Good morning! I've had an interesting last
few months. Cambodia has started to feel more and more like home. I'm learning
to really enjoy a lot of the foods. I love driving in the traffic. I love trips
to the countryside. I praise God for the relationships with the beautiful
people here. There have been unexpected twists and turns. Some of them are
gifts from Jesus. Others can feel a bit overwhelming.
Going to the Railway Community two days a
week are still my favorite times of the week. A few months ago, I was asked to
help lead the ministry there, along with one of the Khmer staff. That has been
a stretch for me, but also very rewarding. It provides me with lots of
opportunities to trust God for wisdom and creativity. It is incredible to see
the kids encounter the love of Jesus. I love seeing their hearts connect with a
loving heavenly Father. It's so powerful to get to worship God with them. And
to have them come running with smiles and hugs never gets old.
But then there are the hard situations
that tug at my heart and I can't just shake when I leave the community. When we
pray and pray and the situation seems to just get worse instead of better, I
wonder where Jesus is in all this. Hopelessness knocks at my heart and all I
have left to do is spend time in the secret place with the One who is our only
Hope. He reminds me that He loves and cares about the people involved so much
more than I do.
I have Khmer class twice a week. Today, I was taught how to cook a traditional Khmer dish, called “Lok-Lak”. It is stir fried beef, served on a bed of greens. The classes go at a good pace that keeps me challenged enough that I learn new words every lesson, while I keep up, review and practice words that I already know. I can have a simple conversation in Khmer now! I can’t wait to be able to understand the stories from the Khmer people, pray together and believe God together with them!
Jesus frequently provides me with
opportunities for refreshing times as well. One of my favorites so far has been
camping at Kirirom. We went up on a mountain, covered in nothing but pine
trees, grass, crickets, and fresh air. It reminded me so much of Canada, I
forgot I was half a world away. We pitched our tents, built a fire, and roasted
hotdogs and marshmallows. It was such a beautiful weekend to just breathe and
focus on God.
Remember what I said about unexpected
twists and turns? Well, I have another very unexpected twist I’ve been excited
to tell you. God brought an amazing man into my life! I met Colin Chen 111 days
ago at a birthday party. Since then we have somehow found our ways into each
other’s hearts. We started dating 33 days ago. We started the relationship by
holding hands and asking Jesus to be the centre of it, and we continue to do so
at the end of every date. We really sense God in this and I thank God for Colin
every day. He has blessed and encouraged me in countless different ways. One of
our favourite things to do is take a drive through the countryside, surrounded
by rice fields and cow manure. It’s already been an incredible journey and I’m
looking forward to getting to know him even more. Stay tuned for the next post
to hear more about him and how God brought us together.
That's so Cool about, Colin, Miss Brenda!!! God does amazing things in our lives and this is just one more in yours. I'm truly happy for you :)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Brenda!
ReplyDeleteIt's exciting to see God write your story!
May you be blessed all the way!
Hello Brenda
ReplyDeleteI am from New Zealand, Harbourside Church (along with Eddy and Amanda Biddick), and I travelled up to Cambodia this time last year to meet with Kingdom City Church and reach out through the work they are doing in Cambodia. You have met a wonderful man in Colin and I pray that your life together is blessed. Maybe we will meet if I am able to make that trip again (not this year with grandchild No. 4 due in three weeks). Or maybe we can convince you and Colin to come down to see us in NZ.
All the very best wishes
Debbie
Aww Brenda I was blessed by your blog today!!! Thank YOU for posting!!! I love all the pictures too! I am so excited for what the Father is doing in and through you!!!
ReplyDelete