Cambodia Mission - Day One
Let me warn you up front these first few days of posts from the mission trip, may feel a little random and long winded. If you find that to be the case, I do apologize but I ask that you hang on for the rest of the ride. I don’t know how frequently I will be able to get my posts up, but I will be doing an entry for each day of the trip to include the travel days.
If anything, the excitement to get started is getting the best of me. Like a little kid before Christmas I couldn’t sleep last night and I’m so excited or anxious to get going that I have not even been able to eat all morning for the butterflies in my stomach. I’ve spent all morning long, since Joe left for work at 6am, listening to praise and worship music, reading my Bible, and just making final preparations. I still have another 3 hours before I leave my house to get to the van that will take us to the airport. Not exactly sure what I am going to do with myself until then.
I will share this though, while praying this morning I had one of those frank conversations with God. You know the ones where you tell God all the things you didn’t want him to know but he already knew. Confessing where I have messed up, my sins. Letting God know that I’m a little scared to say “do what you will in my life”. Here is the thing, so many of us want to be obedient and we want to do what is pleasing to God but when we really think about what that means we get scared. From the beginning, I’ve had this no-so-secret fear of being called to full-time missions. There’s a part of me that is afraid of being called because it means being so far away from my family. It would mean something completely different from anything I have ever been used to and frankly Sue doesn’t like change at least not massive changes, so while I was having this frank discussion with God I had to tell him I was willing to obey because I want to be used I don’t want to miss the opportunity to be obedient. Once I come back from Cambodia, I know that there is going to be a certain changes and I don’t know what all those are yet, but I feel a pull inside me drawing me closer to the things of God and making me far less tolerant for the things of the world. I do not know a better way to describe it. I will say that every chance the enemy has to throw up doubt to create confusion or chaos to discourage me from the path just proves that much more that is where I am supposed to be. Nothing worthwhile, whether earthly or heavenly, is easy. It takes work, sacrifice and dedication to engage something bigger than self. So as I finish my final check to make sure I have everything for my trip I am very much aware of how much more I want and need to know God.
The last two weeks at church, Pastor Luke Brugger has been doing a message called Foundation. The focus of this is that if you are not built on a good foundation you are not going to stand. The basis of this is the scripture in Matthew about the wise man who builds upon the rock and the foolish man who builds on sand. The thing is that so many Christians do not have a good foundation. We do not read our Bibles like our lives depend on it and they do. The fact is that most of us are good with the fortune cookie version of getting the word. We want to take little snippets from the bible and apply them randomly and so many of us have been raised in environments where that was done even from the pulpit. I do not want my life to be hashtags and fortune cookies excerpts. I want there to be meat in what I share from scripture. I don’t want it to be just something I picked up along the way, I want it to be something that has been etched into my heart and my mind. Which simply means I have a lot of work to do. I don’t memorize scriptures well, I tend to get the gist of them and not the exact wording. However, I know God can bridge that gap. So, whatever it is God has in store for me, I want to be ready. If that means missions – it means missions. If that means full time ministry – it means full time ministry. If it meas being an obedient and faithful layperson – then that is what it means.
I have spent a lot of time wondering who it is God wants me to be. I have also spent a lot of time trying to see what others see in me. When ministers within my church or young people I work with call me a woman of God, it is not something I take lightly. It is the one title I want to make sure I am doing my best to live up to everyday. It can only be done through God. No matter what. God can’t do this within me unless I give him the room to move.
It has been a very long time since I flew. At least 12 years, maybe longer. It was a short 2 hour jump to Florida. I remember takeoff being terrifying. That was not the case today. I am seated by Dakota, a friend from church and a fellow missionary in transit to Cambodia. It was her first flight. I am certain both of us had some nerves but we gazed out the window at the beauty of God's creation and marvelled that we KNOW the CREATOR of all we were seeing. We were both in tears with huge smiles on our faces as the plane continued to gain altitude. God is good and his creation is beautiful.
We are now about halfway to Los Angeles. I am sitting in my aisle seat with christian music pumping into my ears and writing the first blog of this journey. This trip is about serious business, Kingdom business, but that does not change the fact we are having fun. Sharing these experiences is one aspect, but we are being silly too. A group of 8 or so of us road the moving sidewalk at the airport…just for fun. There was absolutely no reason for us to be on that walkway. It sounds juvenile and I am okay with that. We are laughing, bonding and off to a fantastic start to this trip. This team is anticipating so much. Salvation, healing, and a move of God that will change us in our core.
I know the hearts of those who sponsored me and prayed for me to go on this trip are enormous. There are literally hundreds of people praying for this missions team. Keep praying, we are already experiencing the fruit of your prayers. I know today was just flying to the west coast but this is also the first day of our great adventure.
It's getting close to 8:30 in LA and we are coming in for a landing. I honestly expected sunny and 85 degrees (like every movie you ever see) or a thick coating of smog. It's hazy and appears to have rained, but we are here. With our early arrival we were able to have the famed In-N-Out Burger, I am not disappointed.
It is 11:24 PM in LA. Time to turn in and get some rest before tomorrow's marathon. God bless each of you. Please share the Cambodia Mission blogs with others. Send some feedback, encouragement and scripture to uplift the team. I pray for you to be touched by the testimony I will share as this trip unfolds. God bless you all.
Welcome to Day One
I cannot even begin to express what I am feeling. My emotions are all over the place. Last night I ended up crying when I went to bed. I’m not sad. I’m not scared, there are just so many things I seem to be feeling all at once. I am about to travel to a country on the other side of the world to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ my Savior. It’s as if in the last 24 hours the importance of what we’ll be doing has finally sunk in and I know there is no way I can even imagine what I am going to feel when I actually have boots on the ground in Cambodia.If anything, the excitement to get started is getting the best of me. Like a little kid before Christmas I couldn’t sleep last night and I’m so excited or anxious to get going that I have not even been able to eat all morning for the butterflies in my stomach. I’ve spent all morning long, since Joe left for work at 6am, listening to praise and worship music, reading my Bible, and just making final preparations. I still have another 3 hours before I leave my house to get to the van that will take us to the airport. Not exactly sure what I am going to do with myself until then.
I will share this though, while praying this morning I had one of those frank conversations with God. You know the ones where you tell God all the things you didn’t want him to know but he already knew. Confessing where I have messed up, my sins. Letting God know that I’m a little scared to say “do what you will in my life”. Here is the thing, so many of us want to be obedient and we want to do what is pleasing to God but when we really think about what that means we get scared. From the beginning, I’ve had this no-so-secret fear of being called to full-time missions. There’s a part of me that is afraid of being called because it means being so far away from my family. It would mean something completely different from anything I have ever been used to and frankly Sue doesn’t like change at least not massive changes, so while I was having this frank discussion with God I had to tell him I was willing to obey because I want to be used I don’t want to miss the opportunity to be obedient. Once I come back from Cambodia, I know that there is going to be a certain changes and I don’t know what all those are yet, but I feel a pull inside me drawing me closer to the things of God and making me far less tolerant for the things of the world. I do not know a better way to describe it. I will say that every chance the enemy has to throw up doubt to create confusion or chaos to discourage me from the path just proves that much more that is where I am supposed to be. Nothing worthwhile, whether earthly or heavenly, is easy. It takes work, sacrifice and dedication to engage something bigger than self. So as I finish my final check to make sure I have everything for my trip I am very much aware of how much more I want and need to know God.
The last two weeks at church, Pastor Luke Brugger has been doing a message called Foundation. The focus of this is that if you are not built on a good foundation you are not going to stand. The basis of this is the scripture in Matthew about the wise man who builds upon the rock and the foolish man who builds on sand. The thing is that so many Christians do not have a good foundation. We do not read our Bibles like our lives depend on it and they do. The fact is that most of us are good with the fortune cookie version of getting the word. We want to take little snippets from the bible and apply them randomly and so many of us have been raised in environments where that was done even from the pulpit. I do not want my life to be hashtags and fortune cookies excerpts. I want there to be meat in what I share from scripture. I don’t want it to be just something I picked up along the way, I want it to be something that has been etched into my heart and my mind. Which simply means I have a lot of work to do. I don’t memorize scriptures well, I tend to get the gist of them and not the exact wording. However, I know God can bridge that gap. So, whatever it is God has in store for me, I want to be ready. If that means missions – it means missions. If that means full time ministry – it means full time ministry. If it meas being an obedient and faithful layperson – then that is what it means.
I have spent a lot of time wondering who it is God wants me to be. I have also spent a lot of time trying to see what others see in me. When ministers within my church or young people I work with call me a woman of God, it is not something I take lightly. It is the one title I want to make sure I am doing my best to live up to everyday. It can only be done through God. No matter what. God can’t do this within me unless I give him the room to move.
Take Off
I’m not sure what altitude we are currently at but we are in the air. As with any trip departure there was a little delay and a few minor hick-ups. Nothing of enough merit to talk about. We all went through security with ease and Chick-fil-a was waiting for us on the other side of security. And yes there is a photo...
It has been a very long time since I flew. At least 12 years, maybe longer. It was a short 2 hour jump to Florida. I remember takeoff being terrifying. That was not the case today. I am seated by Dakota, a friend from church and a fellow missionary in transit to Cambodia. It was her first flight. I am certain both of us had some nerves but we gazed out the window at the beauty of God's creation and marvelled that we KNOW the CREATOR of all we were seeing. We were both in tears with huge smiles on our faces as the plane continued to gain altitude. God is good and his creation is beautiful.
We are now about halfway to Los Angeles. I am sitting in my aisle seat with christian music pumping into my ears and writing the first blog of this journey. This trip is about serious business, Kingdom business, but that does not change the fact we are having fun. Sharing these experiences is one aspect, but we are being silly too. A group of 8 or so of us road the moving sidewalk at the airport…just for fun. There was absolutely no reason for us to be on that walkway. It sounds juvenile and I am okay with that. We are laughing, bonding and off to a fantastic start to this trip. This team is anticipating so much. Salvation, healing, and a move of God that will change us in our core.
Coming in for landing
It’s almost 11 PM back home and we are very close to LA. Our flight will be arriving early, by nearly an hour. (Favor of God). The flight has been pleasant. The young man sitting with Dakota and I turned out to be the son of the pilot. Funny how things like that happen. As I sit here, looking out at the clouds, I am in awe of the God we serve. Sometimes it takes new scenery, a new experience to remind us of how big our God really is. We get comfortable and we miss the amazing in our daily lives. We take things for granted. Ms. Joi said her professor once told her as a minister you needed to go on a foreign mission trip so you could see how big God’s heart is.I know the hearts of those who sponsored me and prayed for me to go on this trip are enormous. There are literally hundreds of people praying for this missions team. Keep praying, we are already experiencing the fruit of your prayers. I know today was just flying to the west coast but this is also the first day of our great adventure.
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