I had originally planned on titling this "Afterthoughts" but upon further thinking, I decided that just because our team is no longer in Cambodia it doesn't mean that everything is over. Instead, this is really the start of our church's partnership with Nathan, Priscilla and World Relief.
Our team debriefed with Brian yesterday and we discussed what we learned/brought back from the trip as well as what we thought we brought to the staff in Kampong Cham. Hearing what everybody had to say about what they experienced really brought me back to our time in Cambodia and made me excited for future teams/visits back to Cambodia.
Speaking of future teams, I'll just do a little plug for anyone who might be thinking about going as it actually ties into what I learned/experienced on this trip. One thing that Nathan often said on the trip was "Go! Go! Go!" which kind of became an informal motto for our team by the end of the trip (in fact we may have "Gone! Gone! Gone!" so fast one time that we might have left someone behind...). When we brought up how often Nathan said "Go! Go! Go!," he said that there were two reasons for it. The first reason was simply because we didn't have a lot of time there and our schedule was really packed having cut out a few days due to ticketing/flight logistics. The second reason is something that really stuck to me. He said that often times Christians tend to say that they're not sure if they should do something and want to wait for a clear sign before doing anything. While it is good to have a clear sign to do something, if we're all waiting for signs like Gideon's or Hezekiah's then I'm pretty sure the majority of us will end up waiting for a long long time.
Instead, if we know our Lord's heart, we should know at least some basic things that he would want us to do. For example, take Daniel's friends, they refused the king's sweet meats and wine because they wanted to keep themselves undefiled and clean before the Lord. Then they also defied Nebuchadnezzar and refused to bow down to his golden statue. In both occasions they did not receive any sign from the Lord to do either of these things, in fact, in defying Nebuchadnezzar they even said that they didn't know if they would be saved from the fire or not.
Another aspect of this is that the Lord does not need us to do his will. If he wants something to happen, it will happen. I don't think that any of us are arrogant enough to think that our God who created the heavens and the earth would need our help in getting something done, but sometimes we may forget and think that we are doing something for God. Instead, if the Lord is going to get something done and we have the opportunity to be a part of it, why not go?
For example, my going on this trip was completely out of character for me. There were several reasons that could have prevented me from going. The facts that I can't stand the heat, public speaking, and teaching along with the fact that I had only started going to GRX for a few months still make me wonder why I actually ended up deciding on going and joining the team; however, I think that joining the team was one of my best decisions that I have ever made, just being able to see what the Lord is doing in Cambodia and being able to be a part of it is something that I really don't think can be described through mere words (and I had a lot of those in my first post and this one is getting a bit long too).
While I say that I was a part of it, I don't want anyone to think that I'm contradicting what I said about thinking that God needs us to do his will. I have no delusions about being vital to God's plan in Cambodia or as part of the team. There's so much evidence of God's work in Cambodia already that there's no way that I could think that I was needed to further any of it and I honestly do not think that the team would've been any worse for the wear if I had not been a part of the team. Sure being the sixth member made it easy to split the team into three pairs for rooms, field work, and teaching, but I'm pretty sure they'd have been able to get by.
Anyways, I just wanted to write a little(?) about what I had learned during our stay in Cambodia (also Amy keeps on asking if we'll keep blogging after the trip). So for those who are wondering if they want to go on any future trips, I sincerely hope that if possible, you'll be willing to go and be a part of our church's journey in our partnership with Nathan, Priscilla and World Relief as it really was an amazing experience for me.
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