Adventures in Missions

Woah, Jesus.

Day 16. I have officially been on Cambodian soil for 16 days. Throughout the duration of this trip, I can officially say I’ve mastered using the squatty potty, I’ve learned how to survive on MAYBE one water well shower throughout the week, how to sleep in a hammock, (since my kids backyard tent decided to betray me) and successfully survive without air condition and Wi-Fi, although, who really needs those? To give you a more in depth picture of what my time looks like here, I am serving with a team of six other super solid girls who love the Lord with all their hearts, might I...

Small but Significant

This week in the village of Po Peyl seemed to happen so fast. Each day felt like weeks, but the week as a whole felt like a day. The days are slow and not filled to the brim with this activity or that thing to do. There is a lot of time for reflection. A lot of time to sit and soak and be still in the Lord. In my reflection the Lord has shown me how important it is for us to pursue God. This trip has been no ‘mountain top’ experience. Quite the opposite really. But it has taught me that even in said ‘valleys’ the Lord is worth praising. He is teaching me in so many...

You see them as worth dying for, so why don’t I?

Loving on these kids has been far more challenging than I expected. I knew that I would be doing ministry with street children, but I clearly was not aware of what all that would entail. The past couple of weeks, the Lord has called me to love in a way that I have not had to do before. Through this, He has shown me how immeasurably perfect His love is for us. We pick up our kids in the mornings covered in dirt from sleeping on the ground, trash from digging for food, and feces from not being cleaned. They have open and infected wounds all over their frail bodies, lice in their unbrushed...

The Time I Shared My Testimony in Front of an Entire Village

She stood in front of 150 strangers and was asked to speak. When Guatemala short term trip missionary Kathy Sikora was asked to give her testimony at a church service, she expected only 15 people in the audience. While on our mission trip to Guatemala, our team was asked to share at a village just outside of Chichicastenango. I was excited, anxious, and nervous about this village visit, mainly because I had decided to share my testimony for the very first time. As I started to pray about what I was going to say, one thing was very clear to me: I was to do this without any notes....

Where are you right now, God?

Where are you right now, God? I find myself asking that question as a dozen kids run past me. For this month, I have flown away from home for a God-sized adventure in Cambodia. The organization my team of 6 girls and I are working with bathes, feeds, plays with, takes to school, and loves on the street kids of Cambodia. Right now it’s the children’s summer break, so we are here to help keep an eye on the children and give them the love and attention they so desperately need. But amidst piggy back rides and tickle wars, I want to see God. See Him in each moment. In Luke...

The Village

My first week in the village was filled with so much joy. Joy that simply radiated off of smiling Cambodian children. They have so little but are more content than those that have so much. My first week in the village was filled with lots of weakness. I got sick on Tuesday and had to go to the clinic to receive medicine. In my depleting physical strength I found it hard to stay mentally and spiritually strong. My first week in the village was filled with lessons that the Lord had brought me here to learn. Some of those being intentionality and true surrender of self. My first week in the...

More Rice, More Power

My team and I just finished up our first week in the village of Po Peyl, and it was amazingly. I cannot begin to describe the immense amount of joy I feel when teaching English to those precious children. I have two classes, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The first class is smaller with 2-4 smaller children while the afternoon class is about 21. My students are incredible children that have captured my heart in amazing ways. There is Rain, a little 7 year old who is super smart and always has a smile on her face. There’s Wy, who is a little mischievous boy who has...

(Sw)eat, Pray, Love

Hello world! I’m back on the map after a week of roughing it in the Cambodian jungle. This week I successfully 1. Ate fried grasshopper. Very leggy. 2. Encountered more than one scorpion in the grass beneath the light of my headlamp at night. 3. Rolled three-deep on a motorcycle every day for almost 40 kilometers to visit neighboring villages. 4. Awoke to the sound of roosters and went to sleep to the sound of tree frogs. 5. Rode atop a mountain of cow dung on a hand-tractor through the jungle, then used shovels to fling said cow dung all over a rice patty field to help fertilize it.I...

If You Want to Rescue Women from Trafficking, This is for You

For many, July 4 was a chance to celebrate with family and friends, full of fireworks, barbeques, parades, and pool parties. We celebrated living in a country created for freedom, established the day our founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence. But the truth is, freedom is not a reality for many. As we celebrate our nation’s freedom, we must remember the harsh reality that there are 27 million men, women, and children trapped in slavery today. But freedom is on the move. Right now, rescued women in the Philippines and Thailand are choosing to return to the same bars...

This Man Was Responsible for 12,000 Deaths and Asked for Forgiveness

There is nothing more life changing than coming to full realization of the power of forgiveness. STM trip participant to Cambodia, Lisa Capenigro, describes what she learned while walking through Cambodia’s Killing Fields. On our first full day in Cambodia, our team visited the Tuol Sleng prison (S21) and the Choeung Ek Killing Fields. I watched the movie and read up on the Khmer Rouge genocide prior to this trip, but nothing could prepare me for the horror of being there in person. From the bloodstains on the walls of S21 to the bones and clothing poking out of the ground at...

The Truth About Men Who Buy Women

Thailand Passporter Brenan Regian’s heart was already broken for the sexually exploited women in Chiang Mai. But then God showed her another group of people who also need to know God’s love and forgiveness. Twice a day, my team walks and prays down a street in the Red Light District in Chiang Mai, Thailand. During the day, bars are mostly empty, but now that night has fallen, they are filled with men. As I approach the street, my heart begins to pound and I don’t know why. I tell myself, “All you have to do is love like Jesus. You can do this.” Still, my...

The Jesus of KFC

While in Mozambique with her team on an off day, Africa Expedition Passporter Ellie Hillhouse met a little boy who she will never forget. Our team sat, eating our dinner at KFC in downtown Maputo, Mozambique, enjoying a taste of the West on a day off from planned ministry. Sitting outside were a bunch of street kids peering through the window. They wanted our food. We had been told not to give money or food away because it could hurt more than help the needy here. The attendant chased them off the property and slung some colorful Portuguese words around. These kids were loud and...

Author: Adventures