(Jenn, as the trip tour guide and PCL staff, stayed an extra week to wrap things up with PCL Cambodia staff; enjoy her thoughts from her last day in Siem Reap)
My blog is about to become a Tarantino movie.
There will not be gory slow motion samurai sword fights or funky dance numbers brilliantly choreographed, intensely dramatic and scored by “You never can tell” (yeah, I totally dropped a Pulp Fiction reference, aren’t I edgy and cool?) However, I am about to blow your mind and employ a fractured timeline. I’m skipping to the end of the story and will pick up on the day to day happenings where I left off shortly. I believe my readers are sophisticated enough to handle this.
I’m having my last breakfast at Common Grounds before I end this trip and head back home. An American lady just walked in with a group of Asian girls. She is having a bit of trouble communicating and is trying to overcome this trouble by speaking very loudly. Very, very loudly. I’ll try to ignore this…
I spent my day yesterday visiting friends here alternating between business and small talk trying to fit everything in on my last full day. I’ve had an incredible trip. I’m proud of how well the camp went. I continuously hear from the students that it was the best one yet and that they learned so much and how much they loved my team. I also loved my team. They really inspired and encouraged me and I think I made some new friends. I feel like something more happened on this trip though and I’m struggling to articulate it. There is more processing to do but at this moment (sitting in Common Grounds trying to ignore the woman who has now made a call to the US apparently simply to describe two puppies she saw this morning, one who answered to Justin Bieber) here are the things I feel most significant.
1- God hears us. It never ceases to amaze me when I hear stories of small Cambodian children, sleeping alone in a dark village, afraid, hopeless, crying out to someone in the night, sure that no one was listening who years later found out that Someone was in fact listening. Someone who cared deeply about them and was able to move the world to make their dreams come true. I won’t soon forget the beautiful simplicity of the stories I’ve heard.
2- Working in a developing country is not for the faint of heart. Not only do things never ever go as planned (seriously never. Wait until you hear the story of the 7 drunk tuk tuk drivers at Angkor Wat) but you have to learn to be content with and celebrate the small victories. I teared up a bit at camp when one of our staff actually started a youth camp service 2 minutes early without any prompting from me. This is the first time we’ve even started an activity on time in 4 years. I was so proud.
3- Discipleship is not a weekly small group meeting, it is a continuous on-going process. I’ve been a Christian for as long as I can remember and I see things in myself daily that need to change. It is unrealistic to expect that the people we work with will just wake up one morning and “get it.” True discipleship happens when we don’t plan it. It literally happens on the road.
4- Relationships are the single most important thing. Nothing I’ve ever accomplished would be possible without the amazing cast of characters that have played their part on the stage of my life. In the words of my very favorite song from Wicked, “Who can say if I’ve been changed for the better? But because I knew you, I have been changed for good.”
5- Life really is good. I’ve had my share of angst and restlessness over the past few months and while there are still many questions left unanswered, after the last few weeks I can’t help but conclude that my struggles are minimal in comparison to the blessings in my life. I’m a very lucky girl who is so thankful for grace that allows me to truly live the life I imagined. God hears little girls dreams all over the world.
