Cambodia Mission - July 15

It is always strange to me to wake up on Sunday and not go to church at Centerbranch. I very much miss my husband and family, but it is surreal to me how much I miss being in that location with my church family.

Poipet - Day 2

Today is Day 2 in Poipet was something that will not be put into words easy.
It was a hard two days physically. I would often say it was because of my weight or lack of fitness. It was physically and emotionally hard on everyone.

Our day started early. Once more on the bus and headed to Poipet by 630 ish. We were trying to make it to church on time 9am. We arrived and split up into teams. I was with Pastor Mark, Ruben, Madison, Lexi and we were at Pastor Perlito's church for service. It was a beautiful service, the worship was in Khmer but the spirit of God crosses language barriers. It was a spirit filled service with many, many filled and slain with the Spirit.

After service Madison was compelled to pray for a woman with a deformed leg, When Madison, Lexi and I started praying the woman could not stand with both feet on the ground. Before we left, she had walked across the porch. We prayed with fervor in the strength of our faith and we saw fruit.

Lunch in Thailand

I can now say I have been to Thailand. Our host for the day took us to a casino for lunch where there was a variety of food options. For some members this was their culture shock moment. I am realizing that my lack of culture shock is coming from being able to channel who I am at home…Momma Sue. When I see someone struggling, I go to them and that is what grounded me.

The food was actually very good, but more like a mall food court blended with a K&W cafeteria. Little strange. Joe and went to Niagara Falls and experienced the Asian tourism frenzy. This was not as extreme. The people in the airport and the restaurant have been direct and self focused, which comes across rude. They have not gone out of their way to be rude…it is simply the way they are. That being said, they tend to push into one another in public places which prevents personal space. Us Americans are very fond of our personal space. The idea of being in a restaurant attached to a casino really bothered some of our team. I felt that heaviness walking through but passed through without issue. I have found that I am defaulting to speaking in tongues a lot…I mean without even realizing it at times. I notice it when the heaviness, evil is present and when I encounter situations that naturally call fear out in me. Praise God that the Spirit that lives within us, gives us strength.

Back To Church

When we came back we split into groups again. I was with pastor Mark, Addy, Madison, Faith and Elizabeth. We were going to do children’s service in one of the city villages…we would call it the slums. This was the most heart wrenching for me. So many children without adults to supervise them. I saw how much it pulled on Elizabeth and Pastor Mark's hearts too. The girls were impacted but their compassion is what shined brightly.





As we walked through the slums our young translator invited kids to join us for Bible Study. We walked until we reached a building that appeared to be rather nice and newer construction. Beside it were about 10 "rooms" made of rough shod aluminum and wood. It looked somewhat like our chicken coops back home in West Virginia. These coups held people, not chickens. The site I saw appeared to be a den for sex trafficking. We are here at the border of Thailand and this entire peninsula is known for sex trafficking. I quickly directed the girls back toward where Bible Study would be taking place. You did not see many girls the age of our teens in the area, some boys and little children but I would say less than 15 girls between the ages of 12-18. For some of them it is a choice they made to take care of their family, for others no choice was ever given. I had to fight the urge to pull Madison, Addy and Faith into my arms. My flesh wanted to protect them, my spirit reminded me their protector was far more powerful than I.

Children's Bible Study

One member of our group was a little disappointed and confused that we were not out soul winning house to house in the slums. Once the children were gathered, that thought abated and the need was made clear. Around 50 little faces stared at us as wee sang songs and told stories. Once again, i was called to share with nothing prepared. God gave me the words. We shared about how Jesus came to us as a baby and how he was more like us than like the kings we see.



International House of God

We came back together for service in the evening. We rushed in hearing worship music playing and later learned we jumped in to their practice for service. That was fine with us, just an extra portion of the praise and worship. Several countries were represented: America, Cambodia, Philippines, Canada, Australia and I believe there were a few others. I am drawn back to the word Joi shared with us, "mission trips show us how big God's heart is". To hear all the different accents and dialects praising God in one accord was astounding. I am pretty sure most everyone likes the song "How Great Is Our God", I have always preferred the international recording. It always stirs my heart...this was like that but 100 fold.

Sometimes we have tried to compartmentalize God. It is a Sunday thing, a holiday thing and so on. When you see so many of God's people worshipping together - all colors, shapes, nationalities, backgrounds and any other socioeconomic category...you realize that there is nothing about God that can be contained. You also realize that you do not want it contained.

Pastor Mark of Forward Church brought the message. He preached with power and authority. When the altar opened you were there either to be saved or be filled fresh. It was the type of service you do not want to leave. We marinated in the Spirit of the Lord. We would have happily stayed longer.

Once service was over it was time for goodbyes. Some of these people I will never see until Heaven. Some I will see on future mission trips or in services back home. Our hearts did not want to separate...deep called to deep and it was answered here. Our hosts bestowed each of us with a gift. They place Khmer silk scarves on each of us. It meant so much more that Ruth put my scarf on me. It was a gentle, loving token of love. I held it in my hand most of the way back to Siem Reap.





Home to Siem Reap

Brother Wes has this need to take picture of people while they are sleeping, so staying awake when traveling is a positive choice. (Or sleep like Kayla with your face buried in your backpack or like me falling over out of the seat...both are solid options.) Each bus ride to and from Poipet had its moments. There were serious moments of prayer, praise and reaching out to God. There were not so serious moments that involved a few adults cackling like three years olds around midnight on a long trip back to the hotel. One young man slept on the floor of the bus, the girls looked like dominoes in the back seat...and we laughed. So much joy, so much to be thankful for.




 Day Two in the Books

Two longs days of pushing our limits. I am going to post shorter blogs with more photos to help convey different aspects of the trip and these two days specifically. Trust me when I tell you we gave more than any of us believed we had in us. We pushed through physical, mental and spiritual boundaries to do the work of God we had set before us. We really did dig deep. It was such a rewarding experience with so many moments, so many blessings that I will have the coming to mind for a long time to come. God poured out blessing as we and our hosts poured out love. 

Best weekend ever.





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