Trek the mountain

Tuesday I decided it was about time for an adventure. So I packed up my things and headed for the temple mountain near the Tonle Sap. There are stairs and a path that lead up to the temple. The only problem with taking this path is that there is a guard who stops you and asks for a ticket that you must purchase from a different location. The ticket costs $12 and I didn't have the time nor the desire to spend the money. So I needed to take a different route.

Tada! My route!

I climbed the mountain. I'm sure there must've been a better way up, but the sun would be setting soon and I didn't have time to find it. As I started to climb, the Cambodian children gathered below me and watched. I climbed and climbed. I tested different rocks for stability. About half way up I looked down. It looked like I was 30 feet in the air, it was too late to turn back. I would've never made it back down the same way. I kept going. At one point the rocks below me began to crumble, but I grabbed on to some roots to maintain stability. I finally made it to the top. I looked down to see the kids below me, they were yelling to me. I waved down to them and they waved back. I hiked up the mountain.

Finally I emerged from bushes and saw the temple.

I was so glad I made the trip, because when I made it to the top I befriended a local and saw some very beautiful things.

These structures still amaze me.

I loved how vacant it was here.

I felt so lucky to see a rainbow in this setting.

A picture only says so much, but to be there was beyond words.

Needless to say, the experience was well worth the time. Standing up on the mountain was perfect. I have never had a spiritual moment in nature, but I can honestly say that this was my first. I could see for miles and miles. I could see villages and people. I felt as if God was telling me, "I made this. All this was crafted by my hand. What you see now is only a fragment of my design." I honestly didn't want the moment to end. I sat there until darkness fell. It was a day that I'll never forget.

Teaching the kids has been great. It has been hard though. The boat has a small anchor holding it in place. When a storm comes it blows the boat in so many different directions. It has damaged neighboring boats on the Tonle Sap. We have had to move the boat so many times because the neighbors are scared that they will be smashed by our massive boat. Honestly, the guys who work on the boat are scared someone is going to be seriously hurt by our boat. During storms they become very frightened. I have been reassuring them and trying to boost their morale. Even now, it is storming. Keep them in your prayers. Pray that the massive school boat does no damage. I am certain that my God will keep his hand on this situation.

Sick but not broken

These next few paragraphs are just some things that have been jumbled around in my head for a while.

Sickness. All my life, I have never really gotten sick. Yeah, I've had a cold or two, but never an infection like this. Sickness is always physically fatiguing, but for the first time I was so sick that I was mentally fatigued. How did I get this way? During those hot nights, where I am sweating heavily and can't sleep, I have nothing better to do than think. I think about past, present, and future. I came to the realization of how big what I am doing really is. I realize the opportunity for monumental change is knocking on my door. As this realization comes to mind, so does the realization that I'm 18 and I'm barely out of high school. The doubt builds in my mind. So not only has this sickness taken a toll on my body, it took a toll on my mind.

The opportunity to plant seeds seems limitless. When I look on the lake and see house after house, I don't simply see homes. I see people. People that go about their day without any knowledge of who they truly are. People that are lost and in seek of hope. They are in seek of something more. Am I equipped for this? Am I ready for this task? Am I up to the challenge? What makes me think I have any business even being here? Honestly, it would be easier to just go home. Pack it up and call it quits. I could go home, forget Cambodia, and work on my own life. I could go to my family and friends. Indulging in the conveniency of modern Western comfort sounds pretty good. It sounds especially good while lying in bed feeling like I'm about to croak. I'd be lying if I told you all these things haven't crossed my mind from time to time. 

Deep down, in my heart, I know. It's not coincidence that I'm right here, right now. I miss my friends. I miss my family. I miss Arby's curly fries, movie theater popcorn, and the green hills of Tennessee. All that stuff is great. But I need to recognize where I am. I am a part of something so much bigger than what can be seen on the surface. Lives can be changed, including mine. I have embarked on a journey that could plot the course for the rest of my life. If I give up now, what pattern of choices will I set for my life? Will I quit with other things? My job. My marriage. My life. But if I endure, if I dismiss my doubt and push through, is that the pattern I will set for my life? If I stick it out and stand strong now, maybe this will set a precedent for my entire life. When I feel myself begin to stumble, I think about all those back home who believe in me. I constantly remind myself of all the people who gave money on the notion that I had something to share. I constantly remind myself of all the people who encourage me because they truly believe I can make a significant difference. Most importantly, I think about how my God has provided the way for me to be here. He has picked me up from this sickness and set me back on my feet. My God has come through for me and I have faith that he will continue to do so.

Thank you to all who have supported me and prayed for me. Your prayers and support are reaching me here in Asia. It helps more than you will ever know.

A good start

We had to move the school boat. The water level keeps rising and if we had left it much longer then the kids wouldn't have been able to get to the school. Last Monday, you couldn't get to the boat without having to wade through water. The moto driver stopped just in front of 40 yards of nasty Tonle Sap water. The only way I was going to be able to teach that day was if I waded. There was no other way around it. Wade or go home. So I embarked into the dark waters. As I got about knee high in the water I thought: God if you ever wanted to give me the ability to walk on water, now would have been the time. I made it across and started class with a Bible story.

Jane and her family soon arrived. They handed out toothbrushes, put on a puppet show, and taught the proper way to brush your teeth. It was very cool and the kids loved it.

Wednesday was our first adult... well I'm not sure what it is yet. We made an announcement to the children at the end of class. We told then to invite their parents to come learn about the Bible. Four o' clock was supposed to be the time that our "thing" started, but no one showed. I had already told myself earlier that if no one showed then I wouldn't be disappointed. 4:15 and still no one has showed. I walked over to the boat next door and spoke with some of the locals. Sey and I are still trying to build relationships with the adults in the neighboring boats. I visited with an older woman on the boat. She is the wife of a fisherman. Her daughter started in our class that very same day. 4:30 rolls around and Youn steps onto the school boat with one of his friends. I was so glad. So we invited the fisherman's wife to come learn about the Bible. She agreed. We gathered in a circle of chairs. There were 3, not including myself and Sey. I opened a bag of fruit I had bought just earlier in the day and let them introduce themselves to each other. My goal this day wasn't to teach them as much as I can about Jesus, but to just let them get comfortable in this setting. They made casual conversation with each other. Five minutes later, the mother of one of our students showed up and so did the fisherman. So we now had 5 people. I'd say that was a success considering I had only even met two of them before hand. I let them ask me questions about myself, so they could get to know me as well. They asked me mostly about America and what I was doing here. They also asked me why I came. My answer was, "Because my God led me here." This drew some curiosity in them. They started asking me what religion I was, after I told them, that started a whole new string of questions about Christianity. They had so many questions, it was great.

I told Sey to tell them that God speaks to my heart, but I noticed something. Sey wasn't translating exactly what I was telling him. I stopped him and asked him why. He said he didn't want to confuse them. He tried to give them answers that made sense. I told him, "Sey, it's okay if this doesn't make sense to them right now. If it doesn't make sense then it can only lead to more questions, which is good. It's good because it'll get them thinking about it more." He understood and from that point on, he translated what I was saying word for word.

At the end of our conversation, everyone seemed very interested in what Sey and I had to say. They all said that they would come back next week to learn more. After leaving the boat, I felt great. I still feel great. The start of the ministry was successful and I know that it will only continue to grow. Even the children's ministry is growing rapidly. This week alone, we have gained 9 new students. Every day we gained three more. This just means that more seeds will be planted in the hearts of the children. Praise God! I'm very excited about the weeks to come. I pray that everything goes smoothly. The only problem I pray for, is the problem of not having enough room to hold all the people that want to come learn about Jesus.

Happy Birthday Grandpa

Happy Birthday Grandpa! I hope it's a blessed one. Love you.

They know an idol, but they don't know MY God.

Today was my first official day teaching on the boat. I feel like it went especially smooth. It was fairly easy. The school day started out with a lesson about the birth of Jesus. My lesson plan is to hit every major event in Jesus' life. I'll tell a different story everyday. I know that some of them they have already learned from the interns, but it doesn't hurt to retouch this stuff.

After the Bible lesson, I had the children color the Nativity scene. They had their snack, played for 20 minutes and then we jumped into the math lesson. We played some number games and reviewed their numbers in English.

This is my floating village class. 

Right now there are 16 students, but we are about to take on 4 more students. Teaching these kids is great, they are getting to learn about Christ at a very young age. Seeds are being planted in their hearts. But God hit me with a very real concern. These kids are learning about Christ from me for three days a week. After my two hours is up, they go back to their homes and back to their buddhist families. I felt God urging me to move forward. I expressed to Sey that God was laying things on my heart and that I was interested in starting an adult ministry. He quickly jumped on board and agreed that this was a great idea. We decided that we would go visit different families in the village and invite them to come to a Bible class for adults. We are now starting the first ongoing adult ministry on the Tonle Sap. At least that I know of, I haven't heard about any other ministries going on here on the lake.

 This is the house of a man named Youn. 

Our first visit was to a very happy man named Youn. Youn is a very respected member of the village. He has so many friends within the village and has a lot of influence. Not long after we decided to minister to adults Youn expressed interest in enrolling his kids in our class. He came to us. Sey knew that we could not pass up the opportunity to give this man a visit.

This is Youn.

We showed up in front of Youn's house and he was working out front. As soon as he saw our approach, he quickly stopped everything he was doing and invited us in. We took off our shoes and sat on the floor of his house/boat. I asked him questions about his children and made sure they met the age requirements to be in our class. I then proceeded to make casual conversation with him (with the help of my translator). After the talk was done, I asked him if he'd like to be part of our adult Bible class. He said he would come. It was all coming together. In our departure, I thanked him for inviting us into his home and told him I'd visit him again soon. I plan to visit him next Monday.

Most Cambodians believe that you can serve many Gods. Some even believe in Jesus, but also believe in buddha. They seem to think that as long as you believe in a god, it's all okay. Youn believes this and I believe that's the only reason he agrees to come to the Bible class. He thinks God and buddha are one in the same. He told me this while we were in his house. This adult ministry is a real chance to reach people who know absolutely nothing about my God. They don't know the love of Jesus Christ and the hope He provides for all of us. They don't know the Creator of the universe who yearns to have a personal relationship with them. They just accept their norm that a god is an idol that, as far as they know, doesn't provide hope and doesn't give love. They believe a god is a being who is too high and mighty to consider even making any contact with man. But they don't know my God. My God who stepped onto this Earth and took the sin of the world onto His shoulders. My God who has rescued me from my despair and heart ache. My God is powerful. My God is mighty. People forget. They don't know the price he paid for them. They don't know the amount of love he has for them and if they could just be exposed to a fraction of this love, they would see the hope that is Christ.

Keep me in your prayers and pray this ministry catches fire! I pray that thousands can be exposed to the love of Christ and how great our God truly is.

The floating village

This is the Tonle Sap (aka the "floating village")

This water is black. Not brown. Black.

This is the floating school where I will be teaching.

I will be teaching math and Bible.

This is my co-teacher and translator Sey (pronounced "say") or as I like to call him (in a high pitch tone) "Say What"!