“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.”
~Isaiah 61:1-3

I am back in Thailand after an exciting and challenging week in Cambodia. Coming back was sort of like coming back to the States. Thailand is rich compared to the parts of Cambodia we visited.

The visit to Sivy’s village was a really neat experience. It was hard because they spoke no English and I don’t know any Khmer except for “hello” and “thank you”. “Thank you” became a very helpful phrase because the people were so set on serving us. I almost felt unhelpful and sort of like a snob just sitting around watching them make meals. However, I did not want to offend them by insisting on helping. Basically for two days I spent my time sitting with them, smiling a lot, and enjoying the opportunity to observe the way life runs in the village and how the family interacts.

We walked around the village visiting different family members (it seemed as if the entire village is only a few families) delivering different gifts we brought them, such as toothbrushes and pain killers. Sivy had the opportunity to talk to some of them about Jesus. One family we were talking to used to be Christians. However, they were the only ones in the village who were not Buddhist and they did not want to be looked upon as outsiders, so they turned back to Buddha. Please pray that they would not fear persecution from their neighbors and they would realize that following Christ is more important than being accepted by others. Please also pray that God would send someone there to bring the Gospel and start a Church in order to provide support and encouragement to those who are believers.

While in the village we got to experience true Cambodian food (i.e. crickets, frogs, and duck baby eggs) and showering outside from a huge jar of water. It was really fun and Hannah and I decided that is the way we are going to shower next year at school. I wonder how we’re going to install the pump…

I always joked about crazy Chicago drivers. Now I know what crazy driving actually is. The only rule of the road is to follow the flow of traffic as it meanders all over the place. If you don’t, if you hesitate at all, you are going to get hurt. I think I only saw a handful of stop signs and stoplights. Most intersections were seemingly a free-for-all. On our three hour drive back from Sivy’s village we didn’t get passed once. Hannah named our driver the Road Boss. He was crazy.

Among one of my favorite things we did in Cambodia was visiting a church there. I was able to attend New Life Church twice during our time there and both times I was struck by the joy and hope present. Amongst the suffering and poverty in the country, the Church is alive and growing. Many of the missionaries I was able to interact with talked about the importance Pol Pot and the genocide has played in the growth of the Church. It is so evident how God is using that evil and pain to bring about good. The Cambodian church is acting the way the New Testament teaches the Church should act. They are giving food and clothes to their neighbors in the name of Jesus. They are radically loving God and his creation. Praise God for the work He is doing in Cambodia!

Yesterday was Mrs. Veldt’s birthday so we went up into the mountains to this really sweet waterfall. You could climb up and down it. I’ll try to show pictures soon.

Today was the perfect lazy Saturday. It rain this afternoon which was great. I love when it rains here. It is quickly becoming one of my favorite things about Thailand. I convinced Hannah and her brother Tristan to come play in the rain with me. It was great…we ran around and jumped in puddles. Even the puddles are better here.