Thank you! Thank you to all of my supporters, both financially and in prayer. I am continuously thanking God for each of you as I reflect on this incredible opportunity I have been blessed with.
Timeline…
March 15: Said goodbye to Luke, Sokha, and Hannah at the airport as they headed to the states for their HMA.
March 16: Moved into my apartment in Phnom Penh, and spent time with my roommate Jillisa. She will serve with MTW for 2 years, and is currently in language school. What a blessing to have her as a roommate during my 8 weeks in the city!
Tuesdays and Wednesdays: Mentoring, working on projects with the nurses at Mercy Medical Center.
Thursdays: Teach the nurses at Mercy Clinic.
Saturday and Sundays: Travel to Angk’jeay village to teach four classes while Luke and Sokha are away. So thankful I have this opportunity to continue their ministry while they are away. I continue to see God’s faithfulness each weekend.
April 13-17th: KHMER NEW YEAR!! I had the opportunity to get some respite away from the city with a few others on the team, and Sokha’s sister Reaksmey.
April 24, 30th, and May 1st: Health education in Prey Thom with Dale Knutson. A follow-up from our time there in February.
Looking ahead…
May 6: Luke, Sokha, and Hannah return to Cambodia!
May 7: My parents and my lovely friend Sarah Nickel arrive in Cambodia for medical missions!
May 11-15: Mobile medical clinics held in the villages.
May 16: Move back to Angk’jeay village!
Prayer Requests:
-Despite the busyness that is inevitable as my time in Cambodia comes to an end, I ask for prayer for strength and wisdom, and that I would approach each day with a gracious heart.
-Prayer for the medical team coming in 2 weeks! Including my parents and delightful friend Sarah Nickel! Prayers for their final preparations, their travel, and the clinics held while they are here.
-Prayer for Luke, Sokha, and Hannah, that they would finish their HMA well, and that they would have safe travels back to Cambodia in 2 weeks.
-Prayer of thankfulness as God continues to bless my time here, and grow me each day
Blessings:
Before I arrived in Cambodia I remember thinking, I hope I am a blessing to the people in Cambodia. I hope by God’s grace I can show them Christ’s love. And now being here for four months I am continually reminded of how they bless me, how they show me Christ’s love on a daily basis.
The students in Angk’jeay: sacrificial…I went on an adventure with two of my students a couple weekends ago. We climbed one of the mountains near Luke and Sokha’s. Long story short I broke my shoe during the climb and encountered more obstacles than anticipated.Despite the language barrier, these boys persistently said to me, “teacher are you ok?”, and “be careful teacher”. And when my shoe broke one of the boys without hesitation gave me his shoes, not taking no for an answer. After he walked barefoot for a while another student offered the barefoot boy his shoes. Wow. Christ’s love. And this is only one example from the students, trust me, the list is endless.
Reaksmey: Sokha’s sister, Reaksmey, goes to the village each weekend with me to help with the ministry. After many taxi rides down to the village, and a lot of late nights up talking, we have grown quite close. She continues to show me Christ’s selfless love every time I see her! She is such an encouragement and truly an inspiration.
Nurses in Phnom Penh: Again I think I anticipated being the teacher and not the student. But honestly I have learned so much from the nurses here in Cambodia. Their eagerness and desire to learn is infectious. And their gratitude for showing interest and investment in them is a good reminder. A reminder that we have so so much to be thankful for. So let us be thankful, and show it.
The MTW team: This team has exceeded all of my expectations. They are warm, encouraging, real, personal, and they genuinely care about you. I have grown so much from each of my conversations with them. They encourage me each day and are another sweet blessing.
~There are definitely times when I have felt weak during my time here, and I am encouraged by this verse…I continue to see evidence of the sufficiency of God’s grace.
1 Corinthians 12:9
My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.