Day 1 in Cambodia!!

Finally in Cambodia! What a relief to have gotten here safely and without complications!! Here is what has been going on so far: 

We explored a bit around the neighborhood but didn't get too far because we had no map and no sense of where we were in the city. That has changed however, because we got a map from Jenny last night with interesting places marked on it so hopefully today or tomorrow we can go out and explore some more!

Last night, we got a phone finally so now we have a way of communicating with the people from the agency! Also, I think I may have finally figured out my internet problem...we'll see, but crossing my fingers that it will keep working!

We had dinner with Jenny and Summer (staff from the agency) last night at a restaurant around the corner that we quickly realized was one we had visited two years ago...crazy! We've been pretty safe with our food choices so far -- fried rice and cashew chicken. Not branching out *quite* yet. ;) We'll get there though...I think. It was great to talk with them over dinner, and they answered a lot of our questions that had popped up throughout the day. We won't be starting a schedule until next week sometime because they want us to just get acclimated and rested and get a feel for our surroundings so that's probably good. We're meeting with Jenny tomorrow (Thursday) to try and figure out where we will be staying long term through the 6 months.

Our hotel is pretty nice, and it is in a nice neighborhood with a lot of little cafes and shops, but we want to be somewhere closer to where we will be working -- especially if we are going to be biking there every day. Not sure yet if we will be finding an apartment somewhere or staying in a hotel for our time here...it's an ongoing discussion between Julie and I, and I don't think we'll really come to a conclusion until we look around at some places.

Some quirky occurrences: We found some little lizards in our hotel, but they don't come out until night time so we haven't seen many! When we arrived at the hotel Monday night, two men from the hotel insisted on taking our luggage up three flights of stairs, and wouldn't let us help! We felt awful because they were like half our size and trying to carry our 50 lb suitcases...basically as big as they were. It was kind of humorous, but we tried to help and they refused to let us. We also attempted to find an adapter yesterday so that we could plug in our chargers...we were directed to 3 different stores around the neighborhood and I think only succeeded in completely confusing the store owners as well as ourselves in the process of communicating. We finally gave up only to find out later that night from Jenny that we don't need an adapter!! Our chargers fit right into the walls. So that was a fun but unnecessary adventure.

As far as jet lag goes, we are doing really well! Our first night we slept for a good 6-7 hours, which is pretty great considering. And then last night, we got about 9 hours of sleep so we are feeling very rested and ahead of the game. We have heard that the third day is the hardest though, so be praying for our sleep tomorrow :)

That's it for now! Thank you all for your continued prayer and support! We'll post more soon :) 

God's Work at Hand

This weekend I was reminded of God’s provision once again. Exactly 2 weeks before Becca and I leave for Cambodia, I ran a garage sale last Friday and Saturday. I had asked nearly 30 families from my home church if they would be willing to donate any large household items for my sale. With very few items the day before the garage sale took place and a mild chance of rain, fear and doubt had the upper hand. Becca sought to calm my fears by stating that “even if you raise $4. It’s $4 more than we would have had before.” 

Ye of little faith. 

Everything from the weather, to conversations shared, and the amount of money that came in...I was in utter disbelief. Not to say that everything went perfect but everything definitely came together. God's provision was easily displayed in big and small ways throughout the weekend. There were many people who sacrificed their labor, donated items, and gave up their time in order to make this garage sale a success. I COULD NOT have done it alone.

Though there were several hiccups during the weekend, I was able to raise nearly $500 in 2 days. Having an ideal location due to a friendly neighbor, great weather, willing donors, lots of help from my family, and God's perfect timing the sale went better than I could have imagined. I am so blown away by God's provision - yet why should I expect anything less? 

One of my favorite parts of the sale was engaging in conversations with strangers in the community about the purpose of the garage sale, sharing with them of my past experience, and hearing their own stories. Even if they didn't buy anything they were made aware of the cause for the garage sale. One lady in particular, after asking questions, preceded to look through every picture from my Cambodia photo album. As our conversation progressed she felt lead to pray with my sister, mom, and myself in a circle together. Here we stood, on the corner of Outer Drive, holding hands praying for safety, strength, and peace for my parents. The strangers prayer was beautiful, every word powerfully and deeply struck me; it was as though God was directly speaking to me. It was such a wonderful awestruck moment that I will never forget. What a beautiful gift God blessed me with. It’s amazing how God can work through ANYTHING, even our own doubts. Thank you to everyone who helped this weekend, it took lots of donated items, lots of helping hands, and lots of prayer. Thank you to each and everyone of you that contributed in one way or another.

This is just one example of how God is already working and moving. I cannot wait to see what happens next!