Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
A Love Found
October 27, 2010
"I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints."
~Ephesians 1:18
Father, I pray this verse over my time spent in Cambodia and may I continue to grow in depth and knowledge of you and your love through experience.
March 21, 2011
I am sitting in the same spot, on the same chair and writing at the same desk I did five months ago. The only thing that makes this moment different from the last, are the months lived in between. Sitting here with me are the months of living in the Khmer culture, the relationships that were made and the Holy design of a love found. Realizing in this very moment, an answered prayer.
The hardest part about loving or being in love is the acceptance of losing yourself, that of taking on another's joys and sorrows within your own heart. To be blessed and to be burdened in a selfless manner, evokes a humbling self-discovery and deepens the depth of the heart to the magnitude of our Creator and the definition of His perfect love towards all He has made. To be God's hands and heart in spite of deep personal wounds and heartache, is something that we have not enough strength or insight to give on our own yet when we rely on His strength and seek His wisdom and guidance, it becomes the greatest thing (Galatians 5:6).
To know more of His love, I had to lose myself to 40 amazingly beautiful and loving children and young adults.
They have captured my heart with their strength, generosity, and gentle spirits as they love. Exposing a true faith and hope, through their testimonies, and how we must receive the kingdom of God...like a child. Mark 10:15. We shared laughs, heartaches, and dreams, in exchange for exposing our own vulnerability to each other while learning to trust despite pasts, weaknesses, and fears.
Their were moments that broke me and moments that restored me. Little do they know that God was using them. He was using them to show me Himself and the heart that I desire to have and the love that I desire to give.
Thanks Kit and Ream for your obedience to the Lord's calling. I can't stop thanking you for your eager willingness and self-sacrifices so that these children may have a Greater Hope. They are so blessed because you.
"I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints."
~Ephesians 1:18
Father, I pray this verse over my time spent in Cambodia and may I continue to grow in depth and knowledge of you and your love through experience.
March 21, 2011
I am sitting in the same spot, on the same chair and writing at the same desk I did five months ago. The only thing that makes this moment different from the last, are the months lived in between. Sitting here with me are the months of living in the Khmer culture, the relationships that were made and the Holy design of a love found. Realizing in this very moment, an answered prayer.
The hardest part about loving or being in love is the acceptance of losing yourself, that of taking on another's joys and sorrows within your own heart. To be blessed and to be burdened in a selfless manner, evokes a humbling self-discovery and deepens the depth of the heart to the magnitude of our Creator and the definition of His perfect love towards all He has made. To be God's hands and heart in spite of deep personal wounds and heartache, is something that we have not enough strength or insight to give on our own yet when we rely on His strength and seek His wisdom and guidance, it becomes the greatest thing (Galatians 5:6).
To know more of His love, I had to lose myself to 40 amazingly beautiful and loving children and young adults.
They have captured my heart with their strength, generosity, and gentle spirits as they love. Exposing a true faith and hope, through their testimonies, and how we must receive the kingdom of God...like a child. Mark 10:15. We shared laughs, heartaches, and dreams, in exchange for exposing our own vulnerability to each other while learning to trust despite pasts, weaknesses, and fears.
Their were moments that broke me and moments that restored me. Little do they know that God was using them. He was using them to show me Himself and the heart that I desire to have and the love that I desire to give.
Thanks Kit and Ream for your obedience to the Lord's calling. I can't stop thanking you for your eager willingness and self-sacrifices so that these children may have a Greater Hope. They are so blessed because you.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
The dust from the from the dirt yard blows around as laughing children run by. From the outside the buildings are falling apart. The orange-ish paint is chipping and there are bars on all the windows. Pad locks lock up the blue shutter-type doors, that hang on their hinges. Inside, the classrooms are dimly lit, as the sun is relied upon as the main light source. Wooden desks are pushed together to ensure that all 30-50 students can fit in the small classroom.
Cambodia's schools are evidence that this country is still recovering from the devastating Khmer Rouge Regime, where all educated were inhumanly treated and killed. While the state of education is improving, the speed of it's improvement is slow. Although, The Ministry of Education has set in place great student-centered goals, the implementation of these goals have no follow through and no middleman to insure that each child's best interest is being sought, leaving numerous amounts of children illiterate upon entering middle school. Not to mention the corruption that takes place between the walls of these tattered classrooms. For most, their grade is dependent upon their attendance to extra classes, meaning extra school dues (personal money for the teacher) - stretching their schools hours until 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, and their compliance in helping their teachers harvest their personal rice fields during harvesting season, and the occasional providing their teacher with rice, the staple. Too often teachers use education as a leverage combined with coercion to supplement their small salary.
Due to poor finances, lack of resources, and a large population of uneducated adults, the Khmer Rouge has left this country struggling to pull out of it's oppression (Isaiah 1:17). Initially, the more I learned about the state of education, the more overwhelmed and frozen I felt in my attempts to help. Frozen yet inspired. Knowing and seeing that the children are the country's future hope, and their education is at stake, We (Ream, AGHO Director, and I) have started to focus on 5 village preschools. We have visited and observed each one with the goal of being able to guide them towards a greater education. To educate the teachers on child development and how to build a classroom environment that enhances and encourages learning.
In the Cambodian education system a child enters school at age 6 into grade 1. The desired hope for working with preschools is that children will be beginning readers and writers before they enter school. To give a child a jump start. As of now, in the public school system if a child gets left behind, catching up is a losing battle.
In the Cambodian education system a child enters school at age 6 into grade 1. The desired hope for working with preschools is that children will be beginning readers and writers before they enter school. To give a child a jump start. As of now, in the public school system if a child gets left behind, catching up is a losing battle.
A Greater Hope Orphanage, AGHO, where I am currently volunteering, has started one of these preschools. The directors Kit and Ream Carson, have a deep passion for offering a greater education to Cambodia's children. As 'Daddy and Mommy' to 40 children, daily, they are instilling Biblical foundations into each life, raising them up to impact their country for Christ. Their vision is to start a public school that will be rich in education and void of all corruption. Their foundation being, that these children may 'gain hearts of wisdom' (Psalm 90:12). They are opening the doors to grades 1 and 3 this fall and will continue to add more grades as the Lord provides.
Please keep the Kingdom of Cambodia's childrens future in you prayers. It is the children that are running home to share with their parents what they have learned in school. And in these 5 preschools, where they are praying, singing and learning about God, as they are educated and becoming the next generation, it is their beautiful feet causing the dirt to blow as they run home bringing the good news! (Romans 10:15)
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Christmas Child
She is beautiful. Her smile lights up the room as she stands in front of everyone, eager to share what's in her heart. She's about 10 years old. Her black hair is messily pulled back into a low ponytail with random pieces framing her sun-kissed face. Her almond shaped brown eyes smile as she flattens her navy blue pleated skirt, evidence of her previous whereabouts, resembling the others. Worn-in stains ad a hint of color to her white button up blouse that she has neatly tucked in to complete her school uniform. "Aht," she answers ("no"). I continue to try and make out what is being said with the little Khmer that I know. And then, slowly I stop and just watch her. I get lost in the moment as I watch her share her heart...a language that needs no translation. After she spoke, she found her seat on the floor amongst her girl friends. Then I got the translation. She was asked 'if she had ever received a present before.'
One of the hardest parts about living in a third world country is having the knowledge of and having been exposed to the "more" that's out there, "for with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief," Ecc. 1:18. In Cambodia, for the majority of the culture, around Christmas time, there are no beautiful twinkling lights to admire, no trees to trim, no presents to give and or receive, no holiday performances to attend to, no cookies to bake, and no knowledge of Jesus to thank.
The past week has been a whirlwind of cracking a dent in the 10,000 Christmas shoeboxes that are a part of Operation Christmas Child, sent from Western Australia. We have visited schools and churches in the surrounding villages to bring the "Good News" along with, for many, their first present. It was hard choosing which pictures to share but I hope the emotions are conveyed. It's almost one of those "need to be there" moments. To hear the screams and laughs at the first sight of what's inside. To see them hold their boxes so tightly never wanting to let go. To watch them rig their boxes on their bikes and ride off. To be amazed at how 5 children fit on a moto and a 10 year old drives them home. To smile as they run into the picturesque Cambodian landscape and stop and open their gifts in the distance. To see on the ride home, the red and green boxes adding color to yards. To pray with the children to God in a land that prays to Buddha. I admire them with their eyes closed so tight and so quick to give thanks. "For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." Mark 10:14
One of the hardest parts about living in a third world country is having the knowledge of and having been exposed to the "more" that's out there, "for with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief," Ecc. 1:18. In Cambodia, for the majority of the culture, around Christmas time, there are no beautiful twinkling lights to admire, no trees to trim, no presents to give and or receive, no holiday performances to attend to, no cookies to bake, and no knowledge of Jesus to thank.
The past week has been a whirlwind of cracking a dent in the 10,000 Christmas shoeboxes that are a part of Operation Christmas Child, sent from Western Australia. We have visited schools and churches in the surrounding villages to bring the "Good News" along with, for many, their first present. It was hard choosing which pictures to share but I hope the emotions are conveyed. It's almost one of those "need to be there" moments. To hear the screams and laughs at the first sight of what's inside. To see them hold their boxes so tightly never wanting to let go. To watch them rig their boxes on their bikes and ride off. To be amazed at how 5 children fit on a moto and a 10 year old drives them home. To smile as they run into the picturesque Cambodian landscape and stop and open their gifts in the distance. To see on the ride home, the red and green boxes adding color to yards. To pray with the children to God in a land that prays to Buddha. I admire them with their eyes closed so tight and so quick to give thanks. "For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." Mark 10:14
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)