Day 1, Week 2

Jiem reap su! We just finished the first day of our second week here. Our schedule is getting progressively busier, but we're finding many blessings in the midst of them.

We spent Sunday with the Cambodia church at the organization's center. Though it would normally be a tedious affair to go through a worship service in 3 languages (Khmer, Korean, English) but it wasn't too bad, and the message struck many of us.

I think the thing that most of us are moved by is the humble obedience of the people we're meeting. Many of these people who are giving up their lives for reaching this country have resumes that would impress most people, including us. But as they share their testimonies with us, it is abundantly obvious that they care not for the worldly accolades and don't share these things to toot their own horn at all. They readily confess that it is not them, but Christ, that lives and does the work.

In a weird way, our team is comprised of working people, as opposed to the typical short-term missions team, which would normally have an abundance of college students. Not to shortchange the college students on the trip, but it really hits home for those of us who have worked at our careers to hear the testimonies, because we are in the middle of running the rat race, and yet these guys would readily have given up their entire lives for the pursuit they have undertaken now, in the latter chapter of their lives. Though they acknowledge their lives haven't been a waste and is useful to the work they're taking on now, they still do feel that they got started on the most important work a little later in life than they would have liked.

Today (Monday), we spent our usual time with the kids at the village. Each day is a new challenge, but we're getting used to the trek and the energy level required to teach lessons and show love to these kids. Today, Joel and Kevin did their puppet show of Daniel and the Lions Den. We gave it an A- and the kids were captivated. After a quick lunch of kimbap, we dived into our afternoon English lessons, since it was the first day of our afternoon lessons. (Due to scheduling conflicts, we couldn't go on Thurs and Fri)

I think I speak for most of the team that we were humbled from the get-go with the afternoon group. We are going to this location as an encouragement to this Cambodian church, and oddly enough, we were the ones coming away with the encouragement and blessings. We came a little early and sat down just as they were staring their prayer time. Boy, their prayers are *passionate*. As we settled into groups and started our lessons, we found that they pray passionately because they are passionate for God. Period. One team member said that one student asked how much do they read a day, and he thought the question was about reading in general, but it was actually about the Bible. The person who asked the question said they loved reading the Word and reading 30 - 40 chapters a day. That's just one example of the passion they had for God, not just for knowing him, but for reaching their fellow Cambodians. We came away completely humbled and rebuked. The Holy Spirit worked through our experience with them to convict us of our lazy attitudes towards our faiths that we take so easily for granted. Suffice to say, we're looking forward to spending more time with them, as we mutually encourage each other throughout the week.

Sorry, this post is getting kind of long and it's pretty scattered. Our evenings are going to be spent with the local missionaries, Ju-Hwan, Wha-youn, and Jarunee. Tonight was a blessed time to share some testimonies (Joel, Angela, Christina) and some personal prayer requests. We really felt the Holy Spirit move and touch our hearts and we're praying for more times like that. It was apparent to us that God had been speaking to our hearts over the past few days regarding our sins and need to be more transparent with each other. Please pray that will view each other not just as teammates, but as true brothers and sisters in the faith, sharing our joys and sorrows. Pray also for our eyes to be open to the work God is doing around us. Pray also for our health to hold up. We're pushing pretty hard and some (internal) body parts are starting to wear down.

Ah-kun. Lei-hai.
(Thank you. Good bye)