Prayer request:
Today was a really good day. At 6 AM, Sherry, Yen, and Vermont went to the rooftop to workout. Soon after, Victor popped up and was surprised that we were there. He did his own intense workout. Meanwhile, Alex was running up and down the stairs. Candace really needed her rest to withstand the long day today so she rested up.
At 8AM, we ate breakfast as a group and Sherry led devotions (Phil 2:14-15) where we reflected on where we struggled so far in the trip and how to be light to the world. After that, we split into groups where one group went to the Russian Market, another group to go purse shopping, and another group rested up.
The main focus today was to support our missionaries, Nathan and Priscilla. So Victor bought lunch from the Russian Market and we feasted at Nathan and Priscilla's house. We wanted to do whatever we could to care for them. Nathan really wanted to play Settlers of Cattan but unfortunately we ran out of time and had to go out and watch Superman (3d!) while we treated Priscilla to the spa. Honestly, after spending time with them for the very first time the last few days, to see the sacrifices they've made, the mercy and obedience they do to serve the Lord, and their faithfulness to God's call, this is the least we can do. They truly love God and live and breath His mission, 100%, every single day, every hour, minute, and second.
Superman was good. We had bubble tea while we watched the movie. The action was amazing, very much like Dragon Ball Z, Android 17 and 18, and Cell. The storyline and acting left much to be desired, but it was still the best Superman in recent memory. After the movie, we went back to our hotels and rested before dinner.
We went to a French restaurant for dinner and had great fellowship. Nathan spoke about MST: basically a bi-monthly prayer walk/mission in red light districts in Phnom Penh. They pray as they walk around town, they approach people in groups of 2-3, and start conversation. They do what they feel God calling them to do, for example, if someone praying says God told them to speak to someone in a red hat, they do that. Really, the goal and measure of success is to do what God tells them to do that evening. While the groups go out and about, another group prays for the entire evening, wherever God leads their hearts to pray. A sample success story is where they spoke to a person and after an hour conversation, the foreigner decided to go home rather than seek out intimate companionship.
One of the important points Nathan wanted us to realize is that every "John" has a backstory. His reasons are sinful as our reasons when we disobey. One sin is not greater than another. It is important to not judge, and to see these people as creations of God and need God just as much as we do. This was hard to do when we later went to to the red light districts to experience it ourselves.
Before we delve into that experience, we asked Nathan and Priscilla what they felt was their greatest sacrifice being missionaries. Nathan responded, "God desires mercy, not sacrifice." He said that they haven't really sacrificed anything, just some parts uncomfortable here and there. Priscilla agreed and said that it is their honor to serve God.. I would have expected some mention of salary, living conditions, etc, but to them, these pale in comparison to their genuine desire to see God's kingdom grow and their faithfulness to serve the Cambodian people. For me personally, there are plenty of "distractions" to steer me away from this type of passioe towards God: career, being busy, etc; in reality these distractions are deeply engrained idols needing to be torn down. To see Nathan and Priscilla cast these asides to follow our Creator deeply inspires me to do better.
After a great dinner and dessert, Nathan again put us first and spent the next hour doing a prayer walk in the red light district. For all of us, this was the first time, so it was great to see what we heard and learned about in action. He took us to three places: imagine Santana Row with only 8-12 shops on either side. The first place was meant for foreigners. Practically every girl on that block was a working girl. We were quickly angry at these foreigners but we also remembered Nathan's earlier lesson to not judge these individuals. We also prayed that these foreigners go home alone rather than with a working girl. For the second location, it was meant for Cambodians and we prayed for the girls there to find their beauty in Christ rather than in physical. Finally we went to a location that was a mall like atmosphere, but girls approach men in hopes of servicing them. We prayed for the children there (age 3-5) who begged, as this type of lifestyle will be normal in their eyes having seen it from such a young age. This cycle needs to stop.
After that, we went back to our hotel in thankful spirits for the experiences we were blessed with today, the inspiration received from such wonderful missionary partners, and being able to experience a prayer walk and to feel God's work in a place of darkness.
- Victor's ankle is killing him. Please pray for quick healing.
- Sherry is starting to get under the weather, please pray for healing.
- Candace's sinus to not affect her
- Yen's arms are really sore so please pray that he heals quickly
- Vermont has been coughing a lot lately (pollution? hope it's not tuberculosis). Please pray for it to subside.
Today was a really good day. At 6 AM, Sherry, Yen, and Vermont went to the rooftop to workout. Soon after, Victor popped up and was surprised that we were there. He did his own intense workout. Meanwhile, Alex was running up and down the stairs. Candace really needed her rest to withstand the long day today so she rested up.
At 8AM, we ate breakfast as a group and Sherry led devotions (Phil 2:14-15) where we reflected on where we struggled so far in the trip and how to be light to the world. After that, we split into groups where one group went to the Russian Market, another group to go purse shopping, and another group rested up.
The main focus today was to support our missionaries, Nathan and Priscilla. So Victor bought lunch from the Russian Market and we feasted at Nathan and Priscilla's house. We wanted to do whatever we could to care for them. Nathan really wanted to play Settlers of Cattan but unfortunately we ran out of time and had to go out and watch Superman (3d!) while we treated Priscilla to the spa. Honestly, after spending time with them for the very first time the last few days, to see the sacrifices they've made, the mercy and obedience they do to serve the Lord, and their faithfulness to God's call, this is the least we can do. They truly love God and live and breath His mission, 100%, every single day, every hour, minute, and second.
Superman was good. We had bubble tea while we watched the movie. The action was amazing, very much like Dragon Ball Z, Android 17 and 18, and Cell. The storyline and acting left much to be desired, but it was still the best Superman in recent memory. After the movie, we went back to our hotels and rested before dinner.
We went to a French restaurant for dinner and had great fellowship. Nathan spoke about MST: basically a bi-monthly prayer walk/mission in red light districts in Phnom Penh. They pray as they walk around town, they approach people in groups of 2-3, and start conversation. They do what they feel God calling them to do, for example, if someone praying says God told them to speak to someone in a red hat, they do that. Really, the goal and measure of success is to do what God tells them to do that evening. While the groups go out and about, another group prays for the entire evening, wherever God leads their hearts to pray. A sample success story is where they spoke to a person and after an hour conversation, the foreigner decided to go home rather than seek out intimate companionship.
One of the important points Nathan wanted us to realize is that every "John" has a backstory. His reasons are sinful as our reasons when we disobey. One sin is not greater than another. It is important to not judge, and to see these people as creations of God and need God just as much as we do. This was hard to do when we later went to to the red light districts to experience it ourselves.
Before we delve into that experience, we asked Nathan and Priscilla what they felt was their greatest sacrifice being missionaries. Nathan responded, "God desires mercy, not sacrifice." He said that they haven't really sacrificed anything, just some parts uncomfortable here and there. Priscilla agreed and said that it is their honor to serve God.. I would have expected some mention of salary, living conditions, etc, but to them, these pale in comparison to their genuine desire to see God's kingdom grow and their faithfulness to serve the Cambodian people. For me personally, there are plenty of "distractions" to steer me away from this type of passioe towards God: career, being busy, etc; in reality these distractions are deeply engrained idols needing to be torn down. To see Nathan and Priscilla cast these asides to follow our Creator deeply inspires me to do better.
After a great dinner and dessert, Nathan again put us first and spent the next hour doing a prayer walk in the red light district. For all of us, this was the first time, so it was great to see what we heard and learned about in action. He took us to three places: imagine Santana Row with only 8-12 shops on either side. The first place was meant for foreigners. Practically every girl on that block was a working girl. We were quickly angry at these foreigners but we also remembered Nathan's earlier lesson to not judge these individuals. We also prayed that these foreigners go home alone rather than with a working girl. For the second location, it was meant for Cambodians and we prayed for the girls there to find their beauty in Christ rather than in physical. Finally we went to a location that was a mall like atmosphere, but girls approach men in hopes of servicing them. We prayed for the children there (age 3-5) who begged, as this type of lifestyle will be normal in their eyes having seen it from such a young age. This cycle needs to stop.
After that, we went back to our hotel in thankful spirits for the experiences we were blessed with today, the inspiration received from such wonderful missionary partners, and being able to experience a prayer walk and to feel God's work in a place of darkness.
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