied each week but we always went to the Victory Church in the village which is 1 hour away from the city. Usually while we are there we do house visits which are always a precious thing. They are a wonderful time where we get invited into the people’s homes and hear about their lives. We always end house visits by praying over the family that lives there. From these visits, God has highlighted to me the power of prayer. It is such a gift to be able to pray over these wonderful people who open their homes to us and share their hardships. 

Friday

This day was always changing. We usually had our adventure time on this day. However, one time we cleaned the church and went to the local park to make connections with the locals. The time at the park was spent playing badminton and joining in on the zumba lessons that are always running there. Zumba ended up being both fun and humbling, but it has converted me into a big advocate for bringing it back to the States.

Saturday

This day typically included preparing the church for Sunday service. So if you are picturing mopping and sweeping, you are on the money.

Sunday

SUNDAY SERVICE. Okay if I had to pick a favorite day I would pick Sundays.

8:30 to 11am- church at the village

We would always start our Sunday morning off with church at the village. This consisted of an hour tuk tuk ride to the village where my main job was portioning off snacks for the little kiddos.

After the kid’s church service it was time for the youth. My main objective of this time was to form relationships with the youth who came.

2 to 4pm- church at the city 

Then we headed back to the church in Siem Reap (the city) where I would either sit in on the service led by Ralph or help out at the nursery. One of my favorite things about Sunday was getting to have great conversations with the people attending church. Everyone genuinely wanted to engage with you and learn about your life. It was during this time I got to meet Tabita and Eliza. I am so grateful to have gotten to meet them and know them. They are truly incredible girls who came from Germany to do God’s work in Cambodia for a year.

My time in Cambodia has come to an end. We arrived on October 18th and I never could have expected a month and a half to fly so fast. It feels like just yesterday I was stepping foot into Cambodia with my 45 pound backpack.

My time here has been precious in ways I could have never anticipated. In full transparency, I had low expectations for Cambodia. I did not know much about it compared to the other countries on my route. Due to my limited knowledge, I set the bar low. Wow. That bar was simply blown out of the water.

During my time in Cambodia, I witnessed so much beauty not only in the surroundings but  within the people. The beauty found in the Khmer people is shown through their kindness. Their kindness holds a genuinity I have never experienced before. I wish more than anything that all of you would be able to witness it. Whether I was riding in a tuk tuk, walking around the market, ordering coffee I knew I could count on being greeted with a smile. If I waved or said hello, I knew I could always expect a happy greeting in return. Their culture is rooted in a kindness and love that comes from the respect for one another. 

Ok pause. I know if I was reading this I would find this so cliche, but I want you to know I have never encountered such loving individuals. They care about each other in a special way.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this blog! While in Cambodia I found myself shocked by the busy schedule of ministry and was unable to keep up on my blog as I intended. However, I am working on being more intentional with blogging because I want to share with you all what’s going on!

I am currently in the process of writing a blog about some of the incredible ways God has been moving in Thailand.

so…

Expect more from me soon!

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS Y’ALL,

Missionary Meg

If you are feeling led to partner with me on this journey through prayer or financially click here!