Given that a week and a half of time in Cambodia has passed, I thought it would be a good idea to update you all on what ministry looks like this month. We are located in Phnom Penh, working with YWAM and a ministry called Beautiful Feet. The name is based off the verse:
And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” ~Romans 10:15~
Our ministry involves teaching English to university students. The team has been split into teaching Level 1 and Level 2 English with Level 1 having classes from 10:30-11:30, 4:30-5:30, and 6-7 while Level 2 only runs in the afternoon. There are two buildings that the ministry uses: a boys’ dorm and a girls’ dorm. We are living in the girls’ dorm and it has been fun to see the girls outside of classes as they cook and do homework.
In addition to the classes, there are also Bible studies held on Tuesday and Thursday nights. The concept of the ministry is awesome because the students who live in the dorms come from underprivileged families and all they have to do is pay $10 for electricity to live here. We learned upon arrival that because of the genocide that happened in the 1960’s, Cambodia is a very young country. 80% of the population is under 30 years of age. Education is not placed in high value for that reason which is why our ministry hosts have the focus that they do.
Now, before any misunderstandings occur, I’ve painted a picture that makes it sound like I’ve participated in all of this ministry, when in fact I really have not at all. Team Boxcar got hit with an illness, beginning for some at the end of Thailand. What started as a cold for Jess and Courtney, followed shortly by me, became at least a week-long fatigue. It’s come and gone for almost everyone in the team in some capacity and though we have gotten check-ups and medication, we all have felt very tired. It’s been a strange beginning to the month because of the shuffling of team members who are healthy to participate in ministry and those who have rested. Please pray for continued recovery and energy re-building as we go through this shorter month.
Provided that we are all feeling healthy, our team has plans to visit the killing fields as well as Angkor Wat in Siem Reap to get a deeper taste of the Cambodia culture and not so recent past.
Prayers, as always, are extremely appreciated.
