My Cambodia Chorus

Posted by Liz July 13, 2016

My Cambodia Chorus

Five years ago today, I headed for Cambodia on a mission trip. Up to that point in my life, I had never owned a passport and had only flown anywhere a handful of times. A land-locked Minnesota girl, born and raised, I didn’t even see an ocean until I was 45 years old. The trip to Cambodia was WAY out of my comfort zone, and I only did it because God told me to. (Watch the video below, which was done by friends at church to inform the congregation about the trip.) I went on the trip as a part of a group of 19 from our church. One purpose for our trip was to teach at English camps in Cambodia. We were all open to the other purposes God had for us as we went.

In many ways, it is hard to believe that the trip was five years ago. I remember the details so clearly. It was a sensual overload, and if I close my eyes and think really hard, I can almost put myself back there in the midst of all the sights, sounds and smells. On the other hand, it seems like a lifetime ago. So many things have happened since then, both good and bad. I have had a longing to return, but our church stopped doing yearly mission trips to Cambodia, so that has not really been an option. Besides, life has been full of so many other “distractions” that it would have been a challenge to fit in something so HUGE as another trip to Cambodia. And yet…the longing persists.

Scene near a market in Phnom Penh

Selling her wares

Every square inch of market space was fully utilized.

Whole families and cargo rode on "motos."

Chicken, anyone?

These lovely ladies were ready to make a sale.

Bugs for dessert, maybe?

Today, I want to focus on one aspect of my trip, something that still sends me to my knees in gratitude. I am so thankful that when I went to Cambodia, I did not go alone. Yes, I went with a group of 18 others from the church, but more than that, I went with a team of prayer warriors solidly behind me. I loved Cambodia. I loved the crazy traffic, the precious children, the smiles, the intimacy, the fruit, the markets, and so much more. And yet, that trip was HARD. The heat was hard on my body, as was the food that was delicious but significantly different from what I was used to eating. I saw some things that broke my heart. I missed my husband tremendously. For three weeks, I leaned into all the hard lessons God had for me, and I knew that as I leaned, a chorus of prayers supported me. That, my friends, is the way life is meant to be lived.

Giving my testimony to the group, with Patti Ens translating

Me, sweaty, weary, and filled up.

Rain had never felt so glorious as it did on that day in Cambodia.

I loved holding the hands of all the little ones.

Laura with me, just after I fell face-first into some nasty water.

I was changed by the trip to Cambodia. It made me depend on God in ways I couldn’t have (or wouldn’t have) done at home. It expanded my world view. It challenged my long-held opinions. It deepened my faith. It strengthened my resolve to help others. It brought me great joy and great sorrow. It unsettled me. As painful as being unsettled was, I long for that stretched-out, under-equipped, bone-weary, mountain-top experience. I know I wouldn’t like ALL of my life to feel like that, but I also know that I wouldn’t grow if NONE of my life felt like that.

Maybe you prayed for me from July 13 through August 5, 2011. Maybe you read my blogs. Maybe you traveled alongside me. Maybe I met you while I was there. If you played a part in my “Cambodia Chorus” I would like to thank you, and I would love it if you would invite me to pray and be a part of your chorus. In the meantime, I will close with a few more pictures (and a video of orphans singing to us when we visited them) of the blessings and adventures I had while in Cambodia. Let those sights and sounds settle into your heart, and begin to love Cambodia as I do.