I'm in Cambodia!

Pretty much every minute today, I kept thinking to myself (and sometimes out loud – just ask Marti), “I’m in Cambodia!!!” It’s not like I had to think deeply  or work hard to notice the differences from being home, but the thing is I just can’t quite believe it. God is remarkable in his persistence, and I am so very delighted that I didn’t let myself be scared out of being obedient. Before I left, I was scared of so many things:

1.       Will I really be able to handle leaving my family? (It was very difficult to leave them, and I won’t sugarcoat that. But I did it and they did it, and I know God has them in the palm of his hand while I am away. I trust Him with them.)

2.       How will the flights go? (All flights went incredibly well. Only the last one was delayed and only a couple hours. I loved flying! Our bags made it here with no problems as well. My ankles are a little swollen from the long time of keeping my legs down on the plane, but even that is something God is using to remind me of his care.)

3.       Will I be able to tolerate the heat and humidity? (It is hot, that’s a fact. But water is easily accessible. I got a 12-pack of water bottles for 90 cents last night. Our room and the bus we are traveling around town in are both air-conditioned. And I think Minnesota is having a heat wave just to keep me company! God is my refreshment. Warm water here is like nectar. At home, I would say “yuck” and dump it out, but here it is refreshing and satisfying.)

4.       Will I be able to communicate with the Cambodian people? (I haven’t learned much language yet, but the people do communicate with me with their love and their broken English.)

View at the genocide museum

Today we spent some time in a great indoor/outdoor market, with shops every square inch of an entire city block. After that, we switched gears dramatically and went to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, which honored the lives lost during the reign of the Khmer Rouge. It is a horrifyingly beautiful place. One can imagine these buildings, which were turned into prison/death camps, as the schools they were created to be. But the stark reality of the re-purposing is also evident. The setting is beautiful; the facts despicable. At one point, we went through a section of individual cells that had been built by constructing brick walls throughout a room to partition it off. In that same building, I looked through the walls of several rooms, where makeshift openings had been hacked away through the mortar, and I saw a chalkboard at the end of my view. The contrast was startling.

God is working on me every second of every day, honing me into a tool He can use. I am reading Acts as a part of my devotional time on this trip. It is so inspiring to read the stories of those early disciples and how they were obedient and won many souls for Christ. May God give me eyes to see what He would have me see and courage to do what He would have me do.