On Wednesday 18 February, a boy named Vichet walked into our lives.      A close relative to ours here passed away Monday night and Tuesday night we attended the evening session of the funeral. Sophea, staff here, saw Vichet wandering around the funeral, and knowing he wasn’t from the area, tried asking questions of who he was and where he came from. He didn’t answer any of the questions.   The next morning, Vuthy came up to me and asked if I had experience with people who had mental health issues. Not really knowing in the wide range of mental...

                *So this post was actually written two weeks ago, but because of frequent power outages and sketchy wifi, I couldn’t post it until today. However, I still felt like I should still share :)*                 I wouldn’t really consider myself much of a writer, which explains why I haven’t blogged yet, but I figured I should catch you all up about what my life has looked like for the past month and...

**Double Disclaimer: Wifi is a struggle. So this blog wouldn’t post once again. So here it is—two weeks late!** * Disclaimer: This blog was to be posted last week at my one-month mark of leaving home, but last week, the power went out at where we get our wifi so I never was able to post. (The adventures never cease in Cambodia.) But today is our one-month mark of being here at YDC Kampot and doing ministry!*   Cambodia is like something I have never experienced before. Today marks one month since I left home to embark on this three-month adventure. I came here not knowing...

I believe that it is human nature to lean on things. Think about it.  Your legs get tired.  Your body feels heavy.  You are prone to lean on whatever the nearest object is, be it a pole or a chair.  You shift your weight from foot to foot and can consider it a joy when you find another person to lean on—to feel the heartbeat of another as your weary soul searches for rest.  Death is one of those situations that always exposes the vulnerable state of the human condition, creating in us a desire to lean.  On Monday our team was invited to a funeral of someone we barely knew.  The day before...

It was Saturday. Amber and I were both feeling a little off. We wanted to get away for a few minutes and refresh, so we walked up the street to what we call “the coconut place” to get an iced coffee. We ran into Dara, one of the boys we live with, who was getting some food. He asked us to sit with him and hang out. We ended up staying far longer than we expected, just hanging out and talking. It was getting close to dinnertime though, so we attempted to head back, but Dara wanted to stay just a little longer. As we finally made our way to the path to walk back, Soppanet’s...

I am not a runner. My bestie from back in the States, now she’s a runner. Me, though? Not so much. But here in Cambodia, many of us have made a point to try and go on a few runs a week. These runs are not only a chance to explore the areas around where we live, but also to get away from some of the noise of living with twelve boys and droves of children who come for classes each day.             Earlier this week, I went on one of these runs. It was a rare occasion, running by myself to “the coconuts” (aka the...

I am sure that many of you are wondering about these brilliant ladies I call my teammates and my leaders.  I thought it might be beneficial if I told you about them. I guess I will start with Lacey. She is a mighty woman of God.  You would not guess that she is 18 by the authority that comes out of her when she speaks on the word of God.  She is a ton of fun and all the Cambodians think she is crazy (in the best way possible).  She tells people she’s from Haiti, but she’s not.  Her heart has just been captured by that country.  She is the first one...

Little hands.  Little laughs. Little smiles.  This is what greets me every day.  There are little pockets full of money for snacks and tiny teeth speaking words I don’t understand. And these little hands reach up for me and grab my heart.  The little laughs echo in my ears.  I love to watch them giggle at my funny faces.  The smiles cannot truly be captured.  They are too genuine and too beautiful to be caught on camera.  These are the memories I cherish.  These are the things that make me joyful. Teaching English is much more difficult...