When I tell people I'm moving to Cambodia, their reactions can generally be put into two categories. First, and the majority of people, get really excited for me and want to know more details. The second, and smaller category, usually exhibits some kind of fear or anxiety. This can look like wide-eyed shock, or a deadpan, "huh", with a calculator behind their eyes tallying away at retirement benefits or lack thereof. So this post is dedicated to both groups: the excited people who want to know more and how this came about, and also the anxious who want to know more about how this came about.
First of all, let's talk a little about international travel. Because this is clearly not everyone's cup of tea (though I can't understand why!) During my schooling years I was able to travel with my family to Mexico and Canada for vacations or family trips. I went on my first overseas trip after high school graduation. A girlfriend and I went to Tahiti. Of course that was fun and beautiful and we both came back with Tahitian tattoos on our big toes. When I was in college, I took a month-long course on the history and culture of Jamaica. I believe it was Jamaica that fostered a passion for travel and culture. I loved 'living' there, even if it was only for a month. I loved that I wasn't a tourist and had a purpose for being there. I have since been to many places. I have been to beautiful places, but if it is just a trip for pleasure, honestly it doesn't grip me in any special way. What really matters for me is having a purpose in the place I am visiting, and that purpose, of course, is tightly wound up in what God is doing in my life at the time. But you may say, "In a place like Jamaica... of course!" I'll grant you that, my dear reader. It may be that if the first place I visited I lived in squalor, was eaten up by the local insect population, spent most of my time in the bathroom and was robbed of all my possessions, a love of the nations might not have gripped me like it has. But that didn't happen. So here I am.
Just for the fun of it, here's a list of the places I've been. The longest was 3 months, the shortest was 5 minutes on a riverbank illegally, and everything in between.
- Canada
- Mexico
- Tahiti
- Jamaica
- Australia
- New Zealand
- Japan
- Cambodia
- Vietnam
- Thailand
- South Africa
- Botswana
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
- Namibia
- Brazil
- Belize
- Grand Cayman
Second, let's talk missions. For my non-Christian readers, missions is basically doing God's work, to put it in the simplest terms. It's generally thought of as overseas work, but that doesn't have to be the case. Christians can and should do missions anywhere. Let me tell you how the theme of overseas missions has been woven through my life. I got saved while reading material about missionaries. Three times I stepped out to do something overseas and God changed it into a missions trip of some fashion. The first happened when a family I knew decided to work with YWAM (Youth With A Mission) in South Africa. They asked me to go as a nanny to their two girls. I said yes even though I was in the middle of my teacher credentialing program. A few days before we flew out they suggested that I do the YWAM training course with them, and they'd look for child care on the base. I said yes, applied and was accepted to the missionary training program (YWAM calls this a DTS, discipleship training school). As is turns out they didn't even need a nanny because they had child care on the base and the older child did her homeschooling with another girl. It was just God's way of getting me into the mission field. Let me just say that the five months I lived in Africa were a mountaintop experience for me. I developed a passion for missions and met some great girlfriends there that are still a part of my life today. The second was when my brother got married. I flew to Cambodia to be in their wedding, but again before I flew out a team from their church asked if I wanted to join them after the wedding. So again I said yes. On that trip we packed Bibles in our backpacks and walked them over the border into Vietnam, did medical clinics and children's ministry in rural Cambodian villages, and passed out tracts on the streets of Bangkok, Thailand. The third occasion is quite a story. It had been a few years since South Africa. I sent an email to my friend Grace (a Nigerian who continued to do mission work in S.A.) and said, "It's been a while, let's meet in the middle." So what is midway between South Africa and California (I'll give you a moment to look at a map) ........ Brazil! So we met in Brazil. I had no expectation other than to spend time with Grace. Well Grace being Grace set up ministry for us with a Brazilian friend we both knew from our time in South Africa. So we gave testimonies in churches, spoke in a halfway house, visited a children's home and a YWAM ministry in the slums of Rio. If you think Christians, God or the Bible are boring I hope this short account above has blown that misconception out of the water! The point is, on each of those trips, Africa, Asia, Brazil, I never planned to do mission work, but God led me into it by working through the circumstances, events and people in my life at that time.
Third, let's talk purpose. I am currently an elementary schoolteacher. My gifting is with the younger children. I have taught first and third grades and will be teaching second in Cambodia. I know that I make a difference in my students' lives (at least some of them). I can teach them to love school, learning, reading, etc., but all those things end with their lifetime. They may graduate from college, get better jobs and earn more money, but those things again, will end with their lifetime. I want to use my skills to bless children in ways that will last for all eternity. The American public school system is not a great avenue to accomplish this. After applying for teaching positions in Phnom Penh, I was offered two positions. One was at a school for mostly missionary kids, the other, a Christian Cambodian school that services mostly middle class Cambodian families. Which one did I choose? (For my teacher friends: draw a conclusion from the paragraphs about missions and purpose.) If you chose the Cambodian school, you were right! Ding, ding, ding! These kids might not hear the Gospel message outside of my classroom. The other kids already have great mommies and daddies that teach them about Jesus. My purpose is clear. I will be using my gifts and talents to further the Kingdom of God which will last forever and ever and ever.
Lastly, why Cambodia? It seems like an odd corner of the Earth to go to (forgive me my Asian friends). Simply because someone asked me and I said yes. My brother and his wife live in Cambodia. They run an amazing orphanage and a fledgling school. As long as I've lived in Las Vegas teaching they've asked on and off, hinted, or indirectly asked me to come to Cambodia to live and teach. Two years ago this August I told them I would consider it and pray about it. It's God's timing, so now I am going.
So for the next two years I will be teaching in the city to earn my keep, learn the language, and get my land legs culturally speaking. I will assist my brother with his ministry as well, however I can. And after that... who knows?
