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.

Just 10 Days

Well, my flight back to Cambodia leaves at 6:25am tomorrow! I will stay there for about 10 days and arrive back in Kansas City on Tuesday, January 25th.  Although I'm not headed back for an indefinite amount of time as originally planned I am still very excited about this trip.  I just spent some time with Jesus asking Him about what He has for me during this seemingly very short stay in Phnom Penh.  These are some of the things He shared with me and they really encouraged me so I thought I'd share them with you.


I will spend my time doing a number of things, most of which are directly related to connecting with people who I've grown to know and love through various means; some are children I have the privilege of spending time with as I help to lead Kids Club at Wat Phnom, some are young adults who I've been honored to get to know through teaching English and some are simply friends and colleagues who I'm so blessed to get to live life alongside while I'm there.


I will be able to have a direct hand in transitioning Kids Club to a group of American women who all have made 2 year commitments to Cambodia.  I'm very grateful to be able to pass the baton of this program to people who I know will be able to see it through for a while as opposed to a short term group who would then leave and cause the kids to go through even more changes.  I have been allowed to get to know these kids, to visit some of their homes, to take them on outings, to watch their attitudes towards us as leaders transform  from one of indifference into one where they all eagerly line the street each day waiting for us to show up!  They've all secured themselves in my heart in a very special way and I can't wait to be back in Cambodia this summer with a long term goal of helping to get the Boys Center running!


I will have the opportunity to meet with some of the teens and young adults who I taught English.  I will be able to tell them in person why I am not coming back right now.  My prayer is that through this they will not just see another person who came into their world for a moment and then pulled out because they had things to get back to somewhere else.  When I shared my testimony with them in Svay Pak I told them that I was sharing my story so that we could become friends.  I had no intentions of challenging them to offer their lives to Jesus and then leaving them to wonder at what that really meant.  I told them that I'd be available, that I WANTED, to walk out the journey with them.  And, that is still what I feel the Lord has for me in some of those relationships.  So, it will be very good for me to be able to keep true to my word and to not give them any reason to think that I have chosen to run away from their questions.  It is by our love that the world will know we are His....


Hopefully, I will be able to get some video footage of some of my Hard Places teammates speaking about the issues facing young boys in Cambodia.  I'd also like to get on video a testimony of one of the young men I've met who has given his life to Jesus and is now standing fiercely and firmly against the powers of deception and darkness that once ruled his life.  The powers that still have a strong grip on the lives of so many in Cambodia....but, that WILL change one day, one day soon.  Jesus is raising up a generation of people in Cambodia who are standing up for the Truth, speaking out on behalf of the oppressed and fighting for justice to reign.


I will also be able to share with those I value dearly as brothers and sisters in the Kingdom, both Americans as well as Khmer, the very personal way that the Lord has asked me to follow Him in seeking out His best for my eyesight.  This is not going to be an easy thing for me to give attention to during the next few months and I know that I will not be able to do it alone.  My tendancy will be to push it aside and spend all of my energy in other places.  I do see it as a gigantic, gracious, blessing from the Lord that He is providing me with an outlet to continue to pour into the Boys Center as I travel to promote TraffickJam. But, I am fully aware that this opportunity presented itself only after I chose to yield when He asked me to fight for my eyesight.  I value very highly and covet the prayers of my brothers and sisters in Cambodia along with all of yours as well.


Yes, just 10 days.  10 days that when completed will allow me to come back to the States with a feeling of peace, a knowledge that I did my part in honoring the people I've met and love.  I pray that I will come back feeling settled, settled into this new part of the adventure.  Not only settled but, even anticipating that He is going to meet me in every step, that He has something so specific and so important for the rest of my journey here on this earth, that I MUST be here in order to live out the rest in a way that will bring only more glory to Him.  I'm expecting to learn so much more about who He is and how He cares for people as I submit to Him in what He asks of me concerning my eyesight.  And, I'm excited about all of the things I'll experience, all of the people I'll meet and all of the stories I'll have to share as I promote TraffickJam!


I can't wait...... :-)

Things I Haven't Done Yet

I wrote this list on April 16, 2006 during Transit...

"I was having a conversation with some friends today and the question that arose was, "what are some things in life that you haven't done yet, but really want to do someday?" That's what this blog is about, so if you're not interested in that stop reading :)
Things I haven't done yet, but will do someday:
1. Go hot-air ballooning-I think this would be so cool!
2. Go mountain biking (probably tandem style, might be safer that way!)
3. Go rock climbing and then... rapelling!
4. Learn to play an instrument (probably guitar or piano)...at least learn a little bit, I don't need expertise :)
5. Go horseback riding
6. Ice skating!!!! I used to when I was like 5 but haven't since then....
7. Hang glide....I used to use this as an excuse whenever I would twist my ankle, it sounds so much better than just saying I fell!!
8. Go canoeing....I think....not really so sure if I like the water
9. Would be so excited if I could find a way to go skiing...I'll have to look into adaptive ski places....
10. Go on an African safari!!!
There you have it, some of the many things that this girl from the cement jungle of New York City has not done and cannot wait to do!! Would you look at that? I do have an adventerous side :)"