L-O-N-G Days Filled with Honor and Love

It's 6:15pm as I begin to type this. I'm sitting on my couch, watching an amazingly beautiful sunset out my window and feeling quite grateful that I got home early today.

Days have been l-o-n-g the past two weeks with an amazing, very energetic, Kingdom minded short term team here with us. Each day is jam packed with things to do and I do enjoy having so much to be part of! Last week, there was so much I wanted to come home and write about each day for all of you to read. But....I came home and tiredness and Modern Family won out on the nights when I didn't already have plans :-)

So tonight, I'll just write about today instead of trying to catch up on the past.  Maybe I'll get to some of those great stories, someday.

Today.....
I woke up at 5:15am and for those of you who have ever seen me before 8:30am, you are well aware that I was quite incoherent for a while.  I did, however, have an iced coffee since I cold brewed it last night and I listened to music for about an hour.  These things work miracles for my morning mood!

Rode a half hour to the boys center, arrived at 7:15, the team ate their breakfast of yogurt, fruit and pastries.

I like what's been happening at 7:30!  The team, us Western H.P.C. members and our 9 Khmer staff members (8 guys, 1 girl) all have a devotional time together that usually ends with about 20 minutes of worship (a few of our Khmer brothers are excellent worship leaders!) and prayer.

At 8:15 a small group heads out to Wat Phnom where they lead Kids Club for 2 hours followed by about an hour of family visits with some of our regular kids.

Another small group stays at the boys center and continues the painting, cleaning, organizing that has been going on.

My group was the group that got to go out into the neighborhood
this morning. I was particularly excited about today because we were going to visit a family I've come to love so much. I wrote about their story earlier this year here.

Things have begun to change for this precious family. My friend, Panha, who is also one of our Khmer staff members, led the mother and grandmother to the Lord about a month ago! They have also moved from where they were living on the streets to a room (it has walls, a roof and a bathroom) in one of the slum areas of the city.  Might be the slum but, it's certainly a step up from where they were....

I hadn't seen them yet since I've been back. The family consists of the mom, the grandma, the father (he's an alcoholic and not usually around) and 6 children ranging in age from 17 down to about 9 months. Three of the kids now attend school through another organization here.

We were going with the intention of teaching the women how to pray and bringing them a large plastic barrel for them to collect water in since their water only runs for about 4 hours per day.  They need water for many things during the day such as bathing, cooking, washing clothes....

When we arrived we were greeted by my 4-year old friend who should've been in school. We came to find out that this past weekend he had cut his hand on a nail in the door, this makes perfect sense to me, he's quite the active little guy!

Have no fear though-18-year old Panha to the rescue! I mean seriously, he has loved them persistently for the past year including when we found out some horrific news about them, he's led the adult females of this family to the Lord and he has been a social worker in helping them get their home and the kids into school!

Then today! Today he pulls out the first aid kit, puts on some gloves and cleans and bandages physical wounds! (Have I ever mentioned how very much I learn about Jesus from my Khmer brothers...well, be assured, I learn a ton).

So, we, all 7 of us plus the 5 members of the family who were home sat on the floor as Panha simultaneously told me to practice my Khmer with the family and fixed our young friend up.

And we did give them that barrel for the water too :-)

It was SO GOOD to be back in the same country, to be able to encourage not only Panha but also the rest of our Khmer staff. To not have to wait for Skype delays but to be able to look them in the eye and tell them that they are truly bringing His Kingdom into the darkness of this world....that's my absolute favorite part about being here in person.....

Phew, and that's just what I did before 11:30am!!

I'm honored to be here, honored to see His love for His people regardless of the language we speak, the choices we make and the way others perceive us....He loves us all the same.

First Month Back in Cambodia!

This first month back in Cambodia seems like it has gone by very quickly all of a sudden! Here are a few highlights from this month that I'd like to share with you:

-My roommate, Steph, and I were so blessed that we were able to come straight from the airport to our very own apartment! This arrangement was set up for us by our good friend, Ruthie with the help of one of my Khmer brothers, Panha. Our apartment is wonderful, we each have our own bedroom and bathroom, we get a beautiful breeze most days which is indeed a luxury and we even have (drumroll please....) a washing machine! Now, I can do my laundry and have it be dry all within 9 hours (as long as it doesn't rain!).

-I have had the opportunity to finally meet face to face with 3 friends who I have only known via the Internet. I'm constantly amazed at the connections the Lord allows me to make with people who He knows will either be blessings to me on this journey or who I will be able to bless in one way or another.

-It felt so good to go back to Kids Club. I was able to reconnect with some of the families I'd worked with last year, some of them have grown in healthy ways and others are still very much struggling.  The best part about returning to Kids Club was watching my Khmer brothers as they have become so much more capable of running the program with very minimal assistance from our foreign staff!

-The Hard Places Community has hired 5 more male Khmer staff members. I have enjoyed getting to know each of them this past month. Every one of them has a desire to see young boys being cared for, looked after, educated and most importantly, surrendered to the Lord.

Some things I'd love for you to join with me in prayer for include:

-Language! Oh goodness, being gone for 7 months has certainly taken its toll on my ability to communicate in Khmer. Please pray that I would not be discouraged by all I've temporarily forgotten and that I would not let fear stop me from speaking the Khmer I do know.

-that we (the H.P.C.) would all be patient with His timing for the renovations being made to the Boys Center building. We're all so excited about what the future holds that some days it's difficult to stand in the present needs of making our center safe and reliable.

I'm so glad that you are part of this adventure with me! Thank you very much for participating by reading these updates, sending encouraging words and praying with me.