Week 4 IBS- Matthew 25:23

Monday November 3^rd, 2014

Matthew 25:23 “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’”

Kraing Tnong is a small village in the country of Cambodia, that isn’t even on the map, and I am living here…It still amazes me every time I think of that or look out my window and I don’t think it will ever stop amazing me. God is so incredible…for lack of a better word. Just last week a seven year old girl, named Srey Noit caught a glimpse of my bracelet. My bracelet tells the story of Jesus, from birth to His resurrection. Looking at the cross, Srey Noit points to it and tells me the word for cross in Khmer. Her doing that really brought a joy to my heart, so I said Jesus in Khmer and she nods her head and starts rambling on in Khmer. Only, it wasn’t rambling, it was the gospel! She was telling me about how Jesus died on the cross, was buried, three days later he rose, and is now in heaven. Not knowing the language, I didn’t know word for word what she was saying, but she had movements while saying it. She put her hands up like being hung on the cross, stomped her foot on the ground for being buried, and pointed to the sky for being in heaven. That moment was so exciting to me!

            Being the first team here in Cambodia, there’s a lot of work to be done, but building that up takes time. It has been a learning experience of waiting. Sometimes it feels like we haven’t done much work or ministry, but that is not thoughts of the Lord, because the case is otherwise. Daily, He brings forth some form of ministry or interaction with children and the people to build relationships. Things are slowly building, but God provides and it is all part of His plan. He brought forth this beautiful little girl that I’ve been getting to know, to tell me the gospel in Khmer. A small moment in time, turned into something huge!

Application: I need to DAILY place my trust in the Lord that His will is being accomplished. My prayer is to keep my eyes and heart open to the small things and to continue having experiences like this with the children and people. God makes the small things big, I need to be faithful in the small things, so God can provide the bigger things for me to be faithful in.

What and Experience…So Far

View from our new home

I am eager to write this from Kraing Tnong, Cambodia amongst the village people. God has been so merciful and He brings forth some form of ministry each day, whether it be with children, the youth, or just helping cleaning. He is so good and provides! It is crazy to think I will be here almost a month already! Being the first team of IGNITE students to Cambodia it has felt like we haven’t done much yet, but like I said God brings forth different forms of ministry. Basically the moment I step outside of the house with my teammates, children come running. When we ride our bicycles around the village, getting mud all over our legs, we are a testimony. I love being able to say God has given me the opportunity to do His work in a village in South East Asia. Every time we go riding around the village, kids scream “HELLO” or we’ll see kids from the Potter’s Field feeding program and they’ll scream our names as we’re riding by and it’s a blessing to be able to say their names back.

Feeding Program that Potter's Field is involved with

          The churches here in Cambodia are amazing, I’ve experienced real, raw worship and have really felt the Holy Spirit in the room. I may not know the language, I am trying to learn, but God’s love speaks to all and breaks that barrier. It has been a beautiful thing to see the older generation, who have probably worshipped to a false idol, Buddha earlier in life, kneel down before the Lord in worship and to see the younger generation coming up and serving God in the church. Just around the corner there are people who do, what I would assume prayer to Buddha, through a speaker so the whole village can hear. My prayer is that this church in Kraing Tnong will be louder than that. Not physically louder, but salt and light, that the people will hear the name praya-yay-su (Jesus) on the streets and know what that means. (Also just as a side note, the Cambodian language is Khmer and it is symbols, which I have no clue how to write, but praya-yay-su is how you would pronounce Jesus) And not only is that my prayer for this village but all others and all of Cambodia. Please keep that in your prayers as well.

~Joy, joy, joy, oh we got Joy~

          I’m excited to see what the Lord brings forth in the next five months! Please be in prayer for me and my teammates, to press on and to keep seeking ministry that the Lord puts before us.

My little buddy, Yung Che

Week 3 IBS- Proverbs 14:12

Thursday October 30, 2014

Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”

            It’s those books that always get me. I started reading Touching Godliness and Proverbs 14:12 came up and it really spoke to me. An opportunity may come up that may seem quite right to us, but in reality it is not a part of God’s plan and it can end in destruction if choosing that path. Seek wise counsel. God places leadership above us for a reason, so seeking wise counsel in those situations is important. God could place on their heart to tell you no and with following so, God will bless you immensely in other ways in the future. Just thinking about future things for a bit, I have no idea what is going to happen after INGNITE, but frankly, I’m not too worried. I have six months here in Cambodia and 3 more months after that with IGNITE. I know God will show me something, but I cannot allow myself to become blind to what He has because of selfish desires. There are things that I would like to do and I believe God places desire on our hearts for a reason, but it’s a matter of how and if that would orchestrate in God’s grand plan and will. I need to be totally and 100% sure of what I am doing is God’s will. I used to stress out a bit about this topic, because I felt like I never knew. But that’s where seeking God, being in His word, and stepping out in faith come in. Before doing so I just need to confirm with a godly leader and be in constant prayer. I need to see things the way He sees them, and think thoughts the way He does. Prayer. Praying is the key to all. We say it’s the only thing we can do, but it’s the very thing we can do, which is something that I’ve learned and am continuing to learn. I need to ask God for His wisdom, so I can know and see His plans over my own.

            Application: Just like I said, prayer. Praying is something I desire to grow in, so my application is to continually pray, but specifically for the His eyes and His wisdom, because I am living His will now. It’s a matter of seeing things with His eyes so I can carry it out and be the salt and light, be a vessel.

Week 2 IBS- Philippians 4:4

Friday October 24, 2014

Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!”

J is for Jesus, O is for others, and Y is for you. “You grow up when you get your first laugh at yourself” (A quote from a famous Shakespearean actress). I was reading along in “The Bumps Are What You Climb On” by Warren W. Wiersbe and today, chapter twenty-six just screamed volumes. It is titled Put Joy into Your Life. Many verses were mentioned in this chapter, but Philippians 4:4 was one of them and I happened to read that chapter yesterday; verse four is what stuck out to me then.

            A few things mentioned in this chapter of “The Bumps Are What You Climb On” were sin and disobedience to God causes a loss of joy, as well as neglecting the Word of God and forgetting to pray. All things are obviously quite essential for joy, but I tend to forget sometimes. I allow discouragement to creep in, but God doesn’t discourage, He encourages, He only discourages sin. Every time I feel discouraged, I need to remember to turn back to the Lord and pray and rejoice. I have a hope for the future, not only with my physical body and life because Jeremiah 29:11 says so, but also eternity, so why not have joy in that?

“Satan has a harder time tempting the man who has joy in his heart. A joyful Christian is a witnessing Christian because he has something exciting to share with others, and they can see the difference” (Warren W. Wiersbe). How amazing! That is such a good reminder, especially being on the field. Even though there are language barriers and Khmer is very difficult, God not only breaks the language barriers in ways, but He can use the joy that He puts in my heart to speak to others. They would be able to see the difference as Wiersbe says. What a powerful thing God can use in me and what a good reminder.

Application: No matter where I am, life is a struggle at times and God knows what we go through because of Jesus, so I don’t need to fret. Here, there are a million mosquitos and other things I am not used to, yet I am blessed beyond measure. And “the joy of the Lord is my strength.” So for today I write JOY on my hand and be constantly in prayer for joy in my heart and ways I can pour that joy out to others.

Angkor WHAT?!

Upon arriving in Cambodia, the first week was a whirlwind of adventure. We traveled to Thailand to get our visas fixed, which was a road trip! Along the way was the city of Siem Riep, Cambodia. After getting our visas fixed, Kaylee and I were surprised with a day at Angkor Watt…yes, Angkor Watt! It was quite a sight and a blessing to be able to see. Now I can say I’ve been to Thailand and I got to see one of the seven ancient wonders of the world! God is so good!

Words Cannot Describe

John chapter thirteen speaks of Jesus washing the disciple’s feet. An ultimate example of love and humility. In Guatemala, the last weekend of training for IGNITE, the girls had a foot washing ceremony. We got to wash the feet of the person sitting next to us and then switch. Instead of the person next to me, Kaylee, my teammate comes over and asks to wash my feet. She kneels down, dips my foot in the warm water and begins washing, all the while somebody is playing the guitar worshiping in the background. Just sitting there feeling…I don’t know, loved…Kaylee and I begin to cry. It’s like all the other girls in the room weren’t there, it was just Jesus, Kaylee, and myself. When the process was finished, we switched and I washed her feet. A feeling of lowliness came over me, but a good lowliness, that of a lamb, submitting to my Lord and becoming humble. It was a beautiful thing that words cannot describe. It was simply Jesus.